Reiter's Camera Phone Report

N82 videos: Nokia discusses WiMAX/4G, multimedia hosting during CTIA show

I recorded a few videos with my Nokia N82 camera phone during the CTIA’s Wireless 2008 conference in Las Vegas.  I posted one video to YouTube and Vimeo and the second video just to Vimeo because it’s more than 100 MB and more than ten minutes, which is over the time and file size limits for YouTube.

At Wireless 2008, Nokia officially announced its WiMAX-enabled N810 Internet Tablet.  I got to play with it very, very briefly.  It’s almost identical to the N810, but the keys feel a bit nicer; they seem slightly easier to push.  Also, there’s a small “hump” on the back of the device that, I think, is where the WiMAX radio is located.

(I’ll be writing more about WiMAX in less than a week.  Stayed tuned.)

3G, WiMAX, LTE

The first video (Vimeo only; see below) is with Victor Brilon, Nokia’s senior product manager – home networking solutions – for convergence products, who discusses a variety of subjects, including bandwidth versus pricing, the HAVA player (that is similar to the Slingbox and works with the WiMAX N810), the relationship between 3G, LTE and WiMAX and open wireless networks.

Also participating in the conversation is Jeb Brilliant, the president of Brilliant Expos, who is rather plugged in (or “unplugged”) into wireless developments, and Mark Squires, Nokia’s director of communications for social networks, who is helping launch Nokia weblogs (more about that in another article). 

Jeb’s the one with the beard on the right and Mark’s in the middle.  Victor (on the left) does most of the speaking and is wearing a sports or suit jacket.

The video was shot in a meeting room at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the video quality is really rather good — when you’re viewing the original file in QuickTime.  The audio is good for the two participants closest to the camera — Victor and Jeb — but Ray’s voice is muted because he’s farther away. 

I have told Nokia executives — and would like to tell them again and again — that they’ve got to offer a better way to record audio, such as an optional adapter for an external microphone.

Ovi video

The second video, posted on YouTube and on Vimeo (see below), is with Serena Glover, one of the founders of the multimedia hosting/sharing/social networking site Twango that Nokia purchased and now calls Ovi.  Serena discusses capabilities she’d like Ovi to offer while she’s at Wireless 2008, such as being able to see photos and videos of friends/colleagues who are at the conference.

Serena also discusses distribution and openness, including sharing and viewing content without having to become a member of the site.  Rafe Blandford, the editor of the great All About Symbian Web site, does most of the talking with Serena.

As with the other N82 video I just posted, the video quality is excellent — if you’re viewing the original file — rather than the downgraded quality on the Web.  So, don’t judge the true quality of the N82 from what you see on the Web.

First video with my Nokia N82 five megapixel, 30 fps camera phone

Yesterday I posted some of my first photos from the Nokia N82 five megapixel camera phone, and very early this morning — when it was still dark outside and raining — I shot my first video with the phone (see below).

I shot it with the best quality (“TV high quality” and “video stabilization”) at 30 frames per second.  I didn’t get a manual with the N82, so I wonder if video stabilization reduces the quality in any way.  I’ll have to check. 

There aren’t too many parameters to set.  I could have changed the settings from “auto” to “night” and used white balance settings of sunny, cloudy, incandescent and fluorescent.

I could also have changed the color balance from normal to sepia, black and white, vivid or negative.  The N82 has a Xenon flash, that’s especially good for taking photographs.

Xenon versus LCD

But for shooting videos, another new Nokia camera phone, the N96, has two LCDs LEDs, rather than the typical one LCD flash or Xenon.  As I wrote last month when I was at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia told me the two LCDs LEDs provide lighting that’s better for videos. 

The N96 will be commercially available later in the year.

First photos from my Nokia N82 five megapixel, Xenon flash camera phone

Courtesy of Nokia’s “blogger relations program” I have received Nokia’s new N82 camera phone with a resolution of five megapixels, a Xenon flash and video recording capabilities of 30 frames per second.  I received it Friday afternoon so I haven’t taken a huge number of photos, but I have established a photo album for the handset that includes about 30 photos.

I began taking mundane photos during the day, such as from above a creek with a couple of birds in Chevy Chase, Md. about a 20–minute walk from my house (see below).

