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Digital Camera

Digital camera

A digital camera, is an electronic device to transform images into electronic data. Modern digital cameras are typically multifunctional and the same device can take photographs, video, and/or sound.

History

Steven Sasson, an engineer working for Eastman Kodak, is credited with developing the first digital camera, an 8-pound toaster sized box that captured a black-and-white image on a digital cassette tape at a resolution of .01 megapixels. Sasson's masters supervisor, Gareth Lloyd, set him an open ended assignment. The question was simply 'Could we build a camera using solid-state imagers?' At that time (1970s) the CCD had just come out, and people were curious about its applications. Before that time television cameras had converted images into analog electrical signals, cameras aboard robot space probes had digitized photographs using vacuum tube components and relayed them back to Earth, and Texas Instruments had designed a filmless but analog-based electronic camera in 1972. No one, however, had attempted a completely solid-state digital-video device. For his device, Sasson used an analog-to-digital converter adapted from Motorola Inc. components, a Kodak movie-camera lens and the tiny CCD chips introduced by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1973. Sony marketed Mavica, the first filmless camera in 1981. Mavica worked off magnetic disks and was based on television technology that inherently limited image quality.

Classification

Digital cameras can be classified into several groups:

Video cameras

- Professional video cameras such as those used in television and movie production. These typically have multiple image sensors (one per color) to enhance resolution and color gamut. Professional video cameras usually do not have a built-in VCR or microphone.
- Camcorders used by amateurs. These are a combination of camera and VCR to create an all-in-one production unit. They generally include a microphone to record sound, and feature a small LCD to watch the video during filming and playback.
- Webcams are digital cameras attached to computers, used for video conferencing or other purposes. Webcams can capture full-motion video as well, and some models include microphones or zoom ability.

Still cameras

video conferencing Digital still cameras are cameras whose primary purpose is to capture photography in a digital format. Initially, a digital camera was characterized by the use of flash memory and USB or FireWire for storage and transfer of still photographs, and this is still the common meaning of the unadorned term. However, modern digital photography cameras have a video function, and a growing number of camcorders have a still photography function. In addition, some newer camcorders record video directly to flash memory and transfer over USB and FireWire. Among digital still cameras, most have a rear LCD for reviewing photographs. They are rated in megapixels; that is, the product of their maximum resolution dimensions. The actual transfers to a host computer are commonly carried out using the USB mass storage device class (so that the camera appear as a drive) or using the Picture Transfer Protocol and its derivatives. All use either a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS sensor, i.e. chips comprised of a grid of phototransistors to sense the light intensities across the plane of focus of the camera lens. CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) sensors are differentiated from CCDs proper in that it uses less power and a different kind of light sensing material, however the differences are highly technical and many manufacturers still consider the CMOS chip a charged coupled device. For our purposes, a chip sensor is a CCD.
- Standard Digital Cameras (also called compact digital cameras or digicams): This encompasses most digital cameras. They are characterized by great ease in operation and easy focusing; this design allows for limited motion picture capability. They have an extended depth of field. This allows objects at multiple depths to be in focus simultaneously, which accounts for much of their ease of focusing. It is also part of the reason professional photographers find their images flat or artificial-looking. They excel in landscape photography and casual use.
- Digital SLRs (DSLR) typically have a sensor many times larger than that of a standard digital camera, and are targeted at professional photographers and enthusiasts. They resemble ordinary professional cameras in most ways, most with replaceable flash and lens components, which give the user maximum control over light, focus and depth of field. They are also bulkier and more expensive than their casual-use oriented counterparts. They are superb for portraiture and artistic photography because they can be customized for various applications with a comprehensive range of exchangeable lenses.

Professional modular digital camera systems

High-end digital camera backs used by professionals are usually separate devices from the camera bodies which they are used with. (This is because most of the large- and medium-format camera systems in professional use at the time that digital capture overtook film as the professional's medium of choice were modular in nature, i.e. the camera body had multiple lenses, viewfinders, winders and backs available for use with it to fit different needs.) Since the first backs were introduced there have been three main methods of "capturing" the image, each based on the hardware configuration of the particular back. The first method is often called "Single Shot," in reference to the number of times the camera's sensor is exposed to the light passing through the camera lens. Single Shot capture systems use either one CCD with a Bayer filter stamped onto it or three separate CCDs (one each for the primary additive colors Red, Green and Blue) which are exposed to the same image via a beam splitter. The second method is referred to as "Multi-Shot" because the sensor is exposed to the image in a sequence of three or more openings of the lens aperture. There are several methods of application of the multi-shot technique. The most common originally was to use a single CCD with three filters (once again red, green and blue) passed in front of the sensor in sequence to obtain the additive color information. Another multiple shot method utilized a single CCD with a Bayer filter but actually moved the physical location of the sensor chip on the focus plane of the lens to "stitch" together a higher resolution image than the CCD would allow otherwise. A third version combined the two methods without stamping a Bayer filter onto the chip. The third method is called "Scan" because the sensor moves across the focus plane much like the sensor of a desktop scanner. These CCDs are usually referred to as "sticks" rather than "chips" because they utilize only a single row of pixels (more properly "photosites") which are again "stamped" with the Bayer filter. The choice of method for a given capture is of course determined largely by the subject matter. It is usually inappropriate to attempt to capture a subject which moves (like people or objects in motion) with anything but a single shot system. However, the higher color fidelity and larger file sizes and resolutions available with multi-shot and scan-backs make them attractive for commercial photographers working with stationary subjects and large-format photographs.

