camera

HTC’s future imaging plans revolve around the selfie market and optical zoom coming to smartphones, according to the company’s camera expert Symon Whitehorn. In an interview with Vodaphone (via Android Central), Whitehorn made various points, including his thoughts on 4K in smartphones, future applications of optical zoom, and the importance of the front-facing camera in the company’s attempt to clench the “selfie market.”
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Hints of new features have been found in the just-released Google Camera app. The APK — which was put under the microscope by Liam Spradlin of Android Police — contains references to an Advanced Camera Mode, Time Lapse Mode, and Wide Angle Mode. Additionally, Google has confirmed that the Camera app now captures Photo Spheres in 50 MP, making for a major upgrade  in image quality.
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Google let iFixit open up one of its 200 prototypes of the Project Tango phone, an Android phone that uses highly-sensitive 3D motion-tracking and measurement to create automatic maps of interior locations.

The device is a really neat piece of kit, and Google believes that developers will find plenty of uses for it. For example, use the phone to scan the interior of your home before you go furniture shopping, and it will create an accurate 3D model of your home complete with measurements. Take the phone to the store with you to see exactly how furniture might fit … 
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According to a report from Engadget, Google is apparently in the process of testing an updated version of the Android camera app that includes a revamped UI and few new features. The report claims that the new camera app would include “a background-blurring effect for portrait shots,” as well as high-resolution Photo Sphere and panorama modes, and a lens blur mode that offers a shallower depth of field. There are also apparently fixes in the works for existing issues with the app:
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We’re live from New York at HTC’s unveiling of the new HTC One (M8) and the company has now officially unveiled the new flagship smartphone. The company has spent the starting of its presentation talking about the HTC One’s high-quality metal construction that it described as “like a premium watch,” as well as the new Gunmetal Gray Hairline Finish pictured above. It also shared a few specs for the device (below) before moving on to its new customized version of Android, Sense 6 (or 6th Sense).

One of the big announcements for Sense 6 is that HTC is opening up its Blinkfeed homescreen to developers with a new SDK releasing today. Foursquare will be the first partner to support the feature and will publish, for example, lunch recommendations into the Blinkfeed homescreen, while Fitbit will display activity milestones in the feed. HTC is hoping other app developers will follow with support.

We have most of the hardware specs below (no huge surprises), but HTC also spent a lot of time talking about small tweaks you might not see in the specs list like much improved sound quality through a combination of redesigned speaker chambers and software tweaks. HTC also mentioned some big improvements for the camera including a new camera switcher (pictured in the gallery below) with new “dual capture”, “selfie”, and “customizable manual” shooting modes. The M8 also features a 300 millisecond focus time that’s 50% faster than the previous generation.

Sales for the new HTC One (M8) will kick off today in the US and Canada. Details on availability for other countries and carriers are available here.

Check out the official specs from HTC and some shots from the event below:

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Following weeks of rumors regarding the next-generation flagship smartphone from HTC, today images of the device have leaked via reliable leakster @evleaks. The image above shows off what appears to be an evolution of the previous HTC One design with camera and flash components that line up with earlier leaks of the device. Up until now most leaks of the device have been referring to its “M8” codename. However, the tweet from evleaks seems to indicate that the device will be branded the new “HTC One 2014” edition. It also looks like at least some partners will be getting a gold version of the device.

Yesterday, HTC sent out invites for an event being held on March 25. Rumor has it the company could skip any unveilings at Mobile World Congress later this month and hold out for its own event at the end of next month.

So far rumors for the device include a 5″ 1080p display, Android 4.4 KitKat, 3GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 800 processor, and Sense 6.0. Evleaks shared another image of the device showing off a protective case and the latest Sense homescreen (below):
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Update: Whoa, that was fast as a Google+ post courtesy of the Nexus team just announced Android 4.4.1 is rolling out right now to Nexus 5 devices.

