textamerica to offer full size images for its moblogs

Moblog hosting company textamerica will enable moblog viewers to see the original -- i.e., the complete image -- from one megapixel camera phones.

Textamerica has offered this feature on one of my moblogs where I post photos only from Sprint's new 1.3 megapixel Pantech & Curitel camera phone. A few of my photos can be viewed this way.

You would click on a thumbnail image to see the "Full size image" to see a larger version of the photo and then, below that image, click on the link that says, "Original Image."

Mediocre quality

If you want to check out this feature, click here to see a "Full size image" and the click on the "Original Image" link (see below). You'll see a poor photo of a friendly Safeway clerk sitting outside the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Bethesda, Md.

I have been saying that the 1.3 megapixel images from the Sprint phone are "mediocre." But I think it's fair to change that description to "poor."

I assume Sprint will offer a few more camera phones by the end of the year and I also assume some of those phones will produce images that are worthy of the "1.3 megapixel" label -- unlike the Pantech & Curitel handset, unfortunately.

How to or whether to charge

Textamerica is now deciding how to market the new "original image" feature. Should it offer the feature for free to people who pay a subscription fee for moblog hosting or offer it as an extra cost option?

Comments

[alfie]

It's something we've been considering too, with then advent of powerful European counterparts such as the Nokia 7610 and S700i, megapixel level moblogging is upon us. In the states you guys seem to have the advantage of flat data rates on many providor packages, here unforunately, its not the case. This really means that true moblogging at the megapixel level is not cost effective.

That said, we do use full size image options on our camera Phone contrast moblogs : Moblog accesible from the front page, and are conisdering rolling it out for people who donate.

[Brian]

Well some time soon camera phone quality will be up to par but atleast we are seeing improvements being made. I'm happy with my VX7000 @ 640x480 because it gets the job done. I'm not impressed with the new Audivox 1.3 megapixel but than again it's one of the first to come to the states.

http://northlan.org

[Tom Karches]

Almost all the photos look look crappy. I'll take the lower res pictures from my Nokia 3650 :

http://tomoblog.textamerica.com

anyday over the Audiovox pictures. This just goes to show that bigger isn't automatically better.

[Brian]

I say they should charge. They do more than enough now for free. Of course your still going to have the people wanting free service, but than your going to have the people that will be welling to pay for more customization and bandwidth. If I ran TA I would include it in with the current subscriptions or raise cost a little to host bigger image sizes.