12 Megapixel Camera, HD Video to Mobile Phones
NEC Electronics Corp has developed a system LSI that it claims will bring a high picture quality comparable with that of digital still cameras to camera-equipped mobile phones. Named “CE143″ and set for launch in March 2009, the CE143 has basic image processing functions and, with a combination of a CMOS image sensor, and adds camera functionality to a mobile phone. It also integrates an image stabilizer, shading correction and other functions, according to NEC Electronics. This enables mobile phones to take photos at a resolution of up to 12 Mpixels and output full-HD video. Touted to have face detection technology as well, the time required for the detection is however, reduced to 1/25 that of the company’s existing product. The LSI also incorporates NEC’s proprietary single-frame super resolution technology, which was developed to reduce image blur and degradation during digital zooming, as an IP core. NEC Electronics plans to start mass-production from April 2009 with a monthly output of one million pieces. The company will exhibit the new system LSI at Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, Spain from Feb 16 to 19, 2009.