Samsung registered the name Galaxy Camera earlier this year, and ever since, the rumor mill has been abuzz with speculation of the Korean company offering an Android-based camera. Today at IFA, the Galaxy Camera has finally been unveiled to the public, and the device – which looks conspicuously similar to the Galaxy S III – certainly packs in a decent punch.
Smartphone snappers have been consistently evolving over the past five or so years, and the days of the grainy VGA shots have been gradually replaced thanks to the much more agreeable shooters placed on the majority of smartphones. That said, the quality of images taken on the iPhone 4S, Galaxy S III and HTC One X still pales in comparison to the mainstream standalones, and Samsung hopes the Galaxy Camera will prove a hit thanks to its heavy Android influence.
Nikon released its own Android-based snapper some time ago, but the Galaxy Camera certainly looks to be a step up. There had been the odd murmur prior to today’s IFA announcement, that Samsung would indeed bring an Android cam to its roster, but with no real hardware leaks, didn’t seem particularly likely.
Despite not actually being a smartphone, it packs in as much power as the very best, and will ship with Android Jelly Bean (4.1) out of the box. The Galaxy Camera’s 21x zoom lens and a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor will run rings around your current smartphone’s image-taking ability – even if you are indeed running Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III device. The camera features a sizeable 4.8-inch HD SLCD display, and although this is nothing out of the ordinary for a smartphone – many are in excess of the 5-inch mark – in camera terms, this is a very generous offering.
Then again, the Galaxy Camera is no ordinary camera, boasting a worthy 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos SoC. It includes 8GB of on-board storage space, although naturally, you can expand this by means of a microSD.
Meanwhile, the 1650mAh battery will keep things ticking over nicely, and for those who like to frequently share, there Galaxy Camera will feature as both a 3G+ Wi-Fi and 4G + Wi-Fi offering.
Exciting for the photo aficionados, but will it find a place in the market? Leave your thoughts via the usual mediums below.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.
