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Altek to offer 14MP phone

May 31, 2010 By

A camera that is also a phone from Altek.

Camera manufacturer Altek labels its upcoming “Leo” as a professional camera phone – with a 3x optical zoom, 14 megapixel CCD, and 720p HD video capture.

“Picture taking has already risen to become one of the most important mobile phone functions for consumers,” the company says. “Phones able to capture high definition, high quality images and video are a win-win for users as well as telecommunication service providers, as the latter can anticipate rising bandwidth usage rates when users share images remotely.”

It will launch in June, with WiFi and 3.5G connectivity.

Filed Under: Mobile & Internet, Spotlight Tagged With: ,

Museum of London overlays historic AR

May 31, 2010 By

Futuristic technology shows the past clearly: The Museum of London has developed an augmented reality application that overlays historic photographs atop real-time modern city streets as they are viewed with a phone’s camera and display.

London AR

Futuristic technology shows the past clearly...

The free StreetMuseum iPhone app is part of the Museum’s new Modern London exhibit, billed as five new galleries that “tell the story of London and its people from 1666 to the present day. 7,000 objects, show-stopping interactive, specially designed family areas, film and changing displays, transport you through the capital’s tumultuous history, rich with drama, triumph and near disaster.”

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Microsoft takes out Tags

May 31, 2010 By

Using its mobile barcode technology, 1 billion tags have been printed by people and businesses all over the world, Microsoft says, and in the month of April alone, more than 20 million magazines with tags were in the hands of U.S. consumers.

In Amsterdam, for example, tours feature Tags on monuments, museums, restaurants, bars, and other landmarks.

“Today we can imagine a world where any physical object can become a gateway to a world of digital content and engagement,” Microsoft says. “Scan a product in a newspaper, get a personalized offer, buy it on the spot, or get directions to the store to buy it later. Or, scan a poster for a play, see a preview of the performance, invite friends, and buy tickets.”

Launched in beta eighteen months ago, the basic “Tags” service is now free of charge for anyone to generate and use Tags that link to standard scenarios, Microsoft says, such as linking directly to web pages. The reader application for most smart phones is available at no cost at Tag.Microsoft.com.

Microsoft says it plans to offer “the ability to create more powerful solutions through a variety of value-added services, such as advanced reporting and analytics and real-time location services.”

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Everlater offers travel photo books printed at RPI

May 31, 2010 By

Travel memory books can be created with a single mouse click, as social networking site Everlater partnered with RPI to offer personalized photo books made from customer’s online travel journals.

Everlater, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, helps travelers record and share their experiences with family and friends.  Members map their trips, add photos, videos and stories to free travel blogs, and share them across the web to multiple social networks.  Now Everlater’s  travel photo books collect and publish travelers’ digital snapshots into custom coffee table books.

The books are manufactured at RPI within three business days, and shipped directly to the customer.

“We’ve always thought the explosive growth of social networking sites could present new opportunities,” RPI says, “so with the vacation season right around the corner, we jumped at the chance to work with Everlater to reach travelers already sharing their photos and journals online.”

RPI is an automated manufacturer of consumer-aimed, mass-customized, make-on-demand printed products. The company is headquartered outside of Seattle, WA.

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3D effects for iPad

May 31, 2010 By

Juicy Bits calls 3D Camera Studio “the easiest way to create your own 3D photos.” Already available for the iPhone and iPod touch, the $5 tool is redesigned to take advantage of the larger iPad screen.

3D Camera Studio creates color and grey anaglyph images that are viewed using common red/cyan 3D glasses, stereogram images that are viewed without glasses (in both parallel and cross-eyed configurations), and “wigglegram” images, which produce a simulated 3D effect.

To create a 3D image, left and right photos are selected from the photo album, says the Sammamish, Washington-based company. The two images are repositioned to fix any alignment issues, and to control the apparent depth of the final 3D image. Moving the right image to the right causes it to recede back into the screen, while moving it to the left causes it to “pop out” – and each option is controllable with a button.

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Make phone photos look like plastic toy cam pics

May 31, 2010 By

“Plastic Bullet puts the fun, spontaneity, and surprise of plastic-fantastic toy cameras right into your pocket,” says Red Giant Software. “Just tap to turn your photos into gloriously unpredictable works of art—then tap again to change the look.”

The $2 iPhone app was created by the company’s creative director, photographer Stu Maschwitz – who also works as a video effects supervisor.

“We all take photos with our cell phone cameras, usually with the intention of communicating something emotional to our friends or families. Not just ‘we went to the park today,’ but what it felt like to be at the park,” Maschwitz says. “But as cell phone cameras increase in quality, the images get more clinical, less emotional. They’re too perfect. Plastic Bullet is all about bringing emotion and spontaneity back to mobile photography. The creativity comes in how you respond to the infinite variety of results possible with the app.”

