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Android 2.3.3 update leaves Nexus S owners seeing yellow
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google has whipped up a bit of a storm by changing the default colour temperature in its Android 2.3.3 update to Nexus S smartphones.
Google started delivering Android 2.3.3, the latest version of Gingerbread, to Nexus S devices last week and it didn't take long for users to notice that the colour reproduction on their devices had changed. And they weren't wrong, with Google admitting that it had changed the colour temperature in order to "more accurately reflect darker colours at all brightness levels".
Apparently responding to testing feedback, Google lowered the colour temperature as users were claiming that greys were displaying "a reddish tone". The problem was made worse, said Google, because the Gingerbread user interface is darker. Judging by feedback on its forums, Nexus S users are now complaining that images appear washed out and seem to have a yellow tint.
Colour temperature is a major problem for those who work in the imaging industry and Google seems to have been caught out by the popularity of warmer display settings. These settings typically include higher colour temperature and increased colour saturation, which give a sense of warmth but might not be an accurate representation of colour, as anyone who has calibrated their PC monitor might know.
However if Google has indeed lowered the colour temperature, it is surprising to see users complain about a yellow tint to pictures. Lowering the colour temperature usually means a paler picture that appears to have a blue tint.
Google might bow to popular pressure and resort back to a higher colour temperature in future versions of Android. After all, most PC monitor manufacturers produce glossy screens simply because the majority of punters believe, albeit incorrectly, that colours are more vibrant looking on them. µ
Tags: Google
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Seems like Google are happy to fiddle with all kinds of pointless things but still haven't fixed the random crashes and reboots that plague this phone.
The OS can't be relied upon to make a phone call, or play music, there's something badly wrong with their quality control...
I'm afraid that Google's description of Colour Temperature effects, which you have echoed in your article, is ar5e about face; colours become 'cooler' as the colour temperature increases and become 'warmer' as it is reduced, rather than the other way around.
Your photography correspondent will be able to confirm this, and you can see it for yourself by just looking at the colour of an electric hob ring as it heats up (yes, the light from the ring will get brighter as well, as it heats up, but it is the colour you need to note).
The article is confusing because the author talks about "temperature" and "color temperature" meaning possibly something like reddish hue emphasis? It would be greatly appreciated if the author could please stick with one standard and be precise. "Color temperature", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature, is confusing, because it is inverse proportional to temperature, best left to the caves, where the perception of warmth from a red glow originated. If a chromaticity scheme is used, then hue and brightness may be more appropriate terms. Then, since yellow is complementary to magenta, are the magenta tones are also affected?