Google hints at multi-LED flash for smartphones

Will a Google-powered Motorola or Nexus smartphone in the near future take better pictures by sporting multiple LED flashes?

 

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Google a patent for a mobile device with multiple flashes, UnwiredReview.com said.

 

"LED flashes are notoriously worse than Xenon flashes, but with multiple LED flashes being used, it’s conceivable that they will be able to provide enough light to finally reach Xenon-like quality," it noted.

 

It added a one-LED or even dual-LED flash solution can produce big shadows.

 

On the other hand, the multiple-LED setup will save energy as it will not have the high power consumption and big space requirement associated with Xenon flashes, it said.

 

UnwiredReview.com said the simplest possible arrangement for Google’s multiple flashes would be a ring of LEDs circling the camera lens.

 

Such flashes can potentially provide "extremely good lighting and virtually shadow-free images," it said.

 

"Then, the phone could selectively trigger only some of the flashes, based on an analysis of ambient lighting at any given time (perhaps you don’t need all that light after all; or, this could take existing light sources into account)," it said.

 

Also, the flashes can be used to achieve high-quality pictures - "for the ‘ultimate’ in image processing results."

 

"All in all, if something like this ever makes it to shipping smartphones, it will open up a whole new world of possibilities in terms of image capture on such devices," it said. — TJD, GMA News