Japan Semiconductor Innovation 50     (A-19 2000s)

Cell Phone Equipped with Digital Still Camera, J-SH04 (Sharp)

In October 2000, Sharp launched a cell phone, J-SH04, which incorporated a digital still camera. This digital still camera incorporated a 110k pixel image sensor, JPEG image compression function and image data transfer capability to PCs. In November, J-Phone (now Softbank) started the service named "sha-mail" or photo-mail, using this cell phone. It allowed immediate image data transfer of photos taken by the camera to PCs through the mobile telephone network. Although digital camera equipped cell phones had been developed before the market introduction of J-SH04, they had only poor mailing functions of image data and not well accepted in the market. J-SH04 captured user's potential needs, stimulated the market demand and created a new market of this kind of products.

J-SH04
Quote from Sharp HP

Remarks

Sharp HP ("One-of-a-Kind" Story)