MobileBurn have published a review of the new 5 megapixel Samsung SCH-S250 cameraphone (found via Still Journal).

“Of course the reason we are here is not the killer display, nor the MP3 player, 3D games, or the phone’s 92MB of internal storage and RS-MMC card slot. Everybody wants to know about the camera. Well, I spent a decent amount of time with the camera, getting a good feel for it. The short version: it’s good, but not on par with a dedicated camera. The long version? Read on….”

MobileBurn - 5MP camera phone from Samsung

Samsung SCH-V770 is announced at CeBIT - the Samsung V770 is a 7 megapixel cameraphone that resembles a digital camera, with 3x optical zoom and a 1/1.8” CCD. Price and availability of the Samsung V770 to be announced.

Samsung Electronics Press Release

- A true digital convergence product with advanced multimedia features, including digital power amp, VOD&MOD functions and high-capacity memory.
- A camera phone capable of professional photography. It is the first camera phone that supports manual functions and wide-angle & tele-conversion lenses. It also features 3x optical zoom, 5x digital zoom and auto focus.

Hannover, Germany – 10th March - Samsung Electronics unveils the world’s first mobile phone (model: SCH-V770) equipped with a 7 megapixel camera at CeBIT 2005. Just six months after the introduction of its world’s first 5 megapixel camera phone, Samsung has reached another milestone in camera phones.

The V770 offers the same level of picture-taking sophistication that a 7 megapixel digital camera does. The camera functions have been upgraded to include a 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom with a 1/1.8” CCD. It also supports auto focus and a flash unit that performs optimally for 7 megapixel photographs.

Samsung SGH-i300 smartphone is announced at CeBIT 2005. The Samsung SGH-i300 features a 1.3 megapixel camera and a 3Gb hard drive which can store up to 1,000 music files. Price and availability of the Samsung SGH-i300 to be announced.

Samsung Press Release

Samsung’s SGH-i300 Offers Incredible Storage as the World’s First Music Smartphone with 3GB HDD

SEOUL, Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 10, 2005—Samsung Electronics, a premium provider of mobile phones, exclusively unveils the world’s first 3GB HDD embedded music smartphone, the SGH-i300, at CeBIT 2005.

This development follows its 2004 introduction of the world’s first 1.5GB hard disk drive phone. This 3GB handset is the first phone featuring “Plug & Play Files-to-go,” which allows the phone to function as a removable hard disk drive. Businessmen and students can easily transfer files to / from their computers, as well as store and transfer files in any format conveniently.

Sanyo Press Release

Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Phone MM-5600 by SANYO Captures High Honor by Digital Imaging Marketing Association

CHATSWORTH, CA. – The Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Phone MM-5600 by SANYO was selected out of the hundreds of digital products on display at the Photo Marketing Association 2005 Convention and Trade show in Orlando, Fla, to receive the prestigious DIMA (Digital Imaging Marketing Association) Innovative Digital Product Award. The award is presented by DIMA based on a comprehensive evaluation by a blue-ribbon panel of digital imaging editors and writers.

An Innovative Digital Product of PMA 2005 was defined by the judges as a product utilizing new technologies and/or applications in such a way as to make it either unique or the first of its kind. The MM-5600 by SANYO was introduced in the United States as SANYO’s first 1.3-megapixel camera phone with flash, digital zoom and macro setting for capturing close-ups, and a video camcorder for catching special moments. The device comes packaged with a 16MB removable miniSD memory card and adapter, and USB cable for printing photos directly from the phone to any PictBridge-enabled printer.

The Sanyo MM-5600 multimedia phone is the USA’s first 1 megapixel cameraphone and was at the forefront of the Sanyo stand during this afternoon’s Sneak Peek PMA event, alongside Sanyo’s compact photo printers for 6x4” prints. The MM-5600 has a 1.3 megapixel camera, removable miniSD memory card and built-in MP3 player. It supports the Sprint PCS Multimedia service, which lets you watch and listen to video and audio. The MM-5600 is also PictBridge compatible so you can print directly to a PictBridge-enabled printer, and avoid having to download your images onto a computer first.

