23 May 2007
Kodak and Motorola Join Hands
For Better Cameraphones
The mega pixel race on the digital cameras of the last years seems to have settled down now but in the mobile phone world it seems that there is a completely different trend.
Mobile phone manufactures just pump mega pixels while the optics and sensor size basically remain the same and therefore, this trend has a terrible effect on photo quality in my personal opinion.
So here we are, it seems that some phone manufactures share my opinion; Reuters reveals that Motorola and Kodak have agreed to work together for the next ten years to make camera phones better and easier to use.
Sony Ericsson, actually Sony has huge experience in digital photography and they have already ported that experience and their Cyber Shot technology to their mobile phones and result is expectable good.
How about Samsung? Where the Nokia is!?
Sure I know, long time ago Nokia and Carl Zeiss, one of the most respected companies in the camera industry joined forces to offer enhanced imaging for camera phone users by incorporating Carl Zeiss optics to Nokia's camera phones, but is it enough to keep leading position!? Is it good optic a key for outstanding photos!?
Unfortunately no, I don’t think so, of course, good optic is necessary and addition of Carl Zeiss lens to Nokia phones is more than welcome but we have to be honest and say that power without control is basically nothing and I am not completely satisfied with this cooperation and photo quality of the Nokia camera phones?
Here comes the famous Nokia N95, with 5 mpx sensor and mentioned Carl’s lens and I know that most of you’ll say that it’s the best camera phone ever but I tend to disagree with you.
Surely, a 5mpx sensor and this huge number of pixels have some advantage and on most images it is obvious that the N95's 5mpx sensor resolves more details overall and this is noticeable especially in darker areas, shadows actually, but from other hand, increasing amount of pixels while the sensor and optic basically remain the same always results with more noise and to compensate this effect producer uses less or more aggressive noise reductions.
Speaking of N95 I just have to say that noise reduction algorithm is a little bit to aggressive in my personal opinion and results with water colors and loosing details.
So to sum on, c'mon Nokia, pick up Canon before Samsung, Canon is my favourite camera brand and I’ll be happy to see that Canon engineers working on improving camera possibilities of upcoming Nokia phones. Hmm, Nokia + Carl + Canon, that will be killer combination there is no doubt.
PRESS
Motorola and Eastman Kodak Company today announced a 10-year global product, cross licensing and marketing alliance intended to fulfill the promise of mobile imaging for the benefit of consumers.
 By incorporating Kodak's image science and system integration expertise with Motorola iconic mobile device design, the two companies will greatly improve the ease-of-use and image capture experience of camera phones. The collaboration covers licensing, sourcing, software integration, marketing, and extends to co-development of image-rich devices with joint engineering teams.
For example, Kodak expects to supply its CMOS sensors to Motorola for use in its camera phones, as well as in any future devices the companies co-develop. Additionally, the cooperation to seamlessly integrate millions of Motorola mobile devices with Kodak home printers, retail kiosks, and the Kodak EasyShare Gallery will finally provide an answer to those consumers who desire a quick and easy way to get their images out of the phone for sharing with friends and family.
The alliance delivers value by leveraging each company's intellectual property, particularly Kodak's patents covering digital imaging and Motorola's patents for wireless communications.
Capturing moments was relatively easy for the wireless industry - but sharing and printing those moments and turning them into revenue streams for wireless operators has proved to be a bigger challenge. Through this alliance, Kodak and Motorola will develop the answer - and they've joined forces in an aggressive and global collaboration to bring this to market.
As Motorola contributes its knowledge of mobile devices and networks, Kodak will contribute its knowledge of the consumer's imaging behavior. Kodak is at the leading edge of connected imaging with the world's first wireless digital camera, the award winning EasyShare-One. Because the companies will have access to each other's technology, consumers can look forward to a more connected world, to a time when the ability to capture an image will always be available, when networks will exist to allow people to share images electronically through any number of devices, from camera phones to picture frames to products that have not yet been invented.
What's more, the advent of simple and seamless mobile imaging will redefine the camera while enhancing existing segments of the imaging market. Consumers, for example, will be able to more easily generate prints from Kodak kiosks and share memories from the Kodak EasyShare Gallery with wireless devices that are designed from the ground up with imaging in mind.
Under the alliance, Motorola and Kodak plan to initially expand access to and awareness of mobile-imaging services - including retail programs, online services and customized operator-led initiatives that deliver a seamless, easy experience for consumers. During 2006, Motorola plans to launch handsets with integrated software to enrich the Kodak EasyShare experience, enabling consumers to access and manage their mobile images seamlessly and conveniently. In the years to come, Motorola and Kodak plan to deliver new and unique imaging experiences via the collaboration of Motorola and Kodak engineering teams, and the development of new co-created mobile devices.
This cross-licensing agreement between Kodak and Motorola delivers royalty revenues to Kodak. In keeping with both company's policies regarding royalty agreements, financial and other details will not be disclosed.
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