But taking photos in relatively good conditions isn’t too much of a challenge.  So I ate dinner while I waited until it was dark outside.  I then took photos of some shops that are a five-minute walk from that creek, such as a photo of the outside of Tiffany’s (see below).

I took several photos of Tiffany’s windows.  Shooting through glass doesn’t always produce the best images (see below).  I might have shot the “red” window with a high contrast, but I’m afraid I don’t remember.

I also took several photos outside of an expensive women’s clothing store, Saks Jandel (see below).

For the photos of Tiffany’s windows and Saks Jandel, I used the “landscape” mode that is also designed for shooting through glass.

I’ll be taking many more photos during the weeks to come as well as testing the video recording capabilities.  I expect to take lots of photos and some videos during the CTIA’s Wireless 2008 conference in Las Vegas at the beginning of April.

Nokia introduces 6220 with Xenon flash, N96 with dual-LED flash

Nokia has introduced several new cellular phones here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and the 6220 Classic has a Xenon flash (see above) and the N96 (see below) has a flash with two LEDs side by side and a "video light."

A month or two ago Nokia introduced the N82, its first handset with a Xenon flash, although other cellular phone manufacturers have offered models with Xenon. This type of flash produces a powerful bright light that's excellent for photos.

The dual LEDs on the N96 -- a successor to the extremely popular feature-rich N95 -- are designed for videos.  The LEDs don't produce as white a light as Xenon, but they are preferably, Nokia tells me, for staying on continuously while taking videos.

Nokia tries to optimize specific components based on the target market and applications.  The 6220 will cost 325 euros ($473) retail and the N96 will cost 550 euros ($801).

PC Magazine reviews Nokia N82 five megapixel camera phone as best

PC Magazine has awarded an “Editor’s Choice” and four stars to the new Nokia N82 five megapixel camera phone (see left) that the editor waxes enthusiastic about because of its high quality photos and videos.

Sascha Segan, the magazine’s lead analyst for cellular phones and PDAs, writes, “Finally, a camera phone that gets the camera part right!  Thanks to the Nokia N82's excellent xenon flash, I'm genuinely comfortable using it to replace my digital camera, and even my camcorder in a pinch.”

The handset features a Carl Zeiss lens and autofocus (see below).  “It's the first camera-phone flash I've tested that's worthy of the name, and lets you take good photos indoors even of moving objects,” Segan says.

The N82 is the first (I think) Nokia phone to incorporate a Xenon flash, that produces a brighter light than typical LED flashes.  A few other handsets, such as at least two from Sony Ericsson, also have Xenon flash.

The lens is covered until it’s manually opened to turn on the camera.  One of my pet peeves about most camera phones is the lack of any type of protection for the lens.

Great photos

Despite the high quality of many of the N82’s photos, Segan says they can’t compare to “top-notch” digital cameras.  However, even comparing a camera phone with a digital camera — and not laughing about it — is a major accomplishment for camera phone technology.

One problem, he says, is “in our outdoor tests, it consistently blew out a bright sky.  Shutter delay varies, depending on whether the camera decides it needs to implement autofocus (this camera really seems to have a mind of its own).

“Without autofocus, shots are pretty much instantaneous; with it, you're forced to wait about a second for the autofocus to lock on.  When it does, pictures are sharp and accurate, and the flash puts images miles ahead of those from every other camera phone we've tested.”

Excellent video quality

Segan says the N82’s video quality is the best he’s ever seen.  “It takes smooth, clear 640-by-480-pixel videos, up to an hour long, at 28 frames per second.”

Many analysts believe the high-end Nokia Nseries handsets take the best videos of any camera phone (although I haven’t seen the quality of the LG Viewty’s 120 frames-per-second videos).  There’s sometimes debate, though, about whether Nokia’s five megapixel photos are better than, for example, the Sony Ericsson five megapixel camera phones.

There’s a lot more to the N82, such as GPS, an accelerometer, an excellent Web browser and WiFi.  But I’m focusing on the imaging capabilities.

I wrote a detailed article about the N82 when it was introduced in November.  The launch was filmed with an N82 and also included interviews with Nokia product managers discussing features.