Interpolation

Image color or resolution interpolation is used unless the camera uses a beam splitter single-shot approach, three-filter multi-shot approach, or Foveon X3 sensor currently used in Sigma SD10 DSLR and Polaroid x530 point and shoot. The software specific to the camera interprets the information from the sensor to obtain a full color image. This is because in digital images, each pixel must have three values for luminous intensity, one each for the red, green, and blue channels. A normal sensor element cannot simultaneously record these three values. The Bayer filter pattern is typically used. A Bayer filter pattern is a 2x2 pattern of light filters, with green ones at opposite corners and red and blue elsewhere. The high proportion of green takes advantage of properties of the human visual system, which determines brightness mostly from green and is far more sensitive to brightness than to hue or saturation. Sometimes a 4-color filter pattern is used, often involving 2 different hues of green. This provides a wider color gamut, but requires a slightly more complicated interpolation process. The luminous intensity color values not captured for each pixel can be interpolated (or guessed at) from the values of adjacent pixels which represent the color being calculated. In some cases, extra resolution is interpolated into the image by shifting photosites off of a standard grid pattern so that photosites are adjacent to each other at 45 degree angles, and all three values are interpolated for "virtual" photosites which fall into the spaces at 90 degree angles from the actual photosites.

Connectivity

Many digital cameras can connect directly to a computer to transfer data. USB is the most widely used method, though some have a FireWire port or use Bluetooth. Some cameras are able to connect to computer networks wirelessly via 802.11 Wi-Fi.

Integration

Some devices, like mobile phones and PDAs, contain integrated digital cameras. Mobile phone cameras are even more common than standalone digital cameras.

Storage

Digital cameras need memory to store data. Cheap cameras and cameras secondary to the devices main use (such as a camera phone) use onboard memory, such as flash memory. Most dedicated cameras, however, use a removable memory card to store data. In common use are compact flash, microdrives and secure digital.

Autonomous devices

An autonomous device, such as a PictBridge printer, operates without need of a computer . The camera connects to the printer, which then downloads and prints its images. Some DVD recorders and television sets can read memory cards too.

Formats

Common formats in digital camera images are DCF, DPOF, EXIF, JPEG, RAW, TIFF; formats for movies are AVI, DV, MPEG, MOV, WMV etc.

External links

- [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/240048_firstdigital09.html The first digital camera] involving Kodak engineer Steven Sasson.
- [http://www.photo-freeware.net Digital camera related freeware archive (Windows/MAC/Linux)]
- [http://www.filmdailies.com/categories/cameras/ HD/DV Cameras] at [http://www.filmdailies.com/ FilmDailies.com - a filmmaker's blog]
- [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/240048_firstdigital09.html Article on Steven Sasson]
- [http://cameras.about.com/ Digital cameras on About.com] Category:Digital photography ko:디지털 카메라 ja:デジタルカメラ

Photograph

:Photo redirects here. For the French magazine, see Photo (magazine). A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an image (or a representation of that on e.g. paper) created by collecting and focusing reflected electromagnetic radiation. The most common photographs are those created of reflected visible wavelengths, producing permanent records of what the human eye can see. Most photographs are made with a camera, which focuses the light onto either photographic film or a CCD or CMOS image sensor. Photographs can also be made by placing objects on photosensitive paper and exposing it to light (the result is often called a photogram) or by placing objects on the platen of a flatbed scanner (see scanner art).

History and special effects

Most traditional photographs are produced with a two-step chemical process. In the two-step process, the film holds a negative image (colours and lights/darks are inverted), which is then transferred onto photographic paper as a positive image. Another widely used film is the positive film used for producing transparencies, usually mounted in cardboard or plastic frames called slides. Slides are widely used by professionals mostly due to their sharpness and accuracy of colour rendition. Most photographs published in magazines are still originally taken on colour transparency film. transparencies Originally almost all photographs were black and white. Although methods for developing color photos were available as early as the late 19th century, they did not become widely available until the 1940s or 50s, and even in until the 1960s most photographs were taken in black and white. Since then, color photography has dominated popular photography, although the black and white format remains popular for amateur photographers and artists. Black and white film is considerably easier to develop than colour. Panoramic format Images can be taken by using special cameras like the Hasselblad Xpan on standard film. Since the 1990s, panoramic photos have been relatively easy for the general population to take on Advanced Photo System film. APS was developed by several of the major film manufacturers to provide a "smart" film with different formats and computerized options available, though APS panoramas were created using a mask in panorama-capable cameras, far less desirable than a true panoramic camera which achieves its effect through wider film format. As with many past ideas in consumer film formats, APS has become less popular and will be discontinued in the near future. Digital photos can be stored in various file formats, of which JPEG is one of the most popular. Many other graphic formats are used, including TIFF, PNG, GIF, and RAW.

Sound

:This article is about compression waves. For other meanings, see sound (disambiguation). sound (disambiguation). Yellow: cochlea. Green: auditory receptor cells. Purple: frequency spectrum of hearing response. Orange: nerve impulse.)]] Sound is vibration, as perceived by the sense of hearing. We usually hear vibrations that travel through air, but sound can also travel through gases, liquids and solids. It cannot travel through a vacuum (such as exists in outer space). When the vibrations reach our ears, they are converted into nerve impulses that are sent to our brains, allowing us to perceive the sound. In more technical language, sound "is an alternation in pressure, particle displacement, or particle velocity propagated in an elastic material" (Olson 1957) or series of mechanical compressions and rarefactions or longitudinal waves that successively propagate through media that are at least a little compressible (solid, liquid or gas but not vacuum). In sound waves parts of matter (molecules or groups of molecules) move in a direction of the spreading of the disturbance (as opposite to transversal waves). The cause of sound waves is called the source of waves, e.g., a violin string vibrating upon being bowed or plucked. A sound wave is usually represented graphically by a wavy, horizontal line; the upper part of the wave (the crest) indicates a compression and the lower part (the trough) indicates a rarefaction.

Attributes of sound

The characteristics of sound are frequency, wavelength, amplitude and velocity.