Red Giant Software is based in San Francisco, and publishes a line of photography and video special effects tools.

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Fotolia expands Flixtime video capabilities

May 31, 2010 By

Stock image provider Fotolia says its Flixtime free video creation site signed up more than 20,000 members in its first month, who created over 100,000 free videos.

The company is now expanding the custom video creation capabilities, with image highlighting, video presentation speed control, unlimited copies, sharing, and voiceover.

Users can upload their own photos and videos, or choose royalty-free images provided by Fotolia.

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Phase One acquires Expression Media from Microsoft

May 31, 2010 By

Phase One acquired Microsoft’s Expression Media, a digital asset management application used to catalog and organize photos, video and music.

Microsoft will continue to provide support to retail customers for 90 days.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement was brokered by Microsoft’s IP Ventures program, a vehicle for Microsoft to get technologies into the hands of other businesses, spurring the economy and putting the best innovations in the hands of consumers.

Phase One is an employee-owned company based in Copenhagen.

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Zoran integrates RealD’s 3D format

May 31, 2010 By

Zoran has licensed RealD’s stereoscopic format, and will incorporate support for 3D content delivery and display into its TV, set-top box and Blu-ray products.

Zoran’s TV reference design with integrated RealD 3D support is available now.

“The RealD Format has been adopted by many major consumer electronics companies, and is already being used for live 3D event broadcasts by satellite and cable operators,” Zoran says. “Integrating the RealD format will help Zoran provide cost-effective 3D TV products that will be compatible with today’s HD broadcast infrastructure, and support the coming wave of 3D content in the home.”

RealD says its patented system utilizes filters to multiplex left eye and right eye 3D image streams into a single channel for delivery of high-definition progressive or interlaced 3D video.

Zoran, based in Sunnyvale, California, provides semiconductors for consumer digital imaging and electronics.

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New partners to advance augmented reality

May 31, 2010 By

Canesta and YDreams are working together to “define next generation augmented reality and bring it to the broad market,” the companies say.

By using Canesta’s 3D vision sensors, YDreams applications can do real-time capture of any object in 3D, without the aid of any special markers or enhancements.   YDreams says this will “completely change the scope of where and how augmented reality can be used.”

“Augmented reality will change the way we market and use products, communicate and entertain ourselves,” says YDreams. “But, to date, implementing augmented reality solutions has only been possible with very specialized techniques.

Canesta’s single chip CMOS 3D sensors  are designed to use machine vision as an input and control for everyday consumer electronics.

YDreams works on “Natural User Interfaces,” and says its proprietary software combines computer vision, physics simulation, and artificial intelligence.

“One of the most difficult aspects of designing NUI applications has been to create a sense of real world interactions,” the company says. “We envision consumers naturally browsing through digital catalogs, adding to the user experience of ecommerce or being inside movies, delivered by IPTV platforms.”

A video demonstration is here on YouTube.

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3DTV sales to triple

May 31, 2010 By

While 4.2 million 3DTV sets will sell worldwide this year, that number will leap to 12.9 million units next year, predicts iSuppli — and 27.4 million 3DTVs will ship worldwide by 2012.

Impressive figures — but in the overall TV market, the research firm notes, about 170 million LCD TVs will ship this year.

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fring phones make mobile video calls

May 31, 2010 By

Software from fring lets smart phones make free two-way video calls over a WiFi connection.

The London company offers versions for Nokia Symbian S60 and iPhone devices, and now, for Android-based models.

fring says it operates as the users’ mobile social communication hub. “Friends video call, call, chat, share files & experiences on fring and other integrated communities and social networks all through one central profile.”

fring lets users communicate across social networks, mobile operators, device platforms and internet access connections. fring is free to download and free to use.

The company claims millions of users across approximately 200 countries, and more than half a million new users every month.

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Camera penetration still rising

May 31, 2010 By

Digital cameras are expected to reach 81 percent of U.S. households, projects PMA, and the market value is expected to reach $5.2 billion in 2010.

PMA’s U.S. Photo Industry 2010: Review and Forecast Report is now available. The premium edition of the report includes extended forecasts through 2012 and provides a more in-depth look into each product category with pricing, channel shares, and product types.

Other forecasts include:

• Consumers in the United States are expected to make 13.9 billion digital prints in 2010.

•    Touchscreen smart phones and tablets will change imaging.

•    Growth in digital photo printing revenue is now driven by photo cards.

•    More 8-by-10-inch prints are made on home printers than through retail or online businesses.

The premium version is available for $249 for nonmembers and $149 for members.

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Stereovision PC market growth projected

May 31, 2010 By

Close to one million dedicated stereovision 3D PCs will ship in 2010 — but hat number will grow to 75 million by 2014 as S3D becomes ubiquitous, according to Jon Peddie Research.

