Samsung to offer five megapixel camera phone this year; how to transfer files?

From picturephoning.com I see that Samsung Electronics has announced it will introduce a five megapixel camera phone some time this year, according to a report in Telecoms Korea.

The Samsung official didn't say exactly when the handset would be released (the end of the year is approaching!).

Camera phone technology is progressing faster than I (and other analysts) expected. Indeed, I have been saying that four megapixel camera phones would be available in Asia (probably Japan and South Korea) in 2005, and that Qualcomm would offer samples of chipsets for five megapixel camera phones in 2005.

If Samsung debuts a five megapixel camera phone, that certainly would change the timetable! I continue to wonder how cellular operators will deal with such huge image files.

Locking down the phone

In Japan and South Korea, where two and three megapixel camera phones are available, network operators don't allow wireless transmissions of large files. Typically, transmissions are limited to a few hundred K.

Instead, camera phones users employ infrared, Bluetooth and memory cards to transfer photos to kiosks for printing or for transferring to a computer. In the United States, carriers have adopted a more user-hostile attitude, releasing phones that offer no way to transfer photos except via cellular.

An article yesterday in USA Today, "Saying cheese comes with a catch," discussed the lack of options for camera phone users who want to transfer photos.

Self-defeating

Journalists and analysts are wising up to the cellular industry's user-hostile attitude, as are consumers. Most recently, journalists have been taking Verizon Wireless to task for introducing the Motorola V710 camera phone that has Bluetooth, but that only can be used as a modem via a laptop -- not for transferring any files, such as photos.

You can buy a $40 cable to synchronize your calendar and address book, but you can't use the cable to transfer files.

Verizon says the Bluetooth file-transfer capability has been disabled for security reasons so no one could "hijack" your phones. But PC Magazine and other publications aren't falling for this baloney.

(The V710 does include a TransFlash memory card that can be read by a Secure Digital card reader.)

Not the handset vendors' fault

I was talking to one PR person for a handset company who was somewhat irked that the USA Today article implied the handset vendors were at fault for eliminating or crippling transfer options. It's not the handset manufacturers' fault.

They have to provide whatever cellular operators want and the operators are gaining more power over the vendors, not less.

Comments

[Brian]

That's exactly why I didn't get to excited about the v710. Verizon and other providers need to start giving consumers more options including free ones for getting their images off the phone. I bought a data cable for my VX7000 and I use it all the time to take the photos off my phone with software called Bitpim or QPST.

[tychocat]

Never mind the fluff about bigger photos! How about cellphones that speak to the dead? The Weekly World News says so!

http://web.weeklyworldnews.com/features/science/61479

No word if 3G is available, or which carrier would be involved.

[mediaguru]

Sharp's TM150 on T-Mobile's US network has no such restrictions. Full SD card capability AND can send megapixel photos over the air, if you like.

For multimegapixel cameraphones, expect 3G or WiFi connections but a real memory card will be the main answer for a long time, just like it is on digital cameras now.