Testing, testing

As I wrote yesterday in my mobile television weblog, I’m heading out to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week and I hope to be able to post photos and videos taken with…..an N82.

Kurweil, National Federation of the Blind debut Nokia N82 text reading software

Kurzweil Technologies and the National Federation of the Blind have teamed up to develop software that enables Nokia’s new N82 five megapixel camera phone to “read” printed materials that are photographed (see left), the press release says.  The two organizations have created a new venture, K-NFB Reading Technology, that today announced the product that’s part of its text-to-speech Reader Mobile devices that read different types of text ranging from books to currency to address labels.

The release says, “Blind users hear the contents of the document read in clear synthetic speech, while users who can see the screen and those with learning disabilities can enlarge, read, track, and highlight printed materials using the phone’s large and easy-to-read display. 

“The combination of text-to-speech and tracking features makes interpreting text much easier for individuals with learning disabilities.”

Capabilities

According to K-NFB Reading Technology’s Web site, the Reader Mobile line of products:

*  Reads most printed documents, from letters and memos to pages in a book 
*  Reads address labels and package information and instructions
*  Easily recognizes U.S. currency 
*  Displays each sentence visually and highlights each word as it is read
*  Stores thousands of pages using easily obtainable flash memory
*  Transfers text files to and from computers or Braille note takers 
*  Adjusts reading speed to suit user’s preference

Ray Kurzweil has been a pioneer in developing products for the blind for more than 20 years, including optical character recognition and print-to-speech readers (see right).  (He’s involved in a variety of fascinating scientific ventures, such as the integration of the Internet with nanotechnology and the human brain.  I enjoyed the book.)  The Mobile Reader is a great example of benefits of wireless imaging that were never imagined when the first camera phones were introduced in Japan.

Testing FixMyMovie's enhancement software with my Pearl 8120 videos

I wasn’t going to let my technology consulting friend Jim Opfer have all the fun testing MotionDSP’s FixMyMovie’s video enhancement software with his RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120, as I wrote in the previous article.  So I uploaded my own 8120 videos to see whether there was any or much of a difference.

I uploaded three brief videos.  When a video is uploaded, FixMyMovie enhances the first ten seconds and sends an e-mail informing you.  When you click on the link in the e-mail, you may watch those ten seconds and then click to instruct FixMyMovie to finish enhancing the entire video.

Also, the FixMyMovie Web site says it takes a few minutes to process the first ten seconds and, while it’s doing that, you may view still images of the original and enhanced video as a preview of what’s to come.

Three embedded videos

The first video I uploaded is at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and across from the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pond in front of it (see below).  There’s a fair amount of movement as I walk to the sculpture of Lincoln, pan 180 degrees or so around the Memorial and walk to get a shot of the Monument.

The second video was around a man-made pond not far from the Lincoln Memorial and near the Washington Monument (see below).

The third video is at the entrance to Sugarloaf Mountain in Dickerson, Maryland, where there is a small pond.  It was in the fall and the leaves were very colorful.  But the Pearl’s video recording capability is so poor that you really can’t get an idea of how nice it was (see below). 

Yes, I know how to take good videos.  I make sure the lighting is sufficient.  I stand with both hands on the camera to keep it as steady as possible, and when I pan I generally swivel from the waist without moving my legs.  So there!

The Pearl 8120’s two megapixel camera for still photos isn’t bad.  If you want to check out photos of the Washington Monument area (see below) and Sugarloaf Mountain (as well as San Francisco) look at my 8120 moblog, one of a couple of dozen for individual camera phones I test.

(The two megapixel image above would look so much better if it were cropped a bit and lightened slightly with more contrast!  But I don’t do that on my moblogs because I want people to see the true quality, or lack thereof, of each phone’s camera with software enhancements.)

FixMyMovie makes a difference

As I wrote in the previously entry, to view both the original and enhanced videos playing simultaneously, click the second (“compare”) icon to the right of the audio icon of those embedded videos above.  That’s really the best way to determine the differences.

There is a definite difference between the original videos and the videos enhanced by software on FixMyMovie’s server.  The enhanced videos typically are lighter and, sometimes, a bit sharper.  There isn’t much additional sharpening, but you can see it if you watch closely. 

