Kodak unveils more powerful cell phone camera chips

Key to the performance of this new sensor is the "Kodak Truesense CMOS Pixel," a reworking of the fundamental design and architecture of traditional CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) pixels, the company says. A CMOS sensor is less expensive to manufacture, while consuming less energy and performing more functions on a single chip.

"It will help manufacturers reduce their costs...because of the size--you can put more chips onto one wafer, for the same amount of money," said Fas Mosleh, CMOS Sensors Marketing Director at Kodak. "This is the kind of technology that can help upgrade all camera phones to a real camera."

The announcement is the latest from Kodak's growing patent licensing arm, which has become a critical contributor to its profitability as the company emerges from an expensive transition into a producer of digital imaging and printing systems. Kodak expects to earn up to $350 million a year from royalties and related revenue through 2011.