Brighter LED flash announced

Aug 18 2004 - 12:43 PM ET | Camera
Lumileds today announced the Luxeon Flash, a new type of LED that should make flashes in camera phones brighter. According to the company, the Luxeon Flash is up to 12 times brighter than the flashes currently on camera phones (a rare feature in itself). bq. This brighter flash capability is also critical for the 1.3 megapixel and better phone cameras now coming on the market because the high-resolution CMOS camera modules that are used in these advanced camera phones require increased light levels. The company's website has examples of photos taken with and without a flash (including regular vs. Luxeon). The first camera phone utilizing a Luxeon Flash was recently introduced in Europe (the specific model was not named), and cell phone manufacturers are expected to roll out models in the U.S. and Asia before the holiday season this year.