Have camera phones jumped the shark? I mean, how many megapixels do you need in a mobile handset? The feature set of a camera phone are nowhere near a digital SLR or even a point and shoot digital camera. Why then, would you want to take a quick snapshot of something on a camera with such uber-high resolution?

Well, just because I don't get it doesn't mean someone out there doesn't want it. If you are seeking the ability to take camera phone photos at 3488 x 2616 resolution, then Digital Imaging Systems, a German-American developer of camera pieces and parts, has news for you. They have announced the availability of the DIS6931 9 megapixel camera module for mobile phones.

In addition to the insanely high image resolution, the DIS6931 will also feature high quality lenses, fast auto-focus, and very fast image capture speeds. Based on time-to-manufacturing estimates, 9 megapixel camera phones could be hitting the streets the first quarter of 2009.

Source.