Sony Ericsson Launches 6 New Phones

Sony Ericsson today announced 6 new phones as well as an overwhelming number of accessories including speaker systems and Bluetooth watches. Of the phones announced today, the K850 is the only one clearly meant for US shore, however many others will come in US-friendly versions. New high-end models include a send and end as well as soft keys, a trend first seen on the Z750. This hints that they will include a new user interface.

1. K850: A candybar with tri-band HSDPA and quad-band GSM/EDGE has a 5 Megapixel auto-focus camera and Xenon flash. It also features a new photo mode that changes the keypad when the camera is activated for easier control. The K850 also has Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a combo M2/MicroSD memory card slot.

2. W960: This followup to the W950 features tri-band GSM/EDGE and UMTS 2100. It has a 2.6-inch touch-sensitive display and uses the Walkman touch player interface based on Symbian UIQ. It comes with 8 GB of internal memory for storing media. The W960 also has a 3.2 Megapixel camera with autofocus. It has Wi-Fi and the Opera Web browser, stereo Bluetooth and comes with a pair of stereo bluetooth headphones.

3. W910: A slider with motion-sensitive controls allowing you to change tracks or play games by shaking it. It will ship in two versions. The W908c will be quad-band GSM/EDGE, and the W910i will also include UMTS/HSDPA 2100. Both versions have a 2 Megapixel camera and the Walkman 3.0 player. It also comes with stereo Bluetooth and a 1 GB Memory Stick Micro for storing media.

4. K530: A mid-range candybar for Europe with tri-band GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900) and UMTS 2100 that features a 2 Megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, Memory Stick Micro slot and support for a new GPS receiver and software suite that plus into the accessory port.

5. Z320: An entry-level tri-band clamshell that will be available in a US version (GSM/GPRS 850/1800/1900). Features a 1.3 Megapixel camera and internal color display, but only features an icon display on the cover, like many of Motorola's W series phones.

6. Z250: An even simpler version of the Z320 featuring a VGA camera. Also available in a tri-band version for the US.

Kodak's Filter Helps Cameraphones See In Dark

Kodak has developed a new type of filter that would allow cameraphones and other digital cameras with small sensors to work better in low light. The new filter allows some of the pixels to see a wide range of colors instead of just red, green or blue. By letting in more colors, the filter lets in more light, which helps increase the clarity of low light pictures. Manufacturers will be able to to integrate this new filter technology into products next year, but will need to re-write their camera software to use it.

"Low light can mean trying to get a good image indoors of your kid blowing out the birthday candles. It can mean you want to take a photograph on a street corner in Paris at midnight," said Chris McNiffe, general manager of the photography company's image sensor business. "We're talking about a 2-to-4-times improvement in (light) sensitivity."

Analyst Chris Chute doesn't doubt that the new filter system, intended to supplant an industry-standard filter pattern designed by Kodak scientist Bryce Bayer in 1976, represents a breakthrough in boosting photo quality — especially when light conditions are not ideal.

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Wafer-Thin Digital Camera Technology Developed

Tessera Technologies has created OptiML WLC, a new process that helps to shrink digital camera components for use in devices such as cell phones. The new technology reduces the size by 50% and costs by 30%, making the camera modules smaller and cheaper for integration into other electronics. It works by manufacturing thousands of lenses simultaneously on a wafer and bonding them together to create the optical element.

Tessera's solution is designed to overcome the cost, size and manufacturing roadblocks facing the industry as cameras become pervasive in mobile phones and other electronics. Using OptiML WLC technology, thousands of lenses are manufactured simultaneously on a wafer, and then bonded at the wafer level to create the optical element of the camera. The result is simplified assembly and up to 30% cost savings for the optical component of the camera module. OptiML WLC technology also reduces the size of the camera to a minimum, delivering up to 50% size reductions over conventional camera modules in camera phones today. Tessera's recently acquired Eyesquad technology can be easily integrated into the OptiML WLC solution, providing advanced auto-focus and digital optical zoom without the use of moving parts, resulting in greatly enhanced camera functionally and reliability at lower costs and smaller form factors.

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Nokia 8600 Luna: A definitive design statement with a touch of glass

The timeless beauty of glass highlights the latest evolution of Nokia's most coveted phone series.



Building upon a tradition of crafting its most unique and prestigious phones from trend-setting materials like chrome, stainless steel and titanium, Nokia today unveiled the Nokia 8600 Luna, which has been precision engineered from the same material that has inspired both artists and craftsmen for centuries- glass.

The melding of nearly opaque smoked glass with unique, soft-touch stainless steel makes the Nokia 8600 Luna as enchanting to behold as it is a joy to touch. Adding to its mysterious allure, a gentle keypad illumination pulsates from beneath the glass case while the phone awaits a call. Combined with the warmth of its glass and stainless steel body, this "heartbeat" transforms the Nokia 8600 Luna from an inanimate object into a trusted companion with an organic, virtually alive form. When a call does beckon, the signature slide movement is carefully balanced to smoothly raise the ergonomic keypad from within its glass cocoon.

"An obsession to every detail marked each step in the development process of the Nokia 8600 Luna. We took painstaking effort to ensure that the experience delivered by every surface - from the smoothness of glass against the face to the warmth of stainless steel in the palm to the superior tactile feedback of the keypad - would surpass any and all expectations," said Heikki Norta, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. "Even the name holds special significance. Much like the Nokia 8600 Luna that we named in her honor, Luna, the goddess of moonlight, was often represented by the Romans as a mysteriously captivating beauty encircled in a soft, yet radiant light."

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