Pelican Imaging’s 16-lens array camera coming to smartphones next year

Pelican Imaging's 16lens, lownoise, focusfree camera coming to smartphones next year

After yesterday’s news about Nokia investing in Pelican Imaging’s plenoptic camera system, it was hard not to feel impatient about exactly when this technology might arrive in real, commercially available smartphones. Well, we have an update on that front: although the company’s CEO, Chris Pickett, wouldn’t tell us which OEM(s) he’s been talking to, he did say that his product is currently being trialed by device manufacturers and is scheduled to be part of at least one new smartphone launching in 2014. Now, this next bit is pure speculation on our part, but given that carrier testing alone can take six months, and we’re already nearly halfway through 2013, this strongly implies that a hardware deal has already been inked — which means next year could potentially bring the biggest news in smartphone cameras since the eternally underappreciated Nokia PureView 808. Speaking of which, Pelican Imaging also has some intriguing things to say about what could happen if its array camera was paired with Nokia’s PureView technology — read on for more.

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Nokia to invest in ‘array’ mobile cameras that use small lenses to capture big images

Nokia plans to invest in a mobile 'array' camera startup called Pelican

If the name “Pelican Imaging” rings a bell, it’s possibly because we covered the company’s array imaging camera prototype back in 2011. The technology uses multiple lenses that are relatively tiny in terms of how much space they take up in a mobile device, but which work together to capture an image of the same quality as a much larger camera — just as array telescopes replace the need for one huge telescope. Now, it appears we weren’t the only ones taking an interest, because Nokia’s investment wing has revealed to Bloomberg that it’s been watching the startup since 2008 and is currently planning to invest in it. Bo Ilsoe, of Nokia Growth Partners, describes Pelican’s technology as being “on the cusp of being commercialized” — so who knows? One day, a future Lumia might house 41 megapixels, image stabilization and the voodoo known as plenoptics. In the meantime, there’s a video after the break which sort of explains how the technology sucks in enough data to allow for focus to be adjusted after a picture is taken — a trick which also sounds rather familiar.

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Source: Bloomberg

The World’s Largest Telescope Array Is Now Peering Into the Sky

ALMA has arrived, and she is enormous. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, was officially opened today in the high desert of the Chilean Andes. Guests including the president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, gathered to celebrate the the largest ground-based astronomical project in the world. More »

Boost Mobile announces Samsung Galaxy Rush with Android 4.0, available late September for $150

Boost Mobile announces Samsung Galaxy Rush with Android 40, available late September for $150

Boost Mobile is in New York City today to take the wraps off of its new fall lineup, and in addition to the Galaxy S II 4G, it’ll be joined by the Samsung Galaxy Rush, a small (but slightly souped-up) smartphone that sports Android 4.0. Noteworthy specs include a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen and a 3-megapixel camera. While built-in storage is limited to just 2GB, users will find a microSD slot for expansion. The phone also sports a rather healthy battery, which weighs in at 1,750mAh. According to Boost, the Samsung Galaxy Rush will hit stores in late September for $150.

Additionally, Boost Mobile is also unveiling the Samsung Array, a feature phone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. You’ll see it hit stores on September 4th for $60, and you can sneak a peek of it after the break.

Continue reading Boost Mobile announces Samsung Galaxy Rush with Android 4.0, available late September for $150

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Boost Mobile announces Samsung Galaxy Rush with Android 4.0, available late September for $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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