8
User-Centric Software
8.1 Imaging and Social Networking
The ability to capture images on a mobile phone has either coincided with and/or facilitated the social-networking phenomenon. Either way, this provides a justification for treating the topic of image processing in this chapter under the heading of user-centric software, exploring the relationship of mobile-phone software and social networking.
In theory at least imaging bandwidth should translate into network value. If we take a picture or video on a mobile phone and send it to a friend or share it with multiple friends on an image and video sharing web site then the cost of connectivity should be realised as operator revenue. This is, however, premised on the assumption that the image/images will be uploaded over the mobile broadband network on the basis of this being the easiest and most immediate option available. However, we usually have the option to wait until we get home and upload over a fixed connection. This will be an appealing option if the cost difference between an upload over the mobile network and fixed network is higher than the point of indifference, whatever that happens to be. The reduction of solid-state memory cost, the increase in solid-state memory density and a reduction in memory power drain have made it easier both technically and commercially to provide phones with enough memory to support the home-upload option.
Imaging capabilities in mobile phones can, however, provide significantly more ...