Eastman Kodak Company and O2 Press Release

Photo sharing and printing directly from a mobile handset with KODAK Mobile Service and O2

O2 Subscribers in the UK Will Be Able To Print And Share Their Pictures Online Anytime and Anywhere Through KODAK Mobile Service

London, 16 February.  Eastman Kodak Company and O2, one of Europe’s leading mobile providers, today announced an agreement to offer advanced online photo services to O2 customers through a jointly branded service. The O2 and KODAK Mobile Service will allow consumers to store, share, print and personalize pictures and videos directly from their mobile phone.  From March 2005 customers will be able to upload, download, share, view and order Kodak prints from their mobile and have them delivered to any postal address within days. It has never been so easy to share picture with friends or relatives, whether they are by your side or in another part of the world.

Eastman Kodak Company and T-Mobile Press Release

KODAK Mobile Service teams with T-Mobile to offer first Pan European online picture sharing service to customers across Europe

T-Mobile Customers In 3 European Countries Will Be Able To Share And Print Their Pictures On The Go Like Never Before

London, 14 February.  Eastman Kodak Company and T-Mobile, one of the world’s leading mobile telecommunications companies, today announced a Pan-European partnership to provide a co-branded service enabling online picture sharing to T-Mobile customers in 3 European countries. With an April 2005 launch in the UK, Germany and Austria, the T-Mobile/Kodak Co-Branded Service will be an easy to use method for customers to upload, organize and store multimedia content from their mobile phone or via the internet as well as share and print images taken with their camera phone. Launches in The Netherlands and the Czech Republic will follow later in the year.

DxO Labs Press Release

Announcing DxO Mobile Embedded Edition availability on Texas Instruments OMAP media processor for cameraphones

Digital camera image quality now available to mainstream cameraphones

Paris, France - February 10, 2005 - DxO Labs, a software company developing image generation and enhancement technologies, announces that its award-winning DxO image quality enhancement technology is now available on Texas Instruments OMAP-DM275 imaging processor targeted at cameraphone vendors.

DxO Mobile Embedded Edition for cameraphones will be demonstrated at the 3GSM World Congress 2005, achieving a quantum leap in mobile imaging quality. Cameraphones powered by DxO Mobile Embedded Edition will deliver images of the same quality as today’s digital still cameras (DSCs).  Cameraphone vendors can now easily design products that meet consumer expectations for superior image quality, all within existing project parameters.

“Both customers and prospects have expressed significant interest in TI’s OMAP-DM275 imaging processor for use in cameraphones,” said Jorge Salhuana, Business Manager, Texas Instruments, Camera Phone Business Unit. “We believe the incorporation of DxO Labs’ innovative technology will make an even more compelling value proposition for cameraphone manufacturers seeking to deliver greater image quality in mass market consumer electronics products.”

InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Press Release

Nearly 20% of U.S. Internet Users Now Own a Camera Phone, According to New InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Study

WEYMOUTH, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 27, 2005—A recent InfoTrends/CAP Ventures study reveals that nearly 20% of U.S. Internet users owned a mobile phone with an embedded digital camera at the end of 2004, compared to just 3% in 2003. In addition, 27% of consumers who do not currently own a camera phone are highly interested in purchasing one as their next mobile phone. Two out of three current camera phone owners use the camera function on a regular basis to take pictures.

DxO Labs Press Release

DxO Labs New image Processing Technology breaks traditional optics limitations of cameraphones

NEW IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY BREAKS TRADITIONAL OPTICS LIMITATIONS OF CAMERAPHONES

DxO Aperture™ allows cameraphones to collect up to 4 times more light, extending shooting latitude to dim light environments and higher motion scenes

Paris, France, January 25, 2005 - DxO Labs, a software editor focused on image processing research, announces DxO Aperture, a new technology that breaks the limitations of traditional optics design. DxO Aperture delivers ultimate image quality for cameraphones and dramatically extends their shooting latitude.

“Consumers want to take pictures in low light conditions and shoot moving subjects, which cameraphones have been unable to handle due to limited light collection capabilities,” explains Jerome Meniere, CEO of DxO Labs. “By breaking these limits, we believe that DxO Aperture’s revolutionary new approach will dramatically boost cameraphone usage.”