With a brief look at our analytics earlier this week, we discovered the existence of Android 4.4.1 in the wild. As it turns out, Android 4.4.1 is closer than we think as a new Verge report shows how Google is using this software update to attack the Nexus 5 camera’s shortcomings. According to Dave Burke, Google’s Director of Engineering for Android, 4.4.1 will begin rolling out over the next few days in the hopes of fixing the “buggy and inconsistent” camera that is the Nexus 5.

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Earlier this month, developers poking around the Android source code discovered that Google was preparing to add support for RAW photo capabilities to its mobile OS.  Today, Google has revealed that Android’s photography software was in fact updated with the ability to capture and store RAW images as well as support for burst mode photography. These changes to the Android base are not yet available to third-party developers, but the company has announced that the necessary APIs to take advantage of these new features will soon be available, allowing any developer to improve their app’s photography capabilities.

The recently-released Nexus 5 already takes advantage of the technology behind burst mode when creating HDR images. However, the quality of the camera has been a sore point for some Android users, including 9to5Google‘s own David Beren. Google has promised “insanely great” cameras in upcoming Nexus devices, though, so it’s not a big stretch to assume that these software enhancements are laying the groundwork for even better mobile cameras in the future.

As for third-party developers, a few have already started improving on the Nexus 5’s camera software on their own without official support from Google. It seems that Google is now preparing to give all Android developers even more to work with in the area of photography.

Google has released three new commercials for its Nexus 5 today, all of which highlight a specific camera feature (via Android Central). The first one shows off the HDR+ feature of the device’s camera, while the other two show Photo Sphere and Auto Awesome. The ads are all short, coming in at roughly 15 seconds a piece.

Google is heavily touting the Nexus 5’s camera, though many reviewers said that it was somewhat disappointing. In our own poll, however, people voted the device’s camera just a tad worse than the iPhone 5S shooter, which is arguably one of the best out there.

You can see the ad highlighting Photo Sphere above, while the other two are just after the break. 
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Google today announced that it’s releasing an all-new Google Translate app for Android. The app features a new design, adds support for additional languages, and introduces some interesting new features to make translations even faster.

The app now makes it easy to have translated conversation with someone at the tap of a button and also adds gesture support for quickly switching between languages:
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For all the things the Moto G may be, there’s little question that the Moto G isn’t the phone for the individual who cares most about smartphone photography. With a $179 price tag, we understand some compromises will have to be made and even if a 5 megapixel camera, f/2.4 lens and flash combination are present, we know some tradeoffs are at hand in overall quality.

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There’s no shortage of camera apps available in the Play Store but few have the name SmugMug and “awesome” attached to them. That’s why we’re taking note that the good folks at SmugMug just dropped word on their blog that their Camera Awesome app is finally out of beta and on the Play Store. Camera Awesome has been downloaded by more than 20 million iPhone users and is almost always near the top of every “best iPhone camera app” list. The developers say the demand for an Android release has been steady every single day and that means today is your lucky day.

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When Google’s Vic Gundotra promised “insanely great cameras” on upcoming Nexus devices, we took his statement to heart. Now, with the release of the Nexus 5, early reviews of the camera are decidedly mixed. It’s for this reason that I’ve decided to take a pass on the newest Nexus device, and will continue to focus on Android devices where the camera doesn’t appear to be an afterthought. I had hoped that we might see something that truly lived up to Vic’s “vision” for the Nexus line of smartphone cameras, needless to say, “insanely great” doesn’t seem to apply.

Now, I grant you, some of the pictures I’ve seen from the Nexus are good—some are very good—but the consensus seems to be for every “very good,” there’s “not so good.” As a new-ish parent, a smartphone camera is one of the most important aspects of my life, as the best camera I have is the one I have with me. I want to love the Nexus, the large display and quick updates and all the sunshine and rainbows that comes from owning Google’s flagship device. Still, the real-world tests don’t give me much hope that is the right Android device for me:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j2VUJX2BLY]

Beginning today, AT&T Moto X owners will be able to download the camera improvements that debuted a few weeks ago. According to AnandTech, this update greatly improves the quality of images taken with the Moto X camera.