The higher average selling price is very attractive to PC manufacturers and content suppliers, Peddie notes, and the expected growth rate of revenue in the hardware and content markets is $34 billion by 2014.

Applications that will take advantage of S3D include games, Blu-ray DVD movies, streaming TV, photo editing, home video editing, and professional graphics tools such as CAD and visualization .

“Our forecast is that the S3D market will soar within the next three years based on the expectation that good quality content will be produced, and the incremental cost for S3D will diminish, if not disappear,” the Tiburon, California company says.

The “Stereovision in PCs” report is available for $2,995.

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Lensbaby refines control

May 31, 2010 By

The “Control Freak” creative effects SLR camera lens from Lensbaby is optimized for macro photography with extensive focus control, the company says.

Photographers can compress and bend the $350 lens to find their desired focus, and then lock it in place with the push of a button. Once locked, users can fine tune their focus using the fine focus ring and fine tune the tilt by rotating the knobs on the end of the Control Freak’s three metal rods.

“The Lensbaby Control Freak is the ideal lens for the macro or tabletop photographer who has a methodical, step-by-step approach to their creative photography,” the company says. “Every photographer has their own shooting style and Lensbaby now offers a complete system of lenses and optics to please all kinds of photographers.”

Lensbaby is a Portland, Oregon based lens manufacturer, launched in February 2004.

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Pandigital frames start reading

May 31, 2010 By

Photo frame maker Pandigital enters the eReader market with Novel, a 7-inch display integrated with Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore.

The $200 device has a color touchscreen, and WiFi connectivity. The full-color 800 x 600 resolution and edge-to-edge glass screen also lets customers thoroughly enjoy their digital photos in a virtual album as well as watch video on the go, the company says. It weighs 16 ounces, and has one gigabyte of storage.

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Camera streams full-screen 720p video

May 31, 2010 By

Facevision's camera has built-in compression.

Due to its built-in hardware for H.264 video encoding, faceVsion’s TouchCam N1 is the only Skype-certified webcam that can live stream full-screen 720p HD video, the company claims.

The $119 video camera also features a wide 78-degree field of view lens, and dual built-in microphones, “to deliver a video call experience so real it’s almost like being there.”

“The stunningly clear 720p HD video quality and the super-wide angle lens lets everyone get into the picture,” the company says, “a far cry from typical VGA webcams where participants typically only see a person’s head and shoulders at best.”

FaceVsion Technology USA was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in Fremont, Calif.

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Low-cost stabilizer for SLR video

May 31, 2010 By

Jabilizer camera accessory

Now you can get smooth video shots from a handheld SLR.

Jaybilizer says its latest rig is the first affordable camera stabilizer optimized for shooting high definition video with new SLRs.

The Golden, Colo. company’s $200 stabilizer works like a Steadicam with a pivoting gimbal and counterweights.

“The new generation of HDSLR cameras, like the Canon 5D Mk2 produce stunning video quality with a film-like narrow depth of field and ultra low light capabilities,” says founder Jay Shaffer. “The downside is that these cameras are designed for shooting still photos and are unwieldy for shooting video. The Jaybilizer HDSLR solves this problem and allows photographers and cinematographers to do smooth Steadicam-like “flying” shots.”

Shaffer adds the HDSLR rig is “ideal for wedding and event photographers who are branching out into video and want to achieve the cinematic look.”

The Jaybilizer is optimized for camera and lens combinations that weigh between 1.5 and 4 lbs. It is constructed from steel and aluminum.

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Extra-efficient OLED

May 31, 2010 By

Universal Display claims a new pixel architecture improves energy efficiency and extends the lifetime of OLED displays.

The all-phosphorescent AMOLED display architecture uses a four-color sub-pixel design, adding a light blue sub-pixel to the conventional red-green-blue (RGB) configuration.

The introduction of a light blue sub-pixel can “significantly extend the operational lifetime of an OLED display,” the company says, “and reduce the display’s power consumption by as much as 33 percent, as compared to an RGB OLED display using a fluorescent blue sub-pixel.”

Universal Display is based in Ewing, New Jersey, and was founded in 1994. The company claims exclusive, co-exclusive or sole license rights with respect to more than 1,000 issued and pending patents worldwide.

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Camera + gloves = computer control

May 31, 2010 By

Researchers at MIT are controlling a PC with gestures, thanks to lycra gloves with irregularly shaped and colored patches, and a standard webcam.

Wired reports the gloves cost around a buck to manufacture, and the camera images are compared against a database of gestures for fast recognition.

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Sony improves sensors, OLED display

May 31, 2010 By

Sony Semiconductor detailed a new CCD sensor that uses dual-layer microlenses. An added second microlens layer focuses light into a smaller photodiode area. The 14 megapixel ICX681SQW image sensor has a 1.43µm diagonal pixel size.

