As you are reading this review, I was
typing it on the Samsung GALAXY Camera itself. Yes, a word processor on a
camera. And this is only possible with the help of Android. Let’s backtrack a
bit. When the Android operating system (OS) had been released so many years
ago, no one thought it would go this far or this fast. Thanks to OEMs such as
Samsung, the world of mobile OS only being locked in smartphones and tablets
may be soon be at an end. Why? The answer lies within the coming of the Samsung
GALAXY Camera – the world's first Smart Camera.
The
Samsung GALAXY Camera – the world's first Smart Camera
More than others
What is it actually? In layman terms,
Samsung has combined a compact camera with the Samsung GALAXY S3, only it is
done without the phone capabilities. And thus the first smart camera appears on
the market. Suffice to say, we are truly impressed with the camera, but of
course there are some bad that goes with the good that we can’t get away from
commenting. So let’s see how it is like.
Big in looks
Design wise the camera is definitely on the
big side of compact. It is not something that y can easily slip into your
pocket. However the camera makes it up by having a long 21x zoom lens packed
within. With it, this camera quickly becomes the only one that can give you the
capability of taking some you know from afar (we would like to say up front
that we do not condone stalking activities).
Photos plus more
The sensor itself is definitely from a
compact camera but it is definitely bigger than the standard phone camera
sensor we have these days. That, plus the long optical zoom makes this a better
buy than any other compact camera you can find in the market. The biggest plus
of this product is that it has Android on board – Jelly Bean even. With this mobile
OS on the camera, you know that you are only limited by your imagination and
the apps you use. Instagram? Photo editing? Blog posting? You can literally do
it on the camera provided you have 3G or Wi-Fi signal readily available.
With
this mobile OS on the camera, you know that you are only limited by your
imagination and the apps you use
Tablet feel
Using the device is very different from any
other camera. It is more akin to using a tablet as you have access to your
apps, the internet plus the capability of taking high resolution photos (16
megapixels!). You can really stretch your creativity with the GALAXY Camera and
then share it straight away thanks to the built in wireless connectivity.
Following trends of the company, the camera accepts microSD cards for storage
to save captured images and video. The expansion storage can also be used to
install apps as needed. Of course, out of the box you get 4GB built in to get
you started off.
Performance king
We ran our usual test usually used on
Android phones, AnTuTu and Quadrant Standard. We ran the tests and had been
really surprised (ok maybe we shouldn’t be) from the score this smart camera
managed to generate. For the former, the Samsung GALAXY Camera got 15540
points, while on the latter, it managed 5525 points. It is higher than most of
the Android phones out there including some of the current high end phones
present in the market space. The only other phone that managed to go higher
than this is the Galaxy Note II, which we reviewed last November.
The
Samsung GALAXY Camera got 15540 points
Battery woes
Our biggest problem with the Galaxy Camera
isn’t the hardware or software, but the battery. The pack operates with
1650mAh, which for something with four cores and the latest Android OS, is
definitely not enough. Samsung is kind enough to give two batteries in each
retail pack but it is still a bit pathetic in the age of power-hungry devices.
Would we buy this? Yes. It is a very good device to justify the use of an old
school Nokia phone as your telephone.
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Specifications
§ Price:
$612
§ Dimensions
(HxWxD): 129 x 71 x 19 mm
§ Weight:
305 gr
§ Sensor:
1/2.3” (6.17 x 4.55 mm)
§ ISO
Rating: up to 3200
§ Video:
1920 x 1080 (30fps), 720 x 480 (120 fps)
§ Features:
Built-in 3G radio
§ Memory
Slot: microSD/SDHC/SDXC
§ LCD
Panel: 4.8” HD Super Clear @ 1280 x 720 pixels
§ Connectivity:
3G/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
§ Ports:
microHDMI / microUSB
§ Quadrant:
5525
§ AnTuTu:
15540
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