Samsung 8MP Camera Phone Launched
Samsung has beaten the rest of the pack with the launch of its ultra powerful i8510, the first mobile phone to feature an 8MP camera.
In time for Christmas trading the move is set to irk the other leading names, in particular Sony Ericsson, who have recently announced the launch of their own 8MP camera phone (the C905), which will not make it into the UK market until later on in the year.
The staggering camera features of the compact Samsung i8510 are sure to impress. These include ‘smile shot’, which automatically takes a shot when the subject grins, plus ‘multi shot’ and ‘face recognition’. Storage space is provided via the 8GB internal memory but if this is still not enough users can provide an extra 16GB thanks to the external memory slot.
Samsung have really triumphed with this handset because it is not just the camera functionality that makes this phone so impressive. HSDPA and Wi-Fi users are likely to be pleased by the promise of PC like web browsing thanks to the optical mouse and four way navigation key.
For navigation of a different kind the phone offers built in A-GSP technology providing routing, mapping and geotagging.
Music lovers have not been over-looked either. External dual speakers provide 3D surround sound and a 3.5mm jack port allows users to plug in their headphones and hear a truly outstanding audio experience, whether listening to music or watching the video player, which supports DivX, WMV, Real Player and MPEG4 formats.
The i8510 is available now and is exclusive to Carphone Warehouse.
Samsung i8510 Specs
Size: 106.5 x 53.9 x 17.2mm
Weight: 140g
Display: 2.8”, QVGA, 16 million colour TFT LCD
Operating system: Symbian OS V9.3, S60 v3.2
Camera: 8 megapixels
Video: QVGA 120fps video recording, VGA 30fps recording
Talktime: 300 mins
Standby: 330 hrs
Considering Purchasing A Smartphone
Don’t buy until you have read our reviews of the best on the market – Oct 2008
9/10
BlackBerry Bold 9000
From £590, or Free with contract
The most advanced BlackBerry available with fast internet access, satnav and s stunningly bright and clear screen. It has an easy to use keyboard, making it the best pocket emailer on the market.
Contact: - www.blackberry.com
9/10
Apple iPhone 3G
From £350 pay-as-you-go, or Free with contract (O2)
This handset offers the best of the excellent iPod music player combined with superb mobile web technology. A beautiful handset with a huge screen. However it loses a mark for basic satnav and reportedly poor reception.
Contact: - www.apple.com/uk
9/10
Nokia Capsule N96
From £535, or Free with contract
Although this handset does not have a touch screen it beats its rivals in the camera stakes, with a great 5MP camera with flash. Other features include BBC iPlayer TV downloads and a good built in satnav. 16GB of memory ensures that there is plenty of space to store music and videos.
Contact: - www.nokia.co.uk
8/10
Nokia E71
From £330, or Free with contract
A rival to the BlackBerry the Nokia E71 is a stylish and slim qwerty keyboard phone and is packed with features, such as W-Fi, HSDPA web browsing and push email, plus satnav and an integrated 3MP camera with flash.
Contact: - www.nokia.co.uk
7/10
BlackBerry Curve 8320
£305, or Free with contract
Smaller than the Bold (see our 9/10 top pick above) but still manages to boast a full qwerty keyboard, plus satnav, Wi-Fi browsing and a great email service. However, this handset loses points for only offering a 2MP integrated camera.
Contact: - www.blackberry.com
7/10
Palm Treo Pro
£400, or Free on contract
Combines a full qwerty keyboard with a small touch screen and Windows Mobile software. Has a built in satnav but as with the BlackBerry Curve 8320 this handset loses points for only offering a 2MP camera.
6/10
BlackBerry Pearl 8120
£290, or Free with contract
This handset does not offer a qwerty keyboard, but instead offers a keyboard, which features two letters per key. This takes some time to master. The handset also loses points for offering just a 1.3MP camera, which is low res. The lack of HSDPA makes web browsing a chore.
Contact: - www.blackberry.com
6/10
Nokia E66
£328, or Free with contract
This is a sliding handset, which uses the same software as the Nokia N96 handset. It offers great web browsing, push email, satnav and a 3MP camera that flips the screen from portrait to landscape.
Contact: - www.nokia.co.uk
6/10
Samsung F480 Tocco
From £290, or Free with contract
Like the iPhone this handset offers a touch screen, but lacks the power of the Apple. The Wi-Fi lacks internal memory and to store any quantity of music or videos a separate memory card will be required.
Contact: - www.samsungmobile.com
6/10
HTC Touch Diamond
£430, or Free with contract
On the face of things this handset looks like a superb rival to the iPhone and offers a superb high-res touch screen. However, this phone loses points because once you try anything beyond making a call you are dumped into the Windows Mobile software, which requires a stylus, hence making the handset fiddly to use.
Contact: - www.htc.com/uk
5/10
Toshiba Portege G810
£350
This handset offers a touch screen, decent satnav and a surprisingly good 3MP camera. However, it has a finger unfriendly typing system thanks to its badly designed stylus on a tiny keyboard.
Contact: - www.toshiba.co.uk
4/10
Motorola Z10
From £260, or Free with contract
This phone lacks the quality of the other models, but none make it as easy to edit and upload videos onto YouTube as the Motorola Z10. There is no push email or Wi-Fi, but you can still access basic email or browse the web using HSDPA. This phone should be bought by video lovers.
Contact: - www.motorola.co.uk