Sony has prototyped a flexible organic thin-film transistor, using a new semiconducting material that has eight times the current modulation rate of existing OTFTs. The 432 by 240 pixel screen is built on a thin 20 micron substrate, meaning it can be tightly rolled up.Dual lens refine the image for the sensor's tiny pixels.

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Google debuts video codec, promises TV functions

May 23, 2010 By

The best of TV and the best of the web – in one experience? That’s the claim for Google’s upcoming foray into online video.

“Imagine turning on the TV and getting all the channels and shows you normally watch and all of the websites you browse all day — including your favorite video, music and photo sites,” the company says. “We’re excited to announce that we’ve done just that.”

Currently, the TV lacks the web’s ease of accessing new content, Google says, and the web lacks the high-quality viewing experience TV offers.

Google TV will combine “the TV that you already know” with the Internet. “This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more.”

Google TV is built on its Android and Chrome platforms.

The announcement was made with Sony, which will produce new Google-enhanced TVs, and Logitech, which will make an add-on accessory with HDMI connections and USB ports for current displays.

Also: Saying the web needs an open standard, Google announced its open-source, royalty-free video format, WebM, for encoding and decoding video.

It will compete with the up-and-coming H.264 format, and the dominant Flash.

[“The great thing about standards is that there are so many of them.”]

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HP “transforms” Walmart Photo departments

May 23, 2010 By

HP announced Walmart will install its retail publishing service in 3,600 stores across the United States.

The Walmart rollout marks a more than 300 percent growth of HP’s global retail publishing presence in 2010, the company says.

HP says its front-of-counter “Prints in Minutes” service lets customers pick up orders for prints and creative products within minutes of ordering, or at a later time by using a secure order storage and release feature.

HP says Walmart’s pilot test of the service resulted in improved customer satisfaction and the ability to better address high-volume photo orders.

The unattended system allows retailers like Walmart to increase photo center traffic and revenue from high-margin products without dedicated labor.

The system is based around the Photosmart PM2000e Microlab printer.

It also includes a “pinch-book” photo book assembly process, rather than a glue system, which eliminates the need for additional finishing equipment, HP says, and provides the customer with the flexibility to change or add pages to their photo book at any time.

Filed Under: Industry, Spotlight Tagged With: ,

Video Conferencing Via Robot

May 23, 2010 By

“Telepresence robots” can eliminate business travel and even commuting to work, claims Anybots.

This robot features a camera, microphone and screen for video conferencing.

Instead of driving to and from work every day, use one its camera-enabled robots. “Join meetings, pop into people’s cubicles, greet visitors, or see what they’re building in the lab.”

The “QB” robot has a speaker, microphone, five megapixel video camera, and screen. It connects to the internet over Wi-Fi. It is controlled from a computer in a web browser, using a headset and screen. QB glides around on two wheels at 3.5 mph

Real-time video from the robot’s head camera is seen by the user, “so you know where you are,” the company says. “Most people get used to it in a few minutes.”

The robot has no arms or hands – just a laser pointer. [That’s pointer, not death ray.]

Four computer keyboard arrow keys make the robot turn, or go forward & back. Its built-in guidance system – LIDAR with a 2-meter range – takes care of avoiding furniture & people and gliding straight through doorways.

If you have a camera you can show live video of yourself, “or you can show a still picture on bad hair days,” says Anybots.

What’s more, you can “Put a robot in each building you need to be in,” the company adds. “From your desk, you can jump into an Anybot with one click.”

The company says its QB is the first professional-quality mobile proxy robot. “Unlike standard video conferencing, the remote person is always in control, and so never gets left behind when the team continues the discussion in the hallway.”

The robot weighs 35 pounds and fits in a car seat. No installation is required, nor a dedicated conference room: QB works over WiFi, and stands in a corner when idle.

It will cost $15,000 this Fall, but “business travel is expensive,” counters the company. “And beyond saving air fare, QB saves wasted hours and avoids the hassles and hazards of travel.”

The company quotes Dataquest as reporting that the value of the video conferencing market is set to post a compound annual growth rate of 17.8 percent between 2008 and 2013, rising from $3.8 billion to $8.6 billion.

Anybots was founded in 2001, and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.

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Website for wearable action camera footage

May 23, 2010 By

Online retailer MyPOV360.com says it “showcases awe-inspiring videos and provides an open forum with video filming tips.”

The company says the “wearable action camera market continues to grow exponentially.” Its new MyPOV360.com site is aimed at consumers purchasing their first point-of-view camera, it says, and provides “in-depth product reviews for each brand and sample video footage, plus side-by-side comparisons weighing pros and cons for the end user.”

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