Tuesday, February 12, 2008

How do I choose the perfect camera phone? What features do I look for?
by: From the Mobile Imaging & Printing Consortium

1. Camera Resolution

   Printing a good quality photo on a 4" x 6" paper requires at least a 2 megapixel camera phone. Higher resolution is better for producing more detailed photos. VGA (640x480) quality will not be good enough for photo quality prints. 1.3 megapixel cameras may sometimes produce an acceptable quality, but many times they may not.

2. Bluetooth

   Many people are already familiar with Bluetooth as a way to use a cell phone with Handsfree features or with a Headset. Bluetooth may also be used to print photos wireless if you have a Bluetooth capable printer. However, not all Bluetooth capable phones support printing. Look for a phone that has a "Print" feature or "Send" feature that can send a photo to a Printer via Bluetooth. For a list of photo printers with Bluetooth capability, refer to the MIPC Product Guide at www.mobileprinting.org. Some printers may require an optional Bluetooth adapter to enable this feature.

3. Memory Card

   Standard memory on a typical cell phone does not have a large memory capacity for storing many photos-so make sure that your phone supports Memory Cards. Memory cards come in a variety of formats, e.g. microSD, miniSD, memory stick, etc. The number of photos that a memory card can store depends on the capacity of the card and the photo resolution.

   As a rough guide, a 2 megapixel camera (512MB card) will store approximately 1000 photos depending on the specific phone and the types of pictures taken. Memory cards can be easily inserted, but may require removal of a special cover. A camera phone with an easily removable memory card will allow for quick printing to a photo printer with a built-in memory card reader.

4. PictBridge

   PictBridge is a standard way for camera phones to print photos by connecting to a printer using an USB cable. This custom cable is typically supplied with your camera phone, but can be purchased separately.

5. Other Features

   Some high-end phones are now starting to include features like optical zoom, xenon flash, and auto focus. These features will help you take better pictures with your camera phone.

6. Carrier Network

   More carriers are allowing photos taken by camera phones to be printed directly to a printer without going through their network service. Check with your carrier to see if your particular phone supports direct camera phone printing.

   The best thing about a camera phone is that you are usually carrying it; so you are always ready whenever an photo opportunity occurs!

Note: A Message from MIPC

We make printing from camera phones simple, seamless, and intuitive. We are a global consortium that fosters collaboration across the technologies involved in mobile printing. We are the Mobile Imaging & Printing Consortium.
www.mobileprinting.org