As the number of Android-powered handsets on the market continues to expand, so do the technical capabilities of the applications that run on the platform. The Droid, for example, is the first handset to introduce video recording at a resolution 720×480 (more than double that of the 320×240 recording found on most other Android handsets), and app makers are already swooping in to take advantage of it.
The first off the bat is the mobile video broadcasting service Qik, who will later tonight be announcing beta support for the increased resolution. Not only is Qik the first to reach such the new resolution on the Droid, but they’re also proudly claiming to be the first of all the mobile streaming services (amongst competitors such as Ustream, Kyte, and Flixwagon) to support such a high resolution in general.
While the increased resolution is the primary feature of the new release, it also brings an overall UI upgrade (for the sake of the Droid’s increased screen resolution), and an improved version of Qik’s “Speed Sharing Ribbon” which now allows you to instantly share your Qik’d videos with pre-selected contacts.
Fun Trivia: 720×480 is the same video resolution that you’ll find on a DVD. You probably shouldn’t expect Hollywood-quality footage to stream out of the Droid, as there are tons of other factors that come into play here besides resolution – but on a purely technical level, the pixel count is the same.
Anyone interested in checking out the Droid-only beta release can get more details by contacting droidbeta@qik.com
Disclosure: One of the TechCrunch writers, Daniel Brusilovsky, is also an employee at Qik. While this story is in no way influenced by that (in fact, I’d actually forgotten Daniel worked there at all until he mentioned it), we figured it was worth disclosing.
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