Frequency and wavelength

The frequency is the number of air pressure oscillations per second at a fixed point occupied by a sound wave. One single oscillatory cycle per second corresponds to 1 Hz. The wavelength is the distance between two successive crests and is the distance that a wave travels in the time of one oscillatory cycle. The wavelength of a sound wave of frequency f and travelling at speed c is given by c/f. Given a speed of 343 m/s, a 20 kHz sound wave has a wavelength of about 17 mm. For comparison, an A440 has a nominal wavelength of about 78 cm, and a 20 Hz sound wave has a wavelength of 17 m. Suppose sound is emitted as a sine wave travelling outward spherically from a point source. The pressure (above ambient, see gauge pressure) of the sound wave can be written as :

P(r,t) = P_0 \sin\left(2 \pi f \left(t-\frac\right)\right)

where P(r,t) is the pressure at distance r at time t, P₀ is the amplitude of the pressure variation (0 to peak), f is the frequency of oscillation, and c is the speed of sound.

Amplitude

The amplitude is the magnitude of sound pressure change within the wave, or basically, the maximum amount of pressure at any point in the sound wave. A sound wave is caused literally by increases in pressure at certain points (of a material) causing a "domino effect" outward, the high pressure points are the crests mentioned above, and behind them are low pressure points which tail them, those are the troughs mentioned above. Amplitude is the maximal displacement of particles of matter that is obtained in compressions, where the particles of matter move towards each other and pressure increases the most and in rarefactions, where the pressure lessens the most. See also particle displacement and particle velocity. While the pressure can be measured in pascals, the amplitude is more often referred to as sound pressure level and measured in decibels, or dBSPL, sometimes written as dBspl or dB(SPL). When the measurement is adjusted based on how the human ear perceives loudness based on frequency, it is called dBA or A-weighting. See decibels for a more thorough discussion.
- [http://www.makeitlouder.com/Decibel%20Level%20Chart.txt Chart showing decibel level of many sounds]

Velocity

Sound's propagation speed depends on the type, temperature and pressure of the medium through which it propagates. Under normal conditions, however, because air is nearly a perfect gas, the speed of sound does not depend on air pressure. In dry air at 20 °C (68 °F) the speed of sound is approximately 343 m/s (approximately 1 meter every 2.9 milliseconds). The speed of sound relates frequency to wavelength. Thus, a tone of 343 Hz (F4 minus 31 cents) traveling in air has a wavelength of 1 meter.

Types of sounds

Noises are irregular and disordered vibrations including all possible frequencies. Their wave diagram does not repeat in time. Noise is an aperiodic series of waves. Sounds that are sine waves with fixed frequency and amplitude are perceived as pure tones. While sound waves are usually visualised as sine waves, sound waves can have arbitrary shapes and frequency content, limited only by the apparatus that generates them and the medium through which they travel. In fact, most sound waves consist of multiple overtones or harmonics and any sound can be thought of as being composed of sine waves (see additive synthesis). Waveforms commonly used to approximate harmonic sounds in nature include sawtooth waves, square waves and triangle waves. While a sound may still be referred to as being of a single frequency (for example, a piano striking the A above middle C is said to be playing a note at 440 Hz), the sound perceived by a listener will be colored by all of the sound wave's frequency components and their relative amplitudes, as well as how the sound changes over time (see timbre.) For convenience in this article, however, it is best to think of sound waves as sine waves.

Perception of sound

The frequency range of sound audible to humans is approximately between 20 and 20,000 Hz. This range varies by individual and generally shrinks with age. It is also an uneven curve - sounds near 3,500 Hz are often perceived as louder than a sound with the same amplitude at a much lower or higher frequency. Above and below this range are ultrasound and infrasound, respectively. The amplitude range of sound for humans has a lower limit of 0dBSPL, called the threshold of hearing. Sound is technically at its upper limit at 194.09 dB. Above this level it should be called a shock wave. Sounds begin to do damage to ears at 85 dBSPL and sounds above approximately 130 dBSPL (called the threshold of pain) cause pain. Again, this range varies by individual and changes with age. The perception of sound is the sense of hearing. In humans and many animals this is accomplished by the ears, but loud sounds and low frequency sounds can be perceived by other parts of the body through the sense of touch. Sounds are used in several ways, most notably for communication through speech or, for example, music. Sound perception can also be used for acquiring information about the surrounding environment in properties such as spatial characteristics and presence of other animals or objects. For example, bats use one sort of echolocation, ships and submarines use sonar, and humans can determine spatial information by the way in which they perceive sounds.

Reference

- Olson (1957) cited in Roads, Curtis (2001). Microsound. MIT. ISBN 0262182157.
- Roederer, Juan C. Introduction to the Physics and Psychophysics of Music (2nd ed.). New York: Springer-Verlag, 1979.
- Charles Dodge and Thomas A. Jerse, "Computer Music". New York, Schirmer Books, 1997. ISBN 0028646827
- Grey, J. M. "An Exploration of Musical Timbre." Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, 1975.

External links

- [http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/soucon.html HyperPhysics: Sound and Hearing]
- [http://www.sengpielaudio.com/Calculations03.htm Audio calculations and online acoustics conversion engine]
- [http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/schools/index.htm Sounds Amazing a learning resource for sound and waves]
- [http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0030026 Computation Provides a Virtual Recording of Auditory Signaling - PLoS Biol 2005.3(1).e26] Category:Hearing Category:Waves ko:소리 ja:音 simple:Sound th:เสียง

2005

2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. 2005 is the World Year of Physics, the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese calendar, and the International Year of the Eucharist in Catholicism. See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.