The following press release only has a tenuous link to photography, in that a new cameraphone with 1.3 megapixels is hardly going to set the world on fire. What is interesting is the way in which the Samsung SCH-S310 mobile phone is controlled by the user - apparently it detects 3-dimensional movement, so that “the user can “write” the number “three” in the air. The mobile phone can read this movement and then dial “3.” Shaking the phone twice will conclude a call or delete spam messages.” Imagine millions of people all drawing madly in the air with their hands…George Orwell never predicted that!

Samsung Press Release

The Samsung SCH-S310 mobile phone, the world’s first “3D movement recognition” mobile phone. (Photo: Business Wire)

SEOUL, South Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 12, 2005—Samsung Electronics

—The world’s first movement recognition mobile phone is unveiled; a new starting point for mobile phone technology.

—Ultra-precision technology calculates spatial movement in three dimensions.

Samsung Electronics unveiled the world’s first “3D movement recognition” mobile phone (model: SCH-S310). ‘Accelerometer’ is built in to accurately calculate and ascertain movement in three dimensional space and then carry out commands according to those calculations.

Sophisticated sensing technology calculates the direction in which the mobile phone is moving as well as its speed of movement. The capability extends beyond the identification of the general locus to include precise recognition of small and rapid movements as well as alphanumeric symbols.

Mobile Imaging and Printing Consortium Press Release

Mobile Imaging and Printing Consortium Publishes Initial Guidelines for Consumer Printing of Camera Phone Images

- SAN DIEGO, United States, January 10, 2005 -

The Mobile Imaging and Printing Consortium (MIPC), an industry group developing solutions and implementation guidelines for printing images captured with camera phones, today announced their first set of guidelines for the mobile and printing industry.

January 10, 2005 San Diego, California – The Mobile Imaging and Printing Consortium (MIPC), an industry group developing solutions and implementation guidelines for printing images captured with camera phones, today announced their first set of guidelines for the mobile and printing industry.

This first set of the MIPC Implementation Guidelines sets a common standard which all mobile and printer manufacturers can follow and implement into their products. The guidelines leverage existing connectivity technology standards and solutions, such as Bluetooth™ wireless technology, printing from memory cards and PictBridge. As a result, consumers can expect seamless interoperability between a broad base of mobile phones and printers. Any products that follow the MIPC technical guidelines will work with each other in that applicable technology.

InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Press Release

InfoTrends/CAP Ventures Releases Worldwide Mobile Imaging Study Results; Study Projects Nearly 900 Million Camera Phone Shipments Worldwide by 2009

WEYMOUTH, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 10, 2005—InfoTrends/CAP Ventures projects that worldwide camera phone shipments will grow from 178 million units in 2004 to over 860 million units in 2009. By 2009, camera phones are expected to account for 89% of all mobile phone handsets shipped.

Primary drivers behind this explosion are improvements in imaging functions (i.e. image sensors, zoom, auto focus); rapid declines in prices for this functionality; higher-speed wireless bandwidth; and easier-to-use handsets, services, and peripherals.

Samsung Press Release 13/12/04

Samsung Electronics Develops Removable, Thumbnail-Sized Memory Card for Mobile Phones

SEOUL, South Korea—(Business Wire)—Dec. 14, 2004 - Samsung announced today that it has developed an extremely small, low-power multimedia memory card (MMC) for mobile phones. The Samsung MMCmicro memory card has been designed to overcome a major hurdle in cell phone design—achieving high performance with a low-power, removable memory card, now smaller than the size of a thumbnail.

With dimensions of only 12x14x1.1mm, Samsung’s new “MMCmicro” device is one-third the size of today’s common reduced-size multimedia cards (RS-MMC). Samsung said that the design of its low-power card makes it easy to incorporate removable memory into progressively smaller mobile phones. Each card can operate on 1.8 or 3.3 volts of power.

Panasonic SC Device Solutions Co., Ltd. Press Release 09/12/04

Industry’s thinnest 8.63 mm module incorporates auto-focus and image-stabilizer

Tokyo, Japan - Panasonic SC Device Solutions Co., Ltd. (PSCDS), a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., today announced the development of a 3-megapixel camera module designed for mobile phones. With the latest v Maicovicon™ image sensor at the core, the module, GP-KM3500V, incorporates auto-focusing and image-stabilizing capabilities in the industry’s thinnest 8.63mm package. The GP-KM3500V makes camera phones thinner while ensuring superb picture quality.

