With the SE C905, Samsung INNOV8, and LG Renoir set to duke it out for the 8 megapixel handset throne over the next few months, what’s the obvious next step? More megapixels, of course!

Camera module developer Digital Imaging Systems has bumped it up a notch with the announcement of DIS6931, the world’s first 9 megapixel camera phone module. With its relatively hasty autofocus (<300 ms) and click-to-capture time (<200 ms) and mechanical shutter, I wouldn’t count on seeing these make their way into anything but flagship models within the next year and a half. Commercial availability begins near the end of 2008, so we’ll be probably be seeing these make their way into wallet-destroying handsets by the late-middle of 2009. Now, lets just hope it’s capable of taking a low-light shot without making everyone in the picture look like freaky, blurry smurf people.

[Via UnwiredView]