Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Camera certainly boasts some pretty sweet specs. But does the niche device have a future in an increasingly competitive mobile world?
Indeed, most geeks or technology enthusiasts I know would probably balk at carrying yet another device – in addition to their tablet and smartphone. Yes, both devices are capable of snapping pictures, although the latter is obviously much more convenient and intuitive to use.
Frankly, I think the average person out there is perfectly satisfied with the point-and-shoot capabilities of their current-gen smartphone and probably won’t be picking up a dedicated camera anytime soon. That being said, Samsung’s Android Galaxy Camera will likely be in the forefront of creating a lucrative, albeit limited, niche market.
The device – which runs Jelly Bean – packs a 1/2.3″ BSI CMOS sensor with a rather impressive 16.3 megapixels. The camera weighs just 305g and is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core processor paired with 8GB (expandable) onboard storage.
Additional specs include a 23mm f/2.8 lens with 21x optical zoom, 4.7″ HD display at 308ppi, WiFi/Bluetooth/3G/4G connectivity, ISO from 100 up to 3200, A-GPS, 10 distinct (pre-set) shooting modes and voice control.
Users can edit photos and videos with Samsung’s on-board wizards, which also enables seamless content sharing and (optional) backups to the cloud. As expected, the camera offers full access to apps sold in Google’s Play Store.
Pricing and availability has yet to be released, although we do know the camera will roll out some time during the fourth quarter of 2012 in full coordination with mobile carriers.
