Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, OmniVision Technologies announced a new image sensor that will bring RAW shooting capabilities to mobile devices. The new 5-megapixel sensor, based on OmniVision's backside illumination (BSI) technology, can offer the user the ability to work directly with the RAW image data, which should allow for enhanced post-processing to tweak an image after the shot. The new sensor chip is sized to fit the constraints of current mobile phone designs. Besides its RAW shooting potential, OmniVision's new sensor, called the OV5647, can also shoot HD video. The sensor can record 720p video at 60fps, or 1080p video at 30fps. The sensor chip is currently sampling and OmniVision will start mass production in July 2010."

Generally when I think of camera phone devices I think of taking shots when I don't have my point and shoot or my SLR. And of course video is absolutely because you have nothing else to take it with. Now RAW image data and 1080p video? Tons of video will be taken and we'll have the goods to take it with. And now we can take quality pics and enhance them after their taken. I wonder which Windows Phone 7 will be the first to get a camera like what OmniVision is bringing to the table? It also makes me wonder what the price will be. 2010's shaping up to be a great tech year!

Product Category: 3.5G GPS PDA Phone

Manufacturer: Pharos USA

Where to Buy: Expansys [affiliate]

Price: $479.99 USD

System Requirements: Runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Specifications: Qualcom MSM7201-90 processor running @ 400Mhz, 128M of RAM, 256M of ROM, 2.8in VGA TFT screen w/LED lighting, Quad band GSM/GPRS, triband UMTS/HSDPA up to 7.2Mb/s, 2.0 megapixel rear camera + 0.3 megapixel front camera for video calls, 802.11b/g, GPS, USB 2.0, BT2.0+EDR, microSD slot w/SDHC compatibility, stereo audio and TV out via 2.5mm jack. 1410mAh Li-Ion replaceable battery. Weight is 136g (4.8oz) with battery. Dimensions: 113m (4.4in) x 58mm (2.3in) x 15mm (0.6in) Full specifications are available here.

Pros:

• Beautiful, crisp, clear VGA screen;

• Great battery life;

• Standard 2.5mm headphone jack, which also doubles as TVOut.

Cons:

• Stylus is too small to be usable;

• Trackball needs to be more precise/consistent in action;

• SD card access is difficult and cover could break with use;

• 2 megapixel, fixed focus camera is not up to current expectations.

Summary:

The Traveler series is a new lineup of GPS-enabled 3.5G smartphones from Pharos, makers of the Ostia navigation software. Pharos has very kindly provided us with units to review the entire new lineup, so you'll be seeing the rest of the family over the next few months. Based on the numbering, you might think of the Traveler 117 as the entry unit to the series, but it includes an impressive array of features and a very sleek, professional design. What surprised me the most was the VGA screen and the substitution of a trackball for the 5-way navigation D-Pad!

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"If you read my blog then you'll probably realise that I can be a little nuts at times. Every now and then I like to do some weird things with my Windows Mobile... Yesterday I decided to do something a bit more bizarre and plonked my HTC phone onto the carriage of a toy train set. "What?" I hear you cry. Well, I was helping my nephew with his train-set while Emily gave our son a bath, so I decided to film it because it was, quite possibly, the longest track we'd ever made... Yes, it's a little nuts, but this is what happens when you have kids ;)"

Tired of sitting around and twiddling your thumbs while we all patiently wait for the release of Windows Mobile 7? Well here is a little something to pass the time and maybe even give you a chuckle. Gears from CoolSmartPhone.com has attached his Windows Mobile HTC handset to a electronic train set and has sent it down one of the longest toy train tracks I have ever seen constructed. It just goes on and on and on. You can see one of the videos above. To see the second clip point your browsers this way.

Our pal, Arne, over at the::unwired, has stress tested the cameras of four of the latest and greatest Windows Mobile devices: the HTC Touch Diamond, the HTC Touch Pro, the Samsung Omnia, and Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1. If camera quality means a lot to you, hit the link to see what Arne has to say.