Events

January

- January 4 - Death of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri, assassinated by gunmen.
- January 9 - The same storm which pounded the US earlier in the month hits England and Scandinavia, leaving 13 dead with widespread flooding and power cuts.
- January 9 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian election.
- January 12 - Deep Impact is launched from Kennedy Space Center by a Delta 2 rocket.
- January 13 - Terrorists enter into Israel from Gaza and open fire on civilians near border, killing 6 and wounding 5 others. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim joint responsibility for attack.
- January 14 - The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of Saturn.
- January 16 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so. Adriana Iliescu.]]
- January 18 - Terrorists murder 1 person and wound 8 people in Gush Katif, Israel. Hamas claims responsibility.
- January 20 - George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as 43rd President of the United States.
- January 20 - Ireland completes metrication.
- January 21 - In Belize's capital city Belmopan, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
- January 23 - Viktor Yushchenko is sworn in as the third President of Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine.
- January 25 - A stampede at Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.
- January 30 - The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.
- January 30 - A Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Iraq, killing 10 British servicemen. Iraqi insurgents release a video claiming to have shot the aircraft down using a missile.

February

- February 6 - The New England Patriots defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 to win their third Super Bowl in four years.
- February 8 - Danish parliamentary elections continue the center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party.
- February 9 - An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid.
- February 10 - North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
- February 10 - Saudi Arabia holds its first ever elections for municipal authorities, in which only men are allowed to vote.
- February 12 - Fire devastates the Windsor Building, a 32 story office block, in Madrid.
- February 14 - A massive suicide bomb blast in central Beirut kills Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and at least 15 other people. At least 135 other people were also hurt.
- February 14 - Around 59 people are killed and 200 injured in a fire at a mosque in Tehran, Iran. Iran emissions of greenhouse gases.]]
- February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
- February 16 - The National Hockey League cancels its 2004-2005 season becoming the first North American professional league to cancel a season due to a labour dispute.
- February 19 - Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.
- February 20 - Spanish referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
- February 20 - Early Legislative elections in Portugal result in a landslide victory for José Sócrates and the Socialist Party.
- February 22 - More than 500 people are killed and over 1,000 injured after entire villages are flattened in an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale in Zarand region of Kerman province in southern Iran.
- February 25 - The Serial Killer Dennis Rader is apprehended by Wichita Police and the FBI.
- February 25 - Terrorists murder 5 people and wound 50 people in Tel Aviv, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
- February 26 - Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt asks parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005.

March

- March 1 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes under age 18.
- March 3 - At 19:17 the 3500-ton freighter, M/V Karen Danielsen, crashes into the Western bridge of the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark, 800m from Funen. All traffic across the bridge is closed, effectively separating Denmark in two.
- March 3 - Millionaire Steve Fossett breaks a world record by completing the first non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
- March 10 - Tung Chee Hwa's resignation: Tung Chee Hwa, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, resigns.
- March 11 - In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.
- March 13 - First round of Central African Republic elections.
- March 14 - The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.
- March 14 - Nearly one million people gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — the largest rally in Lebanon history. Lebanon, 2005.]]
- March 16 - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of the bombing of the Air India Flight 182 in 1985, are found not guilty on all counts.
- March 19 - A suspected suicide bomber in Doha, Qatar, kills one person and injures about 12 others.
- March 19 - A time bomb explodes in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40.
- March 19 - A mine blast occurs at the Xishui coal mine in Shuozhou and rocks nearby Kangjiayao coal mine, killing up to 59.
- March 20 - At least 250 people in Japan are injured and at least one killed by when a magnitude 7 earthquake struck west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor.
- March 21 - 10 killed in the Red Lake High School massacre in Minnesota, the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre.
- March 23 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
- March 24 - The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev.
- March 26 - The Taiwanese government called on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of Mainland China. Around 200 000 to 300 000 attended the walk.
- March 28 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake struck off Sumatra, 3 months after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At a magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.

April

- Anti-Japanese demonstrations in China
- April 1 - Newsanchor Peter Jennings hosts what will turn out to be his final World News Tonight telecast.
- April 2 - Pope John Paul II dies, causing widespread grief in the world.
- April 7 - MG Rover, the UK's sole remaining volume producer goes into receivership after a planned alliance with Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation collapses.
- April 7 - A suicide bomber blows himself up in Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, killing two foreign tourists and wounding seventeen others. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility.
- April 8 - Referendum in Curaçao on independence vs. integration with the Netherlands.
- April 9 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, marched through Baghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rallied in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.
- April 9 - The marriage of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place. Camilla assumes the titles Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall.
- April 12 - Fans hurl lit flares onto the field at San Siro Stadium in Milan during a Champions League quarter-final soccer match.
- April 15 - At least twenty one people died and around fifty people were injured in a devastating fire at a hotel in central Paris.
- April 16 - President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in the capital city and dissolved the Supreme Court.
- April 17 - Twelve holidaymakers were killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying twenty seven people plunged 200 metres into a ravine.
- April 18 - Five people died in ethnic clashes in Iran's south-west Khuzestan province.
- April 19 - Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave.
- April 20 - fifty six hurt as earthquake hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The earthquake measured a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale.
- April 20 - President Lucio Gutiérrez of Ecuador is said to have fled after Congress voted to sack him amid growing protests.
- April 21 - A bus crash in Vietnam's Central Highlands has left thirty Vietnamese war veterans dead and four other people hurt.
- April 21 - A gunfight on the edge of the Saudi city of Mecca has left two militants and two members of the security forces dead.
- April 23 - Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy, re-forms government after its dissolution three days earlier.
- April 25 - A passenger train derails in Amagasaki Hyogo Prefecture Japan killing 107 people and injuring another 456. (see Amagasaki rail crash)
- April 26 - Facing international pressure, Syria withdrew the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon ending its twenty nine year military domination of that country.
- April 27 - The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 made its first flight from Toulouse.
- April 30 - Attacks on tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo leave three militants dead and at least ten people injured.

