By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
For Samsung Electronics, innovation means cramming a full-blown digital camera and high-definition (HD) camcorder into a phone. Now, it only remains to be seen if consumers will be generous about the lofty price tag.
So far, most of the built-in cameras of mobile phones were digital accessories that were nice to have, but fell short of being essential.
However, Samsung Electronics' SCH-W880 makes one wonder whether it should be described as a camera-phone or phone-camera, as it comes loaded with a 12-megapixel camera, HD video and a 3.3-inch active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display.
It is the industry's first 12-megapixel camera-phone that has a lens with 3x optical zoom, Samsung Electronics said.
Dedicated camera controls such as the mode dial and shutter, as well as the Xenon flash, hand-tremble stabilizer and face-detection functions, add proof that the camera isn't settling for a supporting role here. The SCH-W880 also records HD video at 30 frames per second.
The phone capabilities aren't too shabby either, supporting HSDPA (high speed downlink package access) data over third-generation (3G) networks, Wi-Fi, global positioning system (GPS), Bluetooth, 4-gigabyte internal memory, a microSD slot and digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) mobile television.
Samsung Electronics, which has begun taking preorders for the SCH-W880 (also called the ``AMOLED 12M'') at its mobile phone shops, said the new camera-phone will arrive on shelves in early October.
The company is still discussing with mobile telephony carriers the price of the handset, although consumers will likely pay around 1 million won (about $840).
``The AMOLED 12M combines a 12-megapixel camera with AMOLED display, making it unbeatable in pixels and picture quality and redefining the premium camera phone game,'' Samsung Electronics said in a news release.
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest electronics maker, has been eager to blur the boundary between digital cameras and mobile phones, evidenced by its previous well-reviewed camera-phones such as the Pixon 12, and the SCH-W880 apparently represents a step further.
In an attempt to boost its digital camera business, Samsung Electronics said it is considering absorbing its camera-making unit, Samsung Digital Imaging.
Samsung Electronics is the world's largest flat-panel television maker and the runner-up in terms of mobile phones, and is looking to gain on Japanese rivals Canon and Sony in the digital camera market.
Samsung currently controls 10 percent of the world's digital camera market, third behind Canon, which has a 49 percent share, and Sony, which has 28 percent.
Samsung Digital Imaging currently develops and manufactures cameras, which are distributed by Samsung Electronics.