Sony Ericsson Packs In the Pixels With New Camera Phone

Most camera phones are thought of as cellphones that also happen to be able to take pictures. Sony Ericsson’s new C905a Cyber-shot turns the tables; it’s an 8.1-megapixel camera that also happens to be able to make phone calls. It joins the Samsung Memoir, another recent offering, in raising the cellphone megapixel ante.

Sony Ericsson More about Sony Ericsson is aiming to polish the image of cellphone cameras, which are typically associated with low-resolution, poorly lit, badly focused snapshots. The company’s new C905a Cyber-shot camera phone, available through AT&T (NYSE: T) More about AT&T on Sunday, features an 8.1 megapixel camera.

Sony Ericsson is aiming to polish the image of cellphone cameras, which are typically associated with low-resolution, poorly lit, badly focused snapshots. The company’s new C905a Cyber-shot camera phone, available through AT&T (NYSE: T) More about AT&T on Sunday, features an 8.1 megapixel camera.

This will be at least the second camera phone in the U.S. market offering over 8 megapixels; recently Samsung More about Samsung announced the Memoir, available through T-Mobile More about T-Mobile.

The Sony Ericsson C905a Cyber-shot will be priced at US$179.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement, and it will be available both online and at AT&T stores.

Many of its features are similar to those of the Samsung Memoir.

The Lowdown on the C905a

Sony Ericsson’s new Cyber-shot is a slider 3G phone with dedicated camera buttons and shortcuts.

It incorporates several features more often associated with pocket digital cameras than with phones that also happen to have cameras. It has a 2.4-inch, scratch-resistant, mineral glass camera screen; face detection; a Xenon flash with red-eye reduction; and Smart Contrast. For still shots, it has BestPic technology, which captures seven successive photos with one click so users can select the best one.

Users can record videos and share real-time streaming videos through AT&T Video Share.

Other features include an FM radio, mobile email and double your sales in 12 months., instant messaging and music playback. Users can do over-the-air music downloads through Napster Mobile and eMusic Mobile via AT&T Music.

Users can also print pictures directly to PictBridge-compatible printers or upload them to computers with a USB cable, which is included with the device.
The Tech Specs
The C905a measures 4.1 by 1.9 by 0.7 inches and weighs 4.8 ounces. It has a 240 by 320 pixel color TFT (thin film transistor) QVGA screen and is available in black, silver and gold.

The C905a has 160 MB of memory and comes with a 2-GB M2 stick (Memory Stick Micro). The actual amount of free memory will depend on how the phone is preconfigured.

Some reviewers have spanked the C905a for using the M2 stick, which they contend is not as widely used as the SD and micro SD card formats.

AT&T did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Credits: TechNewsWorld /