There are some other improvements in this update from AT&T that focus on Touchless control accuracy, updates to Motorola Migrate and finding lost phones functionality.

• Camera enhancements:
  • Enhanced camera auto-white balance performance and color accuracy.
  • Improved exposure when taking photos outside or backlit, and improved clarity in low light.
  • Faster touch-to-focus time and reduced unnecessary refocusing in low light or scenes with continuous motion.
• Faster response and improved accuracy when using Touchless Control and easier set up and training of the “Ok Google Now” trigger.
• Enhanced transfer of content from old phone to new phone using Motorola Migrate.
• Fine-tuned feature that allows you to find phone when it is lost that sometimes prevented a lost phone from reporting its location.

More at AT&T.
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As a blogger, taking great, print-quality photos when covering events or doing reviews is a necessity. So carrying around a big DSLR or comparable digital camera system has become a necessary evil. I say evil because the camera world and I just don’t understand each other. The camera market has become stale and full of devices that cater to professional photographers, while seemingly ignoring the incredible innovations that have happened with mobile devices in recent years. Just because pro photogs want their tried and trusted physical controls and pricey glass, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for beautiful touch screens with easy to use UIs, WiFi, LTE connectivity, USB charging, and everything we love about the app and developer ecosystem that we get with Android.

Samsung is the only company that gets it: It’s the first to integrate what is essentially a full Android smartphone on the back of a full fledged, professional mirrorless camera system. It’s the big brother, high-end version of the Galaxy Camera (review) point and shoot it introduced last year.  It’s an intriguing concept and certainly where I hoped camera manufacturers would look to when attempting to take their professional product lines out of the stone age, so I’ve been more than excited to have the opportunity to put the device to the test over the last few weeks.

DESIGN/ SPECS:
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When the Moto X finally made its way into the hands of consumers, many people were disappointed by the quality of photos taken with the device’s shooter. Specification-wise, the lens was no slouch, so many people were optimistic that the company would improve the sensor with a software update. Today, T-Mobile has begun rolling out an update to its Moto X variant that, according to AnandTech, greatly improves the quality of images.

• Camera – Improved Photo Quality: Improved capture of natural light (auto-white balance) and color accuracy for more precise exposure in outdoor and backlit scenes
• Camera – Improved Focus: Faster touch to focus time and reduced unnecessary refocusing in low light conditions and scenes with continuous motion
• Camera – Faster Switching: Shortened the time it takes to switch between rear and front-facing cameras, as well as transition between the viewfinder and the Gallery app

AnandTech notes that the update dramatically improves the quality of images taken both indoors and outdoors with the Moto X. The update changes the tuning of the camera and improves exposure in  outdoor and backlit scenes, improves the color accuracy, and reduces the noise in low light images.

In addition to the camera improvements, the update also adds several other enhancements to the T-Mobile Moto X and fixes a handful of bugs. Read of the rest of the change log below: 
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After accidentally leaking the device in its video for the upcoming Android 4.4 KitKat software release, today we get a better look at the upcoming Nexus 5 thanks to FCC documents (via Phonescoop).

It’s clear the device in these FCC images is the same as the one we spotted in the promotional video earlier this month, and we also get a clearer look at the much larger camera lens on the back of the device. It’s also more solid proof that the device will indeed be manufactured by LG– and likely based of its new LG G2– after rumors that Google’s Motorola could potentially produce the Nexus 5 started circling last month.

Last week FCC documents surfaced online that also pointed to an LG-made device, as well as a Snapdragon 800 processor, a 5-inch display, and LTE support for AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. As with past Nexus launches, it will also be running the latest version of Android, which by the time the device launches will be Android 4.4. Kitkat.

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