Ericsson: cellphones to record 1080p by 2012
updated 11:45 am EST, Fri November 7, 2008
Ericsson on Cellphone Cams
Ericsson late yesterday outlined its plans for future cellphones that will make HD video a crucial part of the future. The Swedish company says its current projections will result in cellphones by 2012 with cameras as sharp as 12 to 20 megapixels that will also have the processing power behind them to record full HD video, or 1080p. This target phone should also have a roughly 1024x768 display resolution and could thus play its own footage much closer to its native resolution than would be possible today.
To make this feasible, the processor and network connection will also reportedly speed up. A 1GHz core is seen as likely and should be matched by the full launch of 4G Internet access using Long Term Evolution (LTE), which will top 100Mbps. Merging all the technologies will give users a cellphone with network and visual performance that would have been high-end for a desktop computer, camera or Internet connection a few years ago or even today, according to Ericsson.
Confidence in reaching the goals comes from existing or imminent technology. While current HSPA tops out at 7.2Mbps downstream, HSPA+ (also known as HSPA Evolution) should boost that speed up to 21Mbps as early as late 2008 thanks to a Telstra rollout in Australia. Several celpphones, such as the Samsung Pixon and competing phones from LG and Sony Ericsson, already have eight-megapixel cameras while many mid-range or lower phones have 3.2- and five-megapixel sensors.
No mention is made of whether Ericsson's phone concept is specifically in the works by its related company Sony Ericsson or whether it expects third-party firms to also reach these objectives at the same time.
probably conservative
11/07, 01:04pm reply
2012 is a long way off in technology terms. Those projections shouldn't surprise anyone. Excite people, sure, but not surprise.
malax
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Joined: Aug 2006
world ends
11/07, 01:44pm reply
Just in time before the world ends. ;-)
bhuot
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Joined: Nov 2003
do we really need 1080p?
11/07, 01:54pm reply
Do we really need our cellphones to be able to record in 1080p seriously??? can't they focus on something more practical how about longer battery life? better usability??
bleee
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Joined: Mar 2002
bleee
11/07, 04:06pm reply
Leave that to Apple. Others may continue to improve upon their press material bullet points (feature upon feature upon feature); Apple will continue to deliver an iPhone that's easy to use and has a practical battery life.
vasic
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Joined: May 2005
In three years?
11/07, 04:10pm (1 reply) reply
Three years ago, good cellphones had 2 megapixel cameras. They had pretty crappy video capturing.
The megapixel count has increased, but video is still crappy.
I cannot imagine a cellphone with enough muscle and power efficiency that could process AVCHD in real time in just three years. Same goes for 3G (or 4G) bandwidth. The pace simply isn't there (except maybe for Japan and Korea).
Eventually, we'll get there, but not in three years.
vasic
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wrong math
11/07, 06:33pm reply
Apple iphone currently has 600hmz (but using 400mhz) processor, in 3 years the processor speed should be over 2ghz, not 1ghz. I guess iPhone might have 2ghz processors while Ericsson phones only have max of 1ghz.
100Mbps on a cell phone seems to be pure speculation, due to regulation hurdles and time required to deploy equipment. Limited area perhaps, but definitely not wide spread in the US.
dliup
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Great!
11/09, 07:53am reply
Just yesterday I saw a couple of teens in a car in a parking lot, and the guy behind the wheel was doing a funky dance, and the girl was laughing up a storm and capturing it on video. Soon to be on YouTube, I'm sure.
But just imagine how much better that will be when it is Hi-Def!
testudo
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