TI Plans Camera Phone Flashes

The RED HERRING reports that Texas Instruments plans to introduce two new chips in the next four to six weeks that could help camera phones take better pictures via a LED( light-emitting diode) flash. TI has been working with LED firms to develop the products. A lack of a flash is often cited as one of the reasons mobile phone cameras are inferior to digital cameras.

Charles Golvin at Forrester Research said, "Even if the megapixels improve, the optics just aren’t nearly as good as equivalent-resolution digital cameras."

The articles also quotes from Stuart Robinson at Strategy Analytics, who noted "camera phones have outsold non-camera phones this year," and Kenneth Hyers at ABI Research,, who predicted "the quality of mobile-phone cameras would begin replacing low-end digital cameras within the next two years."