May

- May 1 - A suicide attack targets a Kurdish funeral in the northern Iraqi town of Talafar, near Mosul, and leaves at least 25 people dead and more than 30 others injured. Earlier, at least five policemen and four civilians were killed in two separate attacks in Baghdad.
- May 2 - 4th president of Singapore, Wee Kim Wee dies from prostate cancer.
- May 2 - A blast at an illegal munitions store in northern Afghanistan kills 28 people and injures at least 13 others.
- May 3 - At least 32 people are killed and nine others injured when three two-storey buildings in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore collapsed after gas cylinders stored in one of them exploded.
- May 4 - In one of the largest insurgent attacks in Iraq to date, at least 60 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a Kurdish police recruitment center in Irbil, northern Iraq.
- May 5 - The United Kingdom votes in the 2005 general election. The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority.
- May 5 - Two homemade bombs explode outside the British consulate in New York, USA.
- May 10 - A live hand grenade lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.
- May 11 - Serial killer Michael Ross became first person executed in New England in 45 years.
- May 12 - An election was held in the Cayman Islands 7 months later than originally scheduled due to Hurricane Ivan. It resulted in a change of government, with the United Democratic Party giving four seats to the then-opposition People's Progressive Movement in the 15 member Legislative Assembly.
- May 13 - Uzbek troops kill up to 700 during protests in eastern Uzbekistan over the trials of 23 accused Islamic extremists. President Islam Karimov defends the act.
- May 13 - The United States Department of Defense issues a list of bases to be closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC 2005).
- May 13 - The final episode of the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise is broadcast in the United States. This episode may mark the end of the Star Trek franchise itself, which dates back to 1966.
- May 15 - A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving over 100 people missing.
- May 16 - George Galloway appears before a U.S. Senate committee, to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme.
- May 17 - Kuwaiti women granted right to vote.
- May 19 - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith released, effectively completing the Star Wars movie saga begun by George Lucas in 1977 and shattering the opening day box-office record with $50,013,859.
- May 19 - The Canadian House of Commons members narrowly pass two budget bills at second reading allowing the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin to stay in power.
- May 21 - Greece wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev.
- May 25 - Liverpool F.C. win the UEFA Champions League by defeating AC Milan 3-2 in a penalty shootout in Istanbul.
- May 25 - The Acting Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, resigned for participating in the Chief Executive Election in July. As a result, Henry Tang and Michael Suen had become the Acting Chief Executive and Acting Chief Secretary for Administration respectively.
- May 29 - French referendum on the European Constitution votes resoundingly to reject.
- May 31 - W. Mark Felt is confirmed to be Deep Throat.

June

- June 1 - Dutch referendum on the European Constitution votes to reject, the second country to do so.
- June 5 - Switzerland votes to join the Schengen area and to allow same-sex partnerships.
- June 6 - Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam resigns.
- June 9 - Glynn Birch announced as new president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
- June 13 - Singer Michael Jackson acquitted of all charges of harming children (see 2005 trial of Michael Jackson).
- June 17 - A 6.7 aftershock,which followed a 5.3 earthquake the previous day, hits California making it the fourth earthquake since June 12 in California. (California earthquakes of June 2005)
- June 17 - Because of "quadruple-witching" options and futures expiration, the New York Stock Exchange sees the heaviest first-hour trading on record. 704 million shares were traded between 9:30-10:30 A.M. 1.92 billion shares were traded for the day.
- June 19 - Election in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain — preliminary results show that Manuel Fraga and the Partido Popular lose control of the autonomous parliament.
- June 21 - Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) failed 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.
- June 23 - The San Antonio Spurs win the NBA World Championship title.
- June 28 - Queen Elizabeth II conducts the International Fleet Review of 167 international warships in the Solent, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.
- June 30 - Spain joins Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting same-sex marriage.

July

- July 2 - Live 8, a series of 10 simultaneous concerts take place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.
- July 4 - NASA's "Copper bullet" from Deep Impact spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.
- July 4 - Violent G8 demonstrations in Gleneagles
- July 6 - The European Parliament rejects the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading in the codecision procedure.
- July 6 - The International Olympic Committee awards the 2012 Summer Olympics to London. London.]]
- July 7 - Four explosions rock the transport network in London, three on the London Underground and one on a bus. Over 50 deaths were reported, and over 200 injured. See 7 July 2005 London bombings.
- July 7 - Al-Qaeda admits to the killing of Egypt's Ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif.
- July 10 - Luxembourgish referendum on the European Constitution votes to accept.
- July 10 - Hurricane Dennis strikes near Navarre Beach, Florida as a Category 3 storm killing 10 people, after killing over 50 people in the Caribbean.
- July 12 - Terrorists kill 5 people and wound 90 people in a crowded mall in Netanya, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
- July 13 - Three trains collide in the Ghotki rail crash in Ghotki, Pakistan, killing over 150 people.
- July 14 - A compromise budget is reached in Minnesota, ending the fourteen-day government shutdown.
- July 16 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book of the Harry Potter saga by the British writer J. K. Rowling, is released.
- July 19 - President Bush nominates Appeals Court Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court, following the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor.
- July 20 - Canada's Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, receives Royal Assent.
- July 21 - A terrorist attack on London, similar to the July 7 attacks, includes 4 attempted bomb attacks on 3 Underground trains and a London bus. The bombs failed to explode properly, and only one injury was reported.
- July 22 - A Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, is shot dead at a London underground station by police who mistake him for a suicide bomber.
- July 23 - A series of blasts in a resort town in Egypt. See July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks.
- July 24 - Lance Armstrong wins a record seventh straight Tours de France before his scheduled retirement.
- July 26 - Launch for Space Shuttle Discovery return to flight mission STS-114. This is the first Space Shuttle flight in nearly two and a half years since the breakup of Columbia on its return from mission STS-107.
- July 28 - The Provisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms.

