Sony unveils 12+ megapixel Exmor CMOS image sensor – Cameraphone pixel-war heating up!

We don’t usually condone any type of war, but when hardware manufacturers fight for cameraphone market share (and mind share), we’re all for all-out warfare.

One of the many handset-wars going on right now is being fought on the cameraphone battle-ground. With handset manufacturers packing image sensors with every increasing pixel densities into their mobile phones, it’s no wonder that we’re constantly hearing about new double-digit megapixel image sensors coming down the pipeline. The cameraphone war pits manufacturer against manufacturer in a race to cram as many pixels into as small a footprint as possible – and in the end, it’s the consumer that wins.

Sony has just fired off their latest salvo in “Battle Megapixel” with the unveiling of their Exmor CMOS image sensor lineup. The three new image sensors boasts pixel densities of 5.15, 8.11 and 12.25 megapixels. The range-topping Exmor IMX060PQ unit brings with it more than 12 million pixels into a 1/2.5 type CMOS image sensor.

Look for handsets with 12 megapixel cameras hitting the market sometime in the middle of next year – especially those from Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE). In fact, Sony Ericsson’s prediction that cameraphones will hit 12-20 megapixels by 2012 is starting to make more sense.

[Via: Akihabara]