Back in August, Samsung unveiled a handful of new products at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany. It showed off the Galaxy Note 2 phablet, a new Windows Phone 8 handset, and some Windows 8 machines. It also took the wraps off its new Android camera.
The Galaxy Camera is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a 16MP camera with a 4.8-inch screen, quad core processor, and built-in 3G/4G connectivity running Android software. And for those interested, AT&T will start offering the device this Friday for $500…
Here’s a breakdown of the Galaxy Camera’s features
- 4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD™ screen
- 21x optical zoom lens
- super-bright 16MP backside illuminated CMOS sensor
- quad-core 1.4 GHz processor
- 1,650mAh battery
- Android 4.1
The Camera will go on sale November 16 for $499.99. If that’s too steep, AT&T is currently running a promotion that knocks $100 off of any Samsung device, including the Galaxy Camera, with purchase of another Samsung smartphone. Here’s your data plans:
- AT&T Mobile Share: $10 to share between 1 GB and 20GB
- AT&T DataConnect 250MB: $15 for 250MB
- AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
- AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB
AT&T also notes that the Galaxy Camera will have access to AT&T Locker, the carrier’s free and easy-to-use photo and video sharing service for its subscribers. AT&T Locker users get 5 GB of storage for free – enough for about 5,000 photos, but can add more if needed.
It’s going to be interesting to see how consumers react to this particular product. $500 plus an additional monthly data fee on top of what you are paying for your smartphone and tablet just seems silly. Then again, maybe this is where those shared data plans come in.
I can kind of see the logic here. A 3G/4G-enabled Android camera would make it possible to snap photos, and quickly edit and share them with a number of apps and services. But I’m not sure if better Instagram and Facebook photos is worth the extra money,
And Samsung’s not the only one trying this whole Android-based camera thing out. Nikon has one, and word is that Fuji and Olympus are both mulling the idea. So obviously they think there is a gap in the market for these “smart” cameras. But what do you think?
Is there really a market for these things? Is this something Apple should be getting into?
[AT&T via 9to5Google]