August

August
- August 2 - Air France Flight 358 bursts into flames after overshooting the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport; all aboard survive.
- August 6 - An ATR-72 heading from Italy to Tunisia crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 of 39 on board.
- August 9 - Space Shuttle Discovery returns to Edwards Air Force Base at 0814 EDT, completing STS-114, "Return to Flight."
- August 12 - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched.
- August 14 - Helios Airways Flight 552 crashes into a mountain in Greece, killing 121.
- August 16 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 152 passengers.
- August 17 - The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts.
- August 17 - Bangladesh is hit by bomb explosions. [http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Bangladesh_hit_by_several_bomb_explosions]
- August 18 - BTK killer Dennis Rader is sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences.
- August 18 - Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong peninsula.
- August 22 - A 4.1 kg meteorite crashes into the Dotito area of Zambezi Escarpment in Zimbabwe, leaving a 15 cm crater.
- August 23 - Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends.
- August 24 - Hong Kong High Court Judge Michael Hartmann rules that sodomy laws were unconstitutional. Michael Hartmann.]]
- August 28 - Terrorist wounds 52 at bus station in Beersheba, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.
- August 29 - At least 1,300 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas. Within hours, levees give way and New Orleans is flooded.
- August 31 - A crowd crush on the Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills several hundred civilians (see Baghdad bridge stampede).

September

- September 1 - Oil prices rise sharply following economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.
- September 5 - Mandala Airlines Flight 091 737 crashes in Indonesia killing at least 117. (See airplane accidents in 2005).
- September 7 - Incumbent Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak wins its first multi-party presidential election.
- September 11 - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the LDP are returned to power following the Japanese general elections.
- September 12 - Norwegian parliamentary election
- September 12 - English cricket team draw the final match to win The 2005 Ashes.
- September 14 - September 16 - Largest UN World Summit in history, held in New York City.
- September 17 - Helen Clark leader of the Labour Party is re-elected for a third term in the New Zealand general election
- September 18 - Angela Merkel of the CDU and Gerhard Schröder of the SDP both claim victory in German federal election
- September 18 - Afghan parliamentary election
- September 19 - North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.
- September 24 - Hurricane Rita hits the US Gulf Coast. The 9th Ward section of New Orleans floods for the 2nd time in a month and a half. Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama are also affected.
- September 25 - Polish parliamentary election.
- September 26 - U.S. army reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on six of seven counts in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.
- September 27 - Michaëlle Jean, born in Haiti, becomes the 27th Governor General of Canada, and the first black person to hold that position.
- September 28 - American politician Tom DeLay is indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy by a Texas grand jury.
- September 29 - John G. Roberts, Jr. is confirmed and sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
- September 30 - The Parliament of Catalonia passes with 120 plus votes and 15 against, the Project of New Catalan Statute of Autonomy, proclaiming in its article 1, "Catalonia is a nation".

October

- October 1 - 26 people are killed and more than 100 are injured in the 2005 Bali bombings.
- October 1 - The world's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of two Japanese banking conglomerates.
- October 1 - An Australian photojournalist in Afghanistan, Stephen Dupont, films US soldiers two dead Taliban militias' bodies.
- October 2 - 20 people are killed in a shipwreck in Lake George, NY.
- October 4 - Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America killing over 1,153 people.
- October 5 - Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith charged with refusing to serve in the Iraq war.
- October 7 - UN nuclear agency director Mohamed ElBaradei is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- October 8 - An earthquake in Kashmir kills about 80,000 people.
- October 9 - Polish presidential election.
- October 12 - The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for five days in orbit.
- October 13 - Veselin Topalov wins the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
- October 15 - The referendum on the new Proposed Iraqi constitution is held.
- October 15 - Riot in Toledo, Ohio during a Neo-Nazi rally surrounding racial issues; 114 arrested
- October 15 - Qinghai-Tibet Railway completed.
- October 16 - US Helicopters and warplanes bomb two villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people.
- October 18 - The UN tightens the rules for its staff, following several claims of financial impropriety and sexual abuse.
- October 19 - The Trials of Saddam Hussein begin.
- October 19 - Hurricane Wilma swells into a Category 5 storm.
- October 21 - 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, celebrations held around the United Kingdom.
- October 22 - Tropical Storm Alpha forms making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record.
- October 23 - Polish presidential election.
- October 23 - Referendum on the merger of the Kamchatka Oblast and the Autonomous District of Koryakia.
- October 23 - [http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendo_Sobre_a_Proibi%C3%A7%C3%A3o_do_Com%C3%A9rcio_de_Armas_e_Muni%C3%A7%C3%A3o_no_Brasil Guns and Amno Ban Referendum] in Brazil
- October 23 - Bellview Airlines Flight 210 crashes in Nigeria.
- October 24 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in southwestern Florida as a category 3 hurricane.
- October 26 - The Chicago White Sox win the 2005 World Series.
- October 26 - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map" at "World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran, Iran, and condemns peace process.
- October 27 - Two teenagers accidentally electrocute themselves in Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France, leading to widespread rioting.
- October 28 - Vice presidential adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigns after being charged with obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statement in the CIA leak investigation.
- October 29 - A train in Andhra Pradesh, India derails, killing at least 77 people.
- October 29 - At least 61 people are dead and many others wounded in three powerful blasts in the Indian capital, Delhi. See 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings for full details.
- October 30 - Hurricane Beta hits the coast of Nicaragua. It is the thirteenth hurricane of 2005, breaking the 1969 record of 12 hurricanes.

November

- November 1 - The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the United States for a state visit, their first overseas tour since their marriage.

