HDTV Almanac - Another HD Cell Phone Video Camera

[alfredpoor]

Last fall, I wrote about the Samsung Instinct HD cell phone that could capture HD video. Now comes news that SonyEricsson is following suit. The new Vivaz is a 3G touchscreen phone that can record 720p video using the 8.1-megapixel camera. (The phone originally was known as the “Kurara”.) Apparently, the press release announcing the [...]

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[lmarks]

As I’ve stated before, this is probably motivated more by the need to differentiate products from the competition than it is by the user demand for more features.

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Alfred, I respectfully disagree. I <B>like</B> having a camera and GPS and web browser handy at all times. Each of these functions has been of great value at one time or another, in situations where I wouldn't have brought a standalone device. The slight extra bulk of an iPhone or HTC Tilt or Asus P527 is well worth it.

Your favorite critic,
Larry Marks

[alfredpoor]

I'm not arguing that the functions you cite aren't useful, and I actually agree that it's great to have them in one device. Years ago, I would complain that I wanted my Palm and my cell phone to be one device for convenience's sake.

I'm just saying that I don't believe that Nokia and Samsung and SonyEricsson are getting swamped by user mail demanding that they add HD video cameras and projectors and glucose level testing and remote heart monitoring and whatever else to their cell phones. It's a crowded market with mercurical buying patterns and a rapid product turnover rate, and these companies have to grasp at whatever straws they can to try to maintain a competitive advantage.

Alfred

[lmarks]

I'm not arguing that the functions you cite aren't useful, and I actually agree that it's great to have them in one device. Years ago, I would complain that I wanted my Palm and my cell phone to be one device for convenience's sake.

I had that--in around 2000 I had a Handspring with the cellphone "Springboard". I used it for a few years--long after my son insisted there were newer and better devices.

I'm just saying that I don't believe that Nokia and Samsung and SonyEricsson are getting swamped by user mail demanding that they add HD video cameras and projectors and glucose level testing and remote heart monitoring and whatever else to their cell phones.

Alfred

Hmmm. I don't need the HD Video camera but have been looking forward to the projector so I can show granddaughter pictures on the wall instead of having three people hunch over the small, directional TN-mode LCD screen.

I might have good use for heart monitoring, whether remote or not. I'd actually like to know what fraction of the time I'm in atrial fibrillation and what fraction in normal sinus rhythm.

Your frequent critic,
Larry

[Roger Halstead]

I guess it depends on taste, but there is a big difference between HD and a high quality photo. I don't expect much out of a tiny lens and I've never been disappointed. As for the extra functions, I want a phone that is small and compact. I had all of the other functions blocked when I started getting spam. If I want text messages I'll get them on something with a larger screen.

But being an early adopter, having a house and shop full of computers, and having tried most cell phones, PDAs, computers, and cameras, I don't really see a place for a built in HD camera that gives mediocre results. From what I've seen so far, more than about 3 mega pixels behind such a tiny lens is nothing more than an advertising gimmick.

[Roger Halstead]

LARRY

Hmmm. I don't need the HD Video camera

Wait until you have to hold one of those little projectors steady enough to see some detail in photos, then you'll have need for the heart monitoring<:-))