Nexus 5 to be first smartphone with MEMS camera
phonearena.com
phonearena.com
However, going by the sample shots from the MX3, it looks to be a good sensor - so hopefully it still has a good camera (my nexus 4 camera produces really bad results sometimes).
Since the article does a pretty poor job of explaining what MEMS technology can do, it's probably best shown by example, e.g. see this MEMS gear!
http://www.sfu.ca/immr/projects/ensc494-01/acoppin/images/Pa...
And an article here with some more images: http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/action/machines.cfm
What's really fun is when you need to start accounting for, say, the electrostatic interactions between atoms in your gear design! Of course, MEMS devices are probably already in your phone. They're commonly used for accelerometers, e.g. see here http://www.geekmomprojects.com/gyroscopes-and-accelerometers... Cool stuff!
They do, though often to avoid device failures. Search for "MEMS Stiction"
My wife's Samsung phone is so incredibly foreign to the vanilla Android experience. I have had some recent issues with Google Maps draining my battery, but that was corrected by simply reverting the update. All in all, a great phone. If I destroy it, I can just get a new one for $250. Flops consisted of the wireless battery charge, frictionless glass back that slides, and (original) nubless back that left the speaker against the surface.
Where? I was thinking the same way, not really worrying about my phone, until recently when they lowered the price and cleared out their stock.
Hopefully the 5 will be a similar price point because I don't have a backup decent phone at the moment.
I'm paying double that for way less minutes/data!
With Straight Talk, they don't subsidize the cost of the phone, so they charge less on a monthly basis.
Any chance there's some crazy cookie tracking magic there? Or just a coincidence?
I'm embarrassed to post photos sometimes because of the bad quality.
When that phone died, I got a Nexus 4 -- and the camera was enough of a downgrade that I returned it two days later. Have been reasonably satisfied with my Galaxy 3 every since.
This MEMS stuff is interesting, but I really do wish that manufacturers would focus on providing larger sensors rather than more megapixels. Almost nobody actually needs 8MP from their phone, however every photograph benefits from a larger sensor.
Its horrible. Lets go back to 3MP and use huge pixels instead.
What's weird is that the preview snap might look fine, but what gets saved to the device is always really poor.
When you tap "take photo" on your screen you actually subtly nudge the phone and it slightly looses focus at the worst possible time.
Usually I reduce the tap-nudge by doing hold-and-release rather than a quick tap to take a photo. I'll give the timed shot a go and see how it works out. Thanks.
Edit: Eh. Better, but still quite blurry and off color compared to my iPhone 4.
Look forward to this MEMS camera, but stay skeptical. Fast focus is awesome, but how good is the matrix? Low light performance? Dynamic range?
Faster focusing is welcome though.
Still, being able to focus faster and snap rapid images is a good thing. It makes getting quality pictures easier, especially with kids, who are notoriously blurry.
- A frustrated Verizon user still using his 2-year-old Galaxy Nexus.
Net 10, Straight Talk, and a few others are what I'm looking at now. Going to save a ton of money and get a better device with comparable service.
Exactly - I'm frustrated with Verizon, not Google.
The only reason I've stuck with them is because I'm grandfathered into unlimited 4G/LTE data. Even then, I'm still toying with the idea of switching to one of the GSM carriers - I can't decide if it's worth walking away from the unlimited data, though.
When my internet service goes out in my home -- WiFi hotspot and no worries about whether I'm going to be throttled or hit an overage.
I hate my GNex but VZW+Unlimited Data is worth more to me. Whatever new phone you get will be just as obsolete in two years as the GNex is now.
Amusingly, I've been getting pretty bad reception in NYC recently. Furthermore, in practice, I end up using way less than 2GB of data per month.
> Whatever new phone you get will be just as obsolete in two years as the GNex is now.
In two years, my Galaxy Nexus will be four years old. At the moment, I don't see a single Verizon phone worth getting (the are even issues with unlocking the HTC One on Verizon) and none on the horizon.
