Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 20 July 2009 09:24
Mobile devices
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Blending the “S-Class User Interface” seen on the LG Arena with an 8
megapixel camera, LG has launched the successor to the original Viewty,
but is the Viewty Smart a beauty?
At 12.4mm thick (or thin, depending on your point of view), LG says that its new Viewty Smart is the world’s slimmest 8 megapixel camera phone.
Aside from the graphically lush “S-Class User Interface” that boldy took LG’s phone interfaces to places it had never been before, LG is heavily pushing a new “Intelligent Shot Mode” and more intelligent image processor, coupled with ISO 1600 sensitivity, 8 megapixels, 3-inch 480x800 resolution screen, HSDPA 7.2Mbps speeds, Wi-Fi, A-GPS and more as major stand-out features.
LG has flirted with 8 megapixel cameraphones before, with last year’s LG Renoir being similarly equipped, but the Intelligent Shot Mode is new to LG, with LG saying that it is a “camera phone first”.
Nathan Dunn, the General Manager of Telecommunications at LG Electronics Australia said: “LG believes the future of camera phones lies in providing smart camera technology that lets consumers utilize all the camera functions more conveniently while still ensuring picture perfect output. Combined with the intuitive S-Class User Interface, Viewty Smart leads the way for the next generation of camera phones.”
So, what specifically prompted LG to go all-out in delivering an intelligent shot mode it says is “rare” on high-end standalone digital cameras, let alone available on any other smartphone?
Well, LG says that it “conducted consumer preference surveys in fourteen countries including the U.S., U.K., France, Brazil, Russia, India and China to learn what consumers wanted to see in the next generation mobile device”, discovering that “one key finding” showed “users thought current camera phones were too complicated to operate.”
Naturally, as a consumer, one can tend to be surprised that it took a survey across 14 countries to figure this out, but solid data to back up hypotheses is never a bad thing.
LG says that its engineers “addressed this issue in the Viewty Smart with Intelligent Shot Mode, which analyzes the subject, background, and lighting conditions and compares the data against seven pre-programmed scenarios to take perfect pictures every time.
“This hassle-free mode completely eliminates the need to check settings before taking a photo. It even provides instantaneous feedback, showing exactly how the camera is analyzing a particular scene with real-time indicator bars.”
Even though true photo pros generally laugh at the small sensor size within the lens of a camera phone, LG insists that its 8 megapixels of photographic power are different, saying that the “Viewty Smart’s pictures are not just great for sharing online, but are even sharp enough for printing and framing”, although as noted, it will be very interesting to see what true photo professionals think when they get to review the Viewty Smart as a camera, and not a camera phone.
What else does the Intelligent Shot Mode offer, and what are some other specs?
Continued…