Cell phones

A mobile phone, also known as a cell phone, smart phone, mobile, or hand phone, is an electronic telecommunications device with the same basic capability as a conventional fixed line telephone, but which is also entirely portable and is not required to be connected with a wire to the telephone network. Most current mobile phones connect instead to the network using a wireless radio wave transmission technology. The mobile phone communicates via a network of base stations which are in turn linked to the conventional telephone network. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, a mobile phone can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, packet switching for access to the Internet and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Some of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers include Alcatel, Audiovox, Fujitsu, Kyocera (formerly the handset division of Qualcomm), LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Philips, Sagem, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, SK Teletech, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba. There are also specialist communication systems related to, but distinct from mobile phones, such as satellite phones and Professional Mobile Radio. Mobile phones are also distinct from cordless telephones, which generally operate only within a limited range of a specific base station.

Worldwide deployment

Radio phones have a long and varied history that stretches back to the 1950s, with hand-held cellular radio devices being available since 1983. Due to their low establishment costs and rapid deployment, mobile phone networks have since spread rapidly throughout the world, outstripping the growth of fixed telephony. In most of Europe, wealthier parts of Asia and Latin America, Australia, Canada and the US, mobile phones are now widely used, with the majority of the adult, teenage, and even child population owning one. The number of cellphone subscribers in the US has reached over 190 million. At present India and China have the largest growth rates of cellular subscribers in the world. The availability of Prepaid or pay as you go services, where the subscriber does not have to commit to a long term contract, has helped fuel this growth. The mobile phone has become ubiquitous because of the interoperability of mobile phones across different networks and countries. This is due to the equipment manufacturers all working to the same standard, particularly the GSM standard which was designed for Europe-wide interoperability. All European nations and some Asian nations chose it as their sole standard, while in Japan and South Korea another standard, CDMA, was selected.

Mobile phone culture

CDMA handset]] In less than twenty years, mobile phones have gone from being rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to a pervasive low-cost personal item. In many countries, mobile phones now outnumber land-line telephones, with most adults and many children now owning mobile phones. It is not uncommon for young adults to simply own a mobile phone instead of a land-line for their residence. In some developing countries, where there is little existing fixed-line infrastructure, the mobile phone has become widespread. With high levels of mobile telephone penetration, a mobile culture has evolved, where the phone becomes a key social tool, and people rely on their mobile phone addressbook to keep in touch with their friends. Many people keep in touch using SMS, and a whole culture of "texting" has developed from this. The commercial market in SMS's is growing. Many phones even offer Instant Messenger services to increase the simplicity and ease of texting on phones. Cellular phones in Japan, offering internet capabilities such as NTT DoCoMo's i-mode, offer text messaging via standard email. The mobile phone itself has also become a totemic and fashion object, with users decorating, customizing, and accessorizing their mobile phones to reflect their personality. This has emerged as its own industry. The sale of commercial ringtones exceeded $2.5 billion dollars in 2004 [http://digital-lifestyles.info/display_page.asp?section=distribution&id=1474]. Mobile phone etiquette has become an important issue with mobiles ringing at funerals, weddings, movies and plays. Users often speak at increased volume, with little regard for other people nearby. It has become common practice for places like bookshops, libraries, movie theatres, and houses of worship to post signs prohibiting the use of cell phones, sometimes even installing jamming equipment to prevent them. The US intercity passenger system Amtrak offers a "quiet car" where cellphone use is prohibited, much like the designated non-smoking cars in days of yore. Mobile phone use on aircraft is also prohibited. Cameraphones and videophones that can capture video and take photographs are increasingly being used to cover breaking news. Stories like the London Bombings, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina have been reported on by cameraphone users on news sites like NowPublic and photosharing sites like Flickr. In Japan, cellular phone companies provide immediate notification of earthquakes and other natural disasters to their customers free of charge. In the event of an emergency, disaster response crews can locate trapped or injured people using the signals from their cellular phones; an interactive menu accessible through the phone's internet browser notifies the company if the user is safe or in distress.

Mobile phone features

See main article: Mobile phone features Mobile phones are often packed with features that offer users far more than just the capability to send text messages and make voice calls. These may include internet browsing, music (MP3) playback, personal organisers, email, watch/alarm, built-in cameras, ringtones, security measures (e.g. pin codes), SIM blocks, games, radio, Push to talk, infrared and bluetooth connectivity, and call registers.

Technology

Mobile phones and the network they operate under vary significantly from provider to provider, and even from nation to nation. However, all of them communicate over the air (through electromagnetic radio waves) with a base station (which is a special radio mast or tower designed for the purpose). The phones have a low power transceiver that is typically designed to transmit voice and data up to a few kilometers to where the tower is located. The handset constantly listens for the nearest tower with the strongest signal. Once found, the handset informs that tower of its own unique identifier, and alerts the mobile phone network that it is ready and standing-by to receive telephone calls. This cycle is then repeated as the phone roams around the network and new towers appear in the handset's range. Towers have high power radio transmitters which broadcast their presence, and relay communications to and from the mobile handsets. The tower is connected to the telephone network by a high-capacity link. The base station connects to the operator's backbone network and the wider public telephone network as well as the networks of other mobile phone operators. The dialogue between the handset and the tower is a stream of digitized audio. The technology that achieves this depends on the system which the mobile phone operator has adopted. Some technologies include AMPS for analogue, and TDMA, CDMA, GSM, GPRS and UMTS for digital communications. Each network operator also has a unique radio frequency chosen from a small number of standard frequencies allocated to each technology.

Controversy

Health controversy

See main article: Mobile phone radiation and health As with many new technologies, concerns have arisen about the effects on health from using a mobile telephone. There is a small amount of scientific evidence for an increase in certain types of rare tumors (cancer) in long-time, heavy users. More recently a pan-European study provided significant evidence of genetic damage under certain conditions. Some researchers also report the mobile phone industry has interfered with further research on health risks. So far, however, the World Health Organization Task Force on EMF effects on health has no definitive conclusion on the veracity of these allegations. (see also Electromagnetic radiation hazard). It is generally thought, however, that RF is incapable of producing any more than heating effects, as it is considered non-ionizing radiation; in other words, it lacks the energy to disrupt molecular bonds such as occurs in genetic mutations.