Jim Opfer alerted me to several FixMyMovie features, including the ability to view still photos taken from each video and moving an “enhanced block” in the photo to see the image enhancement within that square block (see below).  This feature may be viewed as a moderately sized image or full-screen.

Split screen comparison

Another feature enables you to move a vertical line from left to right across a still photo to see the original image on the left side and the enhanced image on the right (see below).  As with the “enhanced block,” this split screen feature may be viewed as a moderately sized image or in full screen mode.

The enhanced image of the Washington Monument and the pond is definitely lighter, although there’s not much improvement in the sharpness.

MotionDSP's FixMyMovie enhances video quality from RIM's Pearl 8120

My technology consultant friend, Jim Opfer, alerted me to FixMyMovie, the beta video enhancement site (see below) of MotionDSP, and has posted two “raw” and “enhanced” videos taken with his Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry Pearl 8120.

I’m a big fan of BlackBerrys, and RIM is nice enough to give me lots of their phones to test.  I love the keyboard and e-mail push, and the two megapixel camera and music playing capabilities are good, too.

Also, the quality of viewing videos on the latest BlackBerrys, such as the 81xx series and the Curve 83xx series, is excellent — when the video is recorded by a good camcorder.  I watch video podcasts, such as CrankyGeeks and CNET TV, and they look great. 

However, as I’ve written, I am not a fan of the quality of the video recordings made with the 8120 (see above left), RIM’s first phone with recording capability.  The quality is mediocre, to be kind and, well, often pretty awful.

Enhancing video quality

MotionDSP’s business is image enhancement software, specifically video enhancements.  CNET News has published a good article on MotionDSP, and the company has a partnership with In-Q-Tel, an investment firm allied with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The ability to enhance videos and still photos from videos is, obviously, valuable to the CIA.  In addition, news organizations and other sites that accept consumer videos could benefit from enhancing images, as MotionDSP noted in a press release. 

Of course, video enhancement also is valuable for just plain folks who want to improve the quality of their images, which is what Jim is testing.

Jim posted the original and the FixMyMovie enhanced video taken at a man-made lake near his house.  Click on the “compare” button that’s the second button to the right of the audio icon to view both versions simultaneously (in the embedded version below).

There is a definite difference between the original on the left and the enhanced on the right.  The enhanced video is noticeably brighter, as is very evident for the grass in a still image I clipped (see below).  However, there is only a very, very small improvement (maybe?) in the overall sharpness, and it doesn’t make a difference, at least to my eyes.

Second video enhancement test

However, Jim posted another raw and enhanced video in the rain of two cars in a carport and the enhanced video is not only brighter but it also looks sharper (see below). 

Processing specifics

Jim says FixMyMovie took about 45 minutes to an hour to process the first video at the man-made lake and about 20 minutes to process the second video of the two cars.  He says FixMyMovie sends an e-mail when the processing is completed.

Of course, the e-mail might not have been sent immediately after the processing occurred, and processing Jim’s videos might have not been immediate if they were in queues.  In other words, I don’t know exactly how long it takes to process a video!

The videos are available for viewing on FixMyMovie’s Web site (in private or public mode) and also may be downloaded from the site in QuickTime and Windows Media formats, Jim says.

Researchers develop software to use camera phone as computer mouse

“Researchers at two UK universities have developed prototype software which enables a camera phone to act like a 3D mouse and control a computer,” according to an article in “Camera Core.”

The researchers will present a paper about the software at the International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications in Madeira, Portugal this month.  The cellular phone connects to a computer via Bluetooth and moving the phone moves the cursor on the computer.

The article says, “The user can interact with the computer both by movement and with the phone’s keypad.  The phone can be used to perform tasks such as selecting an image with a phone button, and then resizing the image by moving the phone either away from the screen to make it larger, or towards the screen to make it smaller.”

“Camera Core” says the researchers are exploring other applications, such as using a camera phone to interact with video advertisements.  The concept of moving cellular phones to control computers and other devices isn’t new.  I’ve read about research in this field for many years.

