12 Megapixel Camera phones on the horizon: Could be as early as April!

With the dust finally starting to settle after the flurry of 8 Megapixel camera phones that launched late last year, it’s time to take a look forward to see what 2009 has in store for those snap happy camera phone fanatics amongst us. You know who you are. The first feature that is most likely due for upgrade is inevitably the Megapixel count. Sony recently launched a press release stating that it had completed development on a new type of CMOS image sensor that offers the industry’s smallest unit cell size and highest Megapixel count with up to 12.25 Megapixel available. 12 Megapixel camera phones? You bet. It’s also rumoured that Samsung are working on a 12 Megapixel sensor of their own to rival that of Sony’s, which sounds believable as, if we cast our minds back, Samsung were the first to launch an 8.0 Megapixel cameraphone in Europe with theSamsung i8510.

But, as any camera enthusiast will no doubt tell you, it’s not all about Megapixel count. So what else can we expect camera phones of 2009 to be armed with? With Face and Smile detection already available on the likes of the Samsung Pixon, LG Renoir andSony Ericsson C905, what else is left? Well, if we take a look at the digital camera world, quite alot. Multiple face detection is a likely addition whereby the camera will recognise and focus multiple targets rather than just one. Red eye correction which is fairly self explanatory could also feature and personally, as a previous owner of the Nokia N93, i think optical zoom would be a welcome addition. Digital cameras also feature a much wider range of selectable scenes to ensure you get the best results in every situation. Anti Blur and noise reduction are also two features that are big in the digital camera world and ripe for the transition over to the camera phone world.

The above is of course nothing more than speculation until someone comes out and says what they intend to do with the aforementioned 12 Megapixel sensors. What we do know is that this year promises to be an exciting one in the development of camera phones and, if industry insiders are anything to go by, could be on the market as early as April! Yes, this April!

As ever, keep an eye on the Blog for phone news and updates and keep your eyes and ears open for the announcement of the first 12 Megapixel camera phone!