65k colors, 1.3 mega pixel, 128×128 pixel? What do all these phrases mean? Well, they describe some of the specifications for your cellphone camera or screen. Although the cellphone was originally designed as a communication device that people can carry with them wherever they go, it is one product that has seen constant upgrades in features. In fact, many phones nowadays come equipped with a full-colored screen and built-in camera function. It seems people love taking pictures, so fusing two products into one seems like a genius plan. The reality is that, no matter how good cellphone cameras are now, nothing beats the real thing. The difference here is the lens that comes with a cellphone camera and a real digital camera. If you want high quality pictures, then you should rely on a separate camera device, but if you just want a camera to snap those hilarious Kodak moments, then a decent cellphone camera should suffice.

Before we continue, we need to take a look at the actual cellphone screen. Basically, your cellphone screen is just a simple screen that lights up in order to project images for you to see. If you purchase a colored screen phone, there might be words like 65k of colors or 262,000 colors. Both of these numbers are measuring the same thing, the number of colors that your particular cellphone camera can produce. “k” means thousand, so 65k would essentially be 65,000. Obviously in this situation, the more colors that a screen can produce, the more luscious and vibrant it can look, which means that if an image was projected onto a 262,000 colors screen phone, it would look much better than a 65,000 colors screen projecting the same image.

Most, if not all, cellphone screens, should now be LCDs (liquid crystal display), which is flat display with colors and pixels that help project your screen when you turn it on. LCDs are a popular choice by manufacturers because it requires very small amounts of electrical power to operate. But wait, what is a pixel? Well, a pixel is simply a small area or point in any graphic image. You can also consider it a unit of measurement. When somebody says their screen is 128 x 128 pixels, that is the exact size that a screen can project. If you want a large, vibrant screen, then you need to choose a screen that has many pixels and can produce many colors, but in retrospect, having a bigger, more colorful screen will drain your battery life faster.

The 3 main display types that you can find in cellphones now are:

CSTN - Color STN or (Color Super Twisted Nematic) was a very popular screen choice when color screens were first introduced because of its low-cost and low power consumption. However, CSTN screens often suffered from slow response times and the ghosting effect (the ghosting effect is where a bunch of lit up pixels can affect the color or other aspects of the other unlit pixels in the nearby area).

TFT - TFT stands for Thin-Film Transistor and is known for their ability to improve image quality. They also fair much better against the glare of the sun than their CSTN counterparts. In fact, the TFT format is so successful that it is becoming the standard in many manufacturers’ products.

OLED - Organic Light Emitting Diodes is a growing technology that is being used by more and more manufacturers. There is actually a thin layer of organic compounds that helps to emit the colored light. One main benefit of OLED is the fact that because the LEDs emit light themselves, the screen does not require a backlight to make the screen brighter at night. It also consumes less power than a normal LCD screen, therefore allowing a single battery charge to last you much longer. OLEDs have been primarily used for the sub-screen displays of clamshell cellphones, although there have been plans to initiate this technology into the main display screens of all types of cellphones.

Sample shot of OLED’s in action

FINALLY, onto cellphone cameras. Now, you might have heard of the term “mega pixel” thrown around whenever somebody talks about digital cameras. Ever wonder what it actually meant? In order to answer that question, we have to review what a pixel is. A pixel is simply a small area or point in any graphic image. So essentially, the more pixels there are, the higher the image resolution can be. Higher image resolutions can result in clearer, and crisper images. A mega pixel represents 1 million pixels. Why is this information important? Well, knowing how many mega pixels your camera is capable of handling will tell you how large the image resolution can be, while retaining its maximum clarity and quality. For example, a camera that can handle 1.3 mega pixels can produce a image that is 1280 x 1024 pixels in size (1280 multiplied by 1024 = 1310720 pixels).

Sharp’s LZ0P3738 miniature Camera for Cellphones
One important note: DO NOT BE FOOLED by the Mega Pixel Myth. The mega pixel myth is the belief that a higher amount of mega pixels on your digital camera will automatically mean a higher quality camera or image. The number of mega pixels alone cannot determine that. The reality is that the camera lens and the camera sensors are equally important in determining the quality of a camera or the image it can capture.

When it comes to cellphone cameras, it is hard to find out what lens are installed into each camera, but even if you do, I’m pretty sure you’ll have to be somewhat of a camera lens guru to determine if the lens was good or not. What this means is that while two separate cellphones can claim to have 1.3 mega pixel cameras, in reality, they could produce two images of different quality. The best way to determine what fits your need in this area is to actually go into a store and test it out for yourself.

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