I've even come close to getting an iPhone a couple times; even though I know it doesn't suit my life or workflow very well. I just want my phone to be useable!
I felt the same way until I used a T-Mobile Nexus 4 side-by-side with my Verizon GN for a while. At least where I live and work I get consistently better speeds with the Nexus 4.
I can't say for certain, but it feels like Verizon service has gotten dramatically worse over the last year or two. It's not the phone as I have access to dozens across multiple carriers.
I've been telling myself that unlimited data will be valuable going forward for years now, but looking back I rarely crack 2-3GB in a month.
I expect that I've only gotten real value out of the unlimited plan and Verizon coverage while traveling.
For now, I plan to switch.
edit: this is AT&T, and requires a new SIM ($7) for existing customers.
I've rooted and installed a few different ROMs, but there is never a fix for crap hardware and limited RAM. The NAND seems to be a real source of problems as well.
This is no different than LED TVs where the fundamental component that actually synthesizes the pictures is still LCD, just the back-light uses LEDs instead of CFLs.
My cousin and I have done some comparisons with the iPhone 4S camera and the Lumia 920 and we don't notice the difference, but the Nexus 4 is really awful in comparison to both of them.
It's like comparing a Ford with a Ferrari. You would be better comparing the iPhone with a Samsung Galaxy S4 since they are similar price points.
You need to compare a $360 with a $360 phone, and you need to compare a $700 phone (iPhone) with a $700 (Samsung S4/Sony Z1/HTC Onc etc)
Seeing some Nokia/iPhone pictures makes it look bad.
I imagine there is a substantial software component cost associated with it too...
I'm sure you can get a Galaxy SII or Galaxy Nexus for that price or lower on ebay.
iOS updates are limited by device. I forget the details but that 4S doesnt have all the functionality of that 5S. You need a minimal level phone for things like Siri and other features they never bothered backporting or couldn't due to hardware limitations.
Google OS updates are almost academic at this point. Google deploys a play store service which is a root-level middle man between your phone and various google services and apps. Google updates this themselves. Google apps are not tied to the OS, like Apple's apps are. Someone with a phone on 4.1 can get the same version of Maps that I do on 4.3. Heck, you can be on gingerbread and use all the same apps practically. Google has a huge incentive to keep gingerbread level OS phones up to date with its latest apps because so many are still in circulation.
Lastly, custom firmwares like CyoagenMod deliver up to date versions of android for many phones. So, no, its not so cut and dry. Also, if you really want an iphone, then go buy one. You'll get an easier update process but have to deal with all its limitations.
Its also worth mentioning that the galaxy nexus is a phone from 2011 that just got the newest version of android and is still a pretty beefy phone. No idea if its getting the next version officially, but it will be trivial to put a 3rd party firmware on there if not. Android has always had a phone that's updated for 2 years: the Nexus line. The only exception is the custom Nexus non-GSM nexus Sprint/Verizon sold for a short time. Google no longer sells phones like these and the Nexus is strictly GSM now as it was before.
- occur noticeably faster (for potentially faster shots)
- use less power (for longer battery life)
-- The fast/re-engineered focusing might then enable you to take photos in new modes, e.g: in an "idiot proof" spray, quickly snapping shots at different focus depths very quickly - which you can select from afterwords.
I don't personally see much appeal of the 'idiot proof' application yet, (though I could be convinced) but the first two seem like decent improvements.
Will they make sure that the 450ms savings over the 600ms average will be useful enough, by reducing the 8 second time from locked phone to photo shot as well?
Isn't the 4 in Nexus 4 because the screen is 4 inches? Same with the Nexus 7 having a 7 inch screen. When the Nexus 7 replacement came out, it was called the Nexus 7, because it had the same size screen.
Does this new device have a 5 inch screen?
Pedantic minds need to know!
Wow, some of these phones are getting pretty large. Especially considering this is Google's flagship phone. I wonder what size it will max out at?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!