Is it a camera or is it a phone? Kodak and Motorola blur the boundaries

Stuart Corner
Monday, 23 June 2008 11:46

Business IT - Technology

Kodak has unveiled technology for mobile handsets that adds image enhancing and image sharing features found its digital cameras, and Motorola has announced the first handset to use the it.

According to John Blake, general manager of Kodak's digital capture and imaging devices group, "Kodak Imaging Technology addresses the three main issues that frustrate consumers [using camera phones] - poor image quality, difficulty transferring images off their mobile devices, and the inability to easily share images with family and friends."

The technology combines features developed for Kodak's line of Easyshare digital cameras, and, according to Kodak, it "enables mobile devices with comparable imaging quality to what one would expect from a consumer digital camera."

Features include:
- Smart Capture technology which "automatically adjusts and determines camera settings in any environment";
- Kodak Perfect Touch technology, which "generates brighter, more vivid pictures, [to] help ensure the best quality for each image captured";

Kodak Imaging Technology works in conjunction with Kodak image sensors, as well as sensors from other manufacturers, and, according to Kodak, "service providers appreciate the many options Kodak offers for uploading images, enabling flexibility by geographic region and consumer plan."

Motorola has unveiled, in Beijing and initially only for the Chinese market, the Motozine ZN5, the first product incorporating the Kodak Imaging Technology. According to Motorola, "the ZN5 puts image capture first, with a high-resolution landscape screen and one of the fastest click-to-click times available." It features a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, a Xenon flash, 4GB of optional external memory and optimised settings for low-light environments.
Photos can be viewed on the home screen; without going through menus or searching. Pictures can be uploaded via Gallery Link "in one simple click and instantly shared to the Kodak Gallery to be viewed, stored and shared with friends and family."
The ZN5 is the first device to carry the Motozine name, Motorola's new label for its multimedia-optimised devices. It will be available in China in July 2008 and is expected to roll out around the globe l

Kodak has not revealed what other manufacturers it is working with, or what handset platforms the technology is designed to operate on.