Close-up of a CCD camera chip

There seems to be an increasing obsession amongst mobile phone users about the number of pixels the camera has, in what has become many people’s primary method of communication (I can’t remember the last time I wrote a letter!).

Facebook and Twitter aside for the moment, most of us text and phone *lots*

But what about the camera that comes with our phone? Well, I enjoy posting photos on Twitpic, Facebook etc – but do I need an 8 or 12 megapixel camera to do this? And are more pixels necessarily better?

The simple answer is “No” and “No”.

Let me explain why – and if you think about it, the answer is quite obvious. The main factor that contributes to the quality of your final image is the size of the lens that’s in front of the imaging chip (aka ‘CCD Chip’ for the supernerds like me).

The CCD chip in the photo here is normally attached to a lens which is about 10cm across. That’s around 20 times wider than the lens on your average cameraphone. This chip is actually used to take colour photos of the night sky and the lens is at the front of a 4 inch diameter telescope. The images are great, and that’s mainly because the lens can gather lots of light. Unlike the average cameraphone.

There are two other important factors that determine the image quality too: the size of the tiny pixels that make up the chip, and the quality of the hardware that turns the signals produced by the CCD chip into shades of grey and colour in the final electronic version of the original object.

If the pixels are too small, the chip won’t be very sensitive to low light levels. If the pixels are too large, then the images will quickly appear blocky when they blown up to A3 or A2 size.

It turns out that the total size of the chips in most cameraphones is more or less the same – this is because the lenses have to be quite small to fit into the camera body.

So, if you have a cameraphone with more pixels – eg, an 8 megapixel camera instead of a 5 megapixel camera, for example, the former CCD chip might have smaller pixels. So it could be less sensitive to light. And images in low light can quickly appear very ‘grainy’, which isn’t particularly nice to look at.

In bright light, a less sensitive CCD chip will need a slower shutter speed in order to gather the same amount of light that a more sensitive camera will pick up with no problem. So a less sensitive camera will be more likely to blur.

In reality, of course, it isn’t as straightforward as this, because an awful lot happens in the camera’s hardware to clean up the images, and compensate for sudden movements (ie  ‘camera shake’).

So, before you shout yah-boo at 8 or 12 Megapixel cameras, just remember that the manufacturers are well aware of these issues too, and will think of all sorts of clever ways to squeeze as much quality out of the original light hitting the CCD chip as possible.

But the takeaway thought is this: Don’t get obsessed with megapixels! It’s mainly a marketing tactic to get us to upgrade sooner, so please don’t fall for it, OK?

When are you getting your Nokia N97?

….a great overview of some of the capabilities of the N97. Roll-on June

The N97 - changing the way we communicate forever

The Nokia N97 hardware specs have been recently updated on the official Nokia Forum website; click here to view the details.

Or if you’re in a hurry, here’s a summary:

* Dimensions: 4.61 x 2.18 x 0.63 in
* Weight (with battery): 5.29 oz

Keys and Input Method:

* Full slide out keyboard
* Cover keys (S60 keys, Menu key, Send/End keys)
* Touch screen
* 4-way navigation key with center select
* Dedicated camera and volume keys

Memory:

* microSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 16 GB
* Internal memory: up to 32 GB

Connectivity:

* Bluetooth version 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate (designed to meet Bluetooth specification 2.0 supporting the following profiles: A2DP, AVDTP, AVRCP, BIP, DUN, FTP, GAP, GOEP, HFP, HID, HSP, OPP, PBAP, SAP, SDP)
* TV out jack
* Support for local and remote SyncML synchronization
* High-Speed USB 2.0 (micro USB connector)
* 3.5 mm AV connector

Accessibility:

* Hearing Aid Compatibilty Rating: M3

The big news is that the hardware platform remains essentially unchanged, which I know will frustrate some Nokia fans. I view it differently: Nokia, like any other company, are in a constant product-cycle development stream, and the N97 represents the best tweak of current technology without breaking into the higher ground offered by more recent developments (like dual cpu’s for example).

So why have Nokia done this?

I think, apart from the economics, it’s just good business sense: you don’t take huge, un-necessary innovation leaps unless you’re wanting to forge into a completely new market. To do that in the current climate is very brave, and maybe not totally necessary.

Think about it like this: product development can only go, to a large extent, in incremental steps to maximize the trade-off between revenue and cost. And in these current times, that’s the difference between survival and business death. I know which I’d prefer!

Want the Latest Tips & Offers on the N97?

Enter your email address below & we’ll keep you posted.

We will NOT sell, distribute, or disclose your email address to any 3rd-party or use it in any way other than to send you updates on the launch and offers on the Nokia N97 Phone. You can unsubscribe from this service at any time.

* Touch display (3.5″ of it) which slides and tilts to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard plus d-pad for easy navigation.
* 5 Megapixel Camera
* Videophoning
* Carl Zeiss integrated optics coupled with a dual LED flash
* A massive 32GB of internal memory with Micro SD (up to 16Gbytes) support for further memory expansion
* Integrated Assisted GPS
* WiFi and HSDPA
* DVD quality video capture and 16:9 display
* TV-Out
* FM Transmitter

The N97 is a cutting edge smartphone that includes support for their OVI service as well as the Nokia Music Store. Nokia have called the N97 “the most advanced mobile computer” and have done well to keep ahead of current mobile phone usability trends. With more and more people using their phones to browse the net, to access email accounts and share photos online we expect that the likes of the N97 will become the most sought-out everyday phone. GPS has also become a standard on handsets and more and more people are expecting their phones to have integrated GPS. Application developers are also aware of this and the number of cool GPS-reliant applications is growing at a phenomenal rate.

Nokia have divulged that the expected release date for the N97 is in the first half of 2009 and is expected to hold a pre-tax price tag of 550 Euros. So if you are wanting to get this handset soon after public release expect to take out a higher tariff package if you want it for free.