Android smartphones and other mobile devices have long attempted to fulfill the role of a full-fledged camera.
Some smartphones do a decent enough job, especially when it comes to the convenience of being able to snap a picture and uploading it instantly to Facebook or Twitter. However, I think we all know that when it comes to taking high-quality pictures, particularly of moving subjects, most smartphones are severely lacking.
Enter Samsung’s Android-powered digital camera dubbed “Galaxy Camera” that is hitting AT&T stores today for $500. Yes, that may soundsounds like a lot of money, but for high-end point-and-shoot digital cameras the price isn’t really all that far out there.
Certainly, one of the biggest features of the camera is 4G LTE support, which means just like your smartphone, you can snap a picture or record a video and then uploaded it directly to the Internet. The Galaxy Camera runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the operating system. Although it can’t make phone calls, you can still download apps, surf the web and check your Facebook status.
One of the clear downsides to this device is that you have to pay a monthly subscription to be able to take advantage of LTE. Data plans for the camera range from $10 per month for 250 MB of data to $50 per month for 20 GB of data. Frankly, I can see people going through that $10 monthly plan very quickly with only a few videos or photos uploaded.
Additional features include a 4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD, a 21x optical zoom lens, 16-megapixel rear illuminated CMOS sensor and a 1.4 GHz processor. Users also have full manual control over shutter speed, aperture and ISO via Expert Mode.