Driving controversy

Another controversial but perhaps more lethal health concern is the correlation with automobile accidents. Several studies have shown that motorists have a much higher risk of collisions and losing control of the vehicle while talking on the mobile telephone simultaneously with driving, even when using "hands-free" systems. One such study conducted by the television show Mythbusters concluded that use of mobile phones while driving poses the same risk as someone operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Accidents involving a driver being distracted by talking on a mobile phone have begun to be prosecuted as negligence similar to driving while intoxicated. In some jurisdictions, such as Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, Austria, the United Kingdom and France, as well as several states in the United States driving while using a mobile phone is illegal, though an exception is often made if the phone is equipped with a handsfree system. In Canada it is banned in Newfoundland (Dec 2002) with fines up to US$180.

Security concerns

Early mobile phones did not have much security designed in. Some problems with these models were "cloning", a variant of identity theft, and "scanning" whereby third parties in the local area could intercept and eaves drop in on calls. Analogue phones could also be listened to on some radio scanners. Although more recent digital systems (such as GSM) have attempted to address these fundamental issues, security problems continue to persist. Vulnerabilities (such as SMS spoofing) have been found in many current protocols that continue to allow the possibility of eavesdropping or cloning.

Future prospects

SMS spoofing] There is a great deal of active research and development into mobile phone technology that is currently underway. Some of the improvements that are being worked on are:
- One difficulty in adapting mobile phones to new uses is form factor. For example, ebooks may well become a distinct device, because of conflicting form-factor requirements — ebooks require large screens, while phones need to be smaller. However, this may be solved using folding e-paper or built-in projectors.
- One function that would be useful in phones is a translation function. Currently it is only available in stand-alone devices, such as Ectaco translators.
- An important area of evolution relates to the Man Machine Interface. New solutions are being developed to create new MMI more easily and let manufacturers and operators experiment new concepts. Examples of companies that are currently developing this technology are [http://www.digitalairways.com/ Digital Airways] with the Kaleido product, [http://www.e-sim.com/ e-sim], [http://www.mobile-arsenal.com.ua/ mobile arsenal], and [http://www.trigenix.com/ Qualcomm] with UIOne for the BREW environment.
- Mobile phones will include various speech technologies as they are being developed. Many phones already have rudimentary speech recognition in a form of voice dialling. However, to support more natural speech recognition and translation, a drastic improvement in the state of technology in these devices is required.
- New technologies are being explored that will utilize the Extended Internet and enable mobile phones to treat a barcode as a URL tag. Phones equipped with barcode reader-enabled cameras will be able to snap photos of barcodes and direct the user to corresponding sites on the Internet. This technology can be extended to RFID tags, or even snapped pictures of company logos. Searches can also be personalized to local areas using a GPS system built in to cell phones. Examples of companies that are currently developing this technology are [http://www.neom.com/ Neomedia] (via [http://www.paperclick.com/ Paperclick]), [http://www.mobot.com/ Mobot] and [http://www.scanbuy.com/ Scanbuy].
- Developments in miniaturised hard disks and flash drives to solve the storage space issue, therefore opening a window for phones to become portable music libraries and players similar to the iPod.
- Developments in podcast software enables mobile phones to become podcast playback devices through existing channels like [http://www.geocities.com/tvhuangsg/mmspodcast/ MMS Podcast], [http://www.geocities.com/tvhuangsg/javacast/ J2ME Podcast] and [http://www.geocities.com/tvhuangsg/mobcast/ AMR-NB Podcast].
- The emergence of integration capabilities with other unlicensed access technologies such as a WiMAX and WLAN, as well as allowing handover between traditional operator networks supporting GSM, CDMA and UMTS to unlicensed mobile networks. The new standard (UMA) has been developed for this.
- Further improvements in battery life will be required. Colour screens and additional functions put increasing demands on the device's power source, and battery developments may not proceed sufficiently fast to compensate. However, different display technologies, such as OLED displays, e-paper or retinal displays, smarter communication hardware (directional antennae, multi-mode and peer-to-peer phones) may reduce power requirements, while new power technologies such as fuel cells may provide better energy capacity.
- Speculative improvements in the future may be inspired by an English team led by James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau who in 2002 developed an implant designed to be inserted into a tooth during dental surgery. This device consists of a radio receiver and transducer, which transmits the sound via bone conduction through the jawbone into the ear. Sound is transmitted via radio waves from another device (presumably a mobile phone) and received by the implant. The implant is currently powered externally, given that no current power source is small enough to fit inside the tooth with it. In addition, the implant was only designed to receive signals, not transmit them. Directly tapping into the inner ear or the auditory nerve is already technologically feasible and will become practical as surgical methods advance.
- New technology in Japan has combined the RFID chip principle into the handset and hooked it up to a network of readers and interfaces. The system, pioneered by NTT Docomo and SonyEricsson, is called Felica and there are around 10,000 convenience stores where one can now use a phone to pay for goods just by 'swiping' it over a flat reader. By charging up a phone with pre-paid cash credits, it can act as a sophisticated mobile-phone wallet. The technology is proving popular and there are now even vending machines that accept this form of payment.
- The delivery of multimedia content including video to mobiles is beginning to become a reality with two main competing standards DMB - Digital Multimedia Broadcasting - and DVB-H -

Digital camera

History

Classification

Video cameras

Still cameras

Professional modular digital camera systems

Interpolation

Connectivity

Integration

Storage

Autonomous devices

Formats

See also

External links

Photograph

History and special effects

See also

Sound

Attributes of sound

Frequency and wavelength

Amplitude

Velocity

Types of sounds

Perception of sound

See also

Sound measurement

Reference

External links

2005

Events

Cell phones

Worldwide deployment

Mobile phone culture

Mobile phone features

Technology

Controversy

Health controversy

Driving controversy

Security concerns

Future prospects