Will mobile phone supersedes “point & shoot” camera?
Posted by Cedric in Gadgets, Nomad Tools, Photography, Telecommunications
Since, mid-2006 mobile phones with a built-in 3 MP camera and optical zoon are available on the market and already represent an alternative to low end digital camera. More than 70 models are available today with a 3 to 5 MP resolution. One of the first phone with a "real camera" was the famous one Nokia N93 and its Carl Zeiss Optics.
Samsung is now putting even more pressure on camera makers with the soon release (first on European market) of its G800. A 5 MP digital camera with 3x optical zoom into mobile phone… or is it the opposite?
The specifications are rather attractive:
- Quad bands (900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 )
- Data network HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
- 2.4 inches TFT display with 256K colors
- Size 101×52x19mm for 129 gr (25% lighter than the Nokia N93)
- Standby 220 hours, talk time 3.5 hours.
- Memory 160 MB + MicroSD slot
- Document views (Office, PPT, PDF,)
- Email (POP3, IMAP), SMS, MMS,
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB 2.0, PCSync, OutlookSync, etc..
- FM Receiver, Java embedded, MP3, etc..
and indeed the built-in camera:
- 5 Mio Pixel
- 2592х1944 pixels
- autofocus
- video recording mode: MPEG4, 3GPP, H.263, H.264
- xenon flash
- 3x optical zoom /4x digital
- 4 shot modes
- 4 quality settings
- brightness adjustment
All other specs are here
The big plus is definitively the 3x optical zoom which makes the difference with other 5 MP phones. The resolution race continues as Samsung (them again) Electro-Mechanics announced on November 15th that 8 MP camera phones may be available by next summer following the successful development of a 10.5 x 11.5 x 9.4mm 8 megapixel CMOS censor.
Will camera makers develop new "point and shoot" camera with built-in phones and multimedia facilities such MP3 player and FM receiver ?
I'm impatient to have one "box" less to carry when traveling…
What will you drop first ? your camera or your phone ? 
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