“Conventional 3-megapixel Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and CMOS image sensors are not small enough to design compact camera modules, resulting in bulky mobile phones. This new camera module successfully combines quality imaging with compact design by taking full advantage of the new 3-megapixel v Maicovicon™ that features the industry’s smallest 2.2-micron pixel size. Advanced mounting and image processing technologies, as well as the ultra-mini focus actuator and thinner lenses, also contributed to reducing the size,” said Mr. Satoru Masuda, Director of Engineering, PSCDS.

“This tiny package includes automatic focus in the range of approximately 8 cm to infinity and an image stabilizer for motion image recording. This makes taking quality picture very easy,” he added.

IC Media Corporation Press Release 06/12/04

Enables Compact 3, 4 and 5 Megapixel Camera Modules for Camera Phones and Other Mobile Devices

Santa Clara, CA- Dec. 6, 2004:—IC Media Corporation, a leading developer of CMOS image sensors, today announced the successful development of the industry’s first CMOS image sensors using a 2.575 x 2.575 micron pixel.  The test vehicles using this pixel were 3 and 4 megapixel sensors. These devices were developed using an extension of IC Media’s proprietary EmeraldPixelTM architecture, which offers an industry-leading 25 degree acceptance angle. The sensors also incorporate certain optical enhancement technologies to improve quantum efficiency.

The website Telcoms Korea are reporting that camera phone manufacturer LG are teaming up with Canon to release the World’s first ever 6, or maybe even 7, megapixel camera phone. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that the first 7 megapixel digital camera appeared (because it wasn’t actually that long ago!). It looks like the camera phone megapixel war is going to be even more keenly contested thatn the digital camera one…

Website: Telcoms Korea - LG, Canon to release 6-Megapixel Camera phone

Pixology plc. Press Release 25/11/04

Pixology signs Boots for mobile phone printing service, based on collaboration with Nokia

Espoo, Finland - Pixology plc, (LSE:PIX), the specialist in software and networks for digital photography, and Nokia have today announced that Boots will become the first UK retailer to offer its customers a direct to store camera phone printing service under the Nokia/Pixology deal. The service is made possible by Pixology’s PhonePrintTM technology, which has been developed in conjunction with Nokia.

This innovative new mobile imaging service will form part of the Boots Pix2Print concept launched last month in collaboration with Nokia. The aim is to move away from a focus on price plans when selling camera phones and instead place the emphasis firmly on mobile imaging. Boots customers will be able to purchase the best camera phones and photo printers on the market and obtain technical advice on getting the most from their camera phone.

Jessops Press Release 17/11/04

Jessops add a selection of handsets from network providers Orange, O2 and 3, alongside its existing Vodafone range.

The new additions grow the range of state-of-the-art camera phones offered by Jessops to fourteen, and include some of the latest handsets on the market - the Sharp GX15, Sagem myX5 and the 02 X3.  All are offered on a pay as you go, non-contract basis.

Jessops’ Brand Development Director Symon Powell said: “Camera phones offer a great way to capture spontaneous pictures.  We are fully committed to maintaining our position as a one-stop shop for every kind of photographic equipment, and as such it’s only natural that we should extend our camera phone range.”

The announcement follows the launch of Jessops’ camera phone photo printing service, PhonePrint.

Bonusprint Press Release 17/11/04

Effortlessly upload photos to Bonusprint with a single key-press

November 17, 2004, UK - From today, camera-phone owners can print, store and share high-quality images taken on their mobile phone, thanks to Bonusprint Mobile. In addition Bonusprint is offering its customers a 30-day free trial of this new service.

The Bonusprint Mobile service, powered by Cognima’s photo upload solution, Cognima Snap, is designed to upload photos from consumers’ camera-phones with just a single key-press. After the 30-day free trial, the service will cost only £1.99 per month and is available on supported Symbian OS-based handsets that are connected to any of the major four networks in the UK (O2, Orange, T-Mobile, and Vodafone).

At launch the following handsets will be supported: Nokia 7610, 6600, 3660, 3650, 7650 and the Siemens SX1, with more handsets to be added shortly.