Mobile Tidbit #1: I just tweeted:
LG Viewty Smart & Samsung Pixon will do it, will Nokia & Apple do it? Choosing camera focus with touch: http://tinyurl.com/touchfocus
Honestly the most interesting bit of the new camera phones that LG and Samsung have coming out is not the 8.1 megapixels on the LG Viewty Smart nor the 12 megapixels on the Samsung Pixon, but the fact that both of them will be using the touch screen to introduce a “manual” focus to camera phones. By touching the area of the view screen, you can choose what part of the photo that you want the camera to focus on. This is exciting.
I am *shocked* that the Apple UX geniuses did not first come up with this innovative use of the touch screen as applied to camera phones, but then again, I am not really shocked, as the camera is just an after thought on the iPhone.
When I had my 45 minute trial of the Nokia N97 at SXSW where I compared its photos to the photos that my Nokia N95 took, my biggest complaint about the Nokia N97’s photos is that the focus was off. It would be great if the N97 had the touch focus feature on it, as then I could have chosen where or who I wanted the camera to focus on rather than have sharp backgrounds and slightly blurry subjects.
Hey Nokia! That first firmware update for the Nokia N97… The update you will most likely release in July? Make sure that touch screen camera “manual/auto” focus is a part of that update, as it is too brilliant and and too useful to be left out.
Mobile Tidbit #2: What is in a Name?
For the last 5.5 days, I have been calling my new lovely Google I/O gift mobile device the “Android HTC Magic”, as that is what folks that the Google I/O conference were calling it. But I heard at the event some folks calling it the G2 or the HTC Ion.
When I was hanging out with Justin yesterday, he was calling it the G2. And today on Android and Me, Taylor calls it the Google Ion (HTC Sapphire).
People, can we decide on one name and stick to it? Thanks.
BTW, in case your not aware touch focus is available in the Sony Ericsson G900 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqrVMZODg7M launched in February 2008. It may also be available in the HTC Diamond and HTC Pro also launched in 2008 but I was unable to verify that. If Sony Ericsson really was the first with touch (auto) focus, I’m not surprised since they’ve tended to produce excellent camera phones where the camera is a key feature.
Hi Nil,
Thanks for the follow up information/reporting here. I have been told several times this last week online and in person that Apple ‘invented’ this touchscreen innovation, and I have pointed out that no, Sony-Ericsson did. Thank you for more ammunition on behalf of Sony-Ericsson and HTC.
I am still hoping that Nokia will add touchscreen camera ‘manual’ focus to a firmware update to the N97 and 5800 within the month, as it is too brilliant not to have.