Nokia debuts five megapixel N82 with Xenon flash, A-GPS, geo-tagging, faster imaging

Nokia today introduced its new N82 candy bar handset (see left) that features a five megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, a Xenon flash, faster imaging speeds, recording at 30 frames per second, A-GPS (Assisted-GPS), geo-tagging and automatically switching from landscape to portrait mode when the handset is turned horizontally or vertically.

Nokia is emphasizing the wireless imaging features and the company did a bang-up job of highlighting the phone on the Web with several detailed videos.  Mark Selby, vice president of multimedia at Nokia, was the lead presenter and the video was taken with the N82 (see below).

Geo-tagging

One of the most interesting — perhaps the most interesting — new imaging feature is geo-tagging of images.  This will be available in the first quarter via a software update from Nokia’s site using the Nokia Software Updater.  (I’ve updated the firmware and applications on several Nokia phones and the N800 Internet Tablet and I’ve never had a problem, although that’s not always the case for other people.)

Over the past few years I’ve been asked by a variety of people about geo-tagging camera phone photos for vertical market applications.  When I’ve asked cellular phone manufacturers and cellular operators about this feature, they have always said they know some people want it, but it’s not yet available.

So it will be interesting to see if geo-tagging for business applications becomes important with the N82.  In the video presentation, Selby briefly discussed it in terms of consumers.

Sports Tracker

One application that may be downloaded for free from the N82’s menu is the Sport Tracker that uses GPS to track your running, walking, bicycling, skiing, etc., based on your speed, distance, altitude and other parameters.  It also can be used a pedometer to measure the number of steps you take, for example.

I don’t do much exercise, but I try to walk long distances (three to six miles) and I ride a bike, so this could be useful.  I use Google maps on my various phones to get an idea of the distance I’m walking, but Sports Tracker would, I assume, be much more accurate.

There’s also a camera phone tie-in because you can take photos of your walk, as an example, and the images will be shown in a timeline along your approximate route (see below).  There are many more features of Sports Tracker, including sharing the data with friends and uploading it to a Web site.

Nokia as a company, and Selby in his presentation, emphasizes social networking and sharing.  The N82, for example, bundles software to send images with one click to Flickr, Vox and Twango (that Nokia recently purchased).

Photo quality

Selby details the camera phone characteristics, including showing photos taken with N82 (see below).  However, you can’t really see the quality because of the quality of video on the Web.

Nokia says the N82 produces “DVD-like” video quality, as it has said about a few other of its handsets, such as the N95.  Frankly, I don’t think it’s anywhere near that good, but Nokia’s handset video recording capabilities typically are the best (or close to it) of any camera phone.

Other N82 videos

Nokia has posted several videos of the N82, including a demonstration by Tomoharu Yazawa, a product manager for the N82, who discusses imaging and GPS capabilities.  He shows off the Xenon flash by taking a few photos of the camera crew that’s using N82s to video record his presentation (see below).

He also emphasizes, as Shelby did (see below), the faster speed of taking photos with the new handset compared to typical camera phones.

Two other videos will be posted to the site tomorrow (November 15).

One feature I like is the N82 has a shutter cover (see below).  When the cover switch is pushed down, the camera automatically starts, as it also does with the N95.  The original N95 has a shutter cover, but the newest version, the N95 with 8 GBs of internal storage, does not.

I’m a big believer in covering camera phone lenses, as I’ve written previously.  Indeed, it’s probably more important to cover a camera phone lens than even a “regular” camera because phones often are put in pockets, purses, etc. where there’s a good possibility of them getting dirty and scratched.

Pricing

The N82 will be available in several regions of the world this month but not, as is typical, in the United States.  Nokia’s press release says it will be about 450 euros or $656 at today’s insane rate for the euro.

Price notwithstanding, this looks like a great phone.  My favorite must-carry phone for e-mail is the Research in Motion BlackBerry Curve 8320, but my favorite multimedia-rich phone is the Nokia N95 slider with its five megapixel camera (although the Curve is rather good for listening to music and watching video podcasts, and in early 2008 it have video recording capability through a software update).

I hope I’m able to test the N82.  It could be a replacement for the N95 because the N82 seems to be able to do more than the N95 in a smaller, thinner package.