Standalone cameras are fantastic at shooting pictures, but lack the connectivity features that make smartphones so popular. Smartphones, on the other hand, can instantly upload your photos, let you share with friends and allow you to edit your photos on the fly – which would all be a lot better if the picture quality lived up to what standalone camera can do.
The Galaxy Camera is designed to fit in between those two categories. It sports a super-bright 16MP CMOS sensor and a 21x optical zoom lens, but also packs a quad core processor, Android 4.1 and 4G connectivity. The connectivity is certainly welcome, but one of the big questions is cost. If the Galaxy Camera is priced right, we could really see this new category of connected cameras take off. If not, we might not see another.
The Galaxy Camera will first be available from AT&T, but no date or price have yet been specified.
You can see the official AT&T press release below.
Dallas, Texas, October 04, 2012
AT&T* and Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (Samsung Mobile)1
today announced the Samsung Galaxy Camera™ coming to AT&T. The
Galaxy Camera combines high performance photography with Android™ 4.1
Jelly Bean and AT&T 4G mobile internet connectivity, resulting in a
powerful point and shoot camera with a familiar, intuitive user
interface and access to all of your favorite Android applications from
the Google Play™ market.
The Galaxy Camera is a perfect fit for those who wish to shoot, edit
and share brilliant photographs and video easily and quickly without
connecting to a laptop or PC. The Galaxy Camera features a 4.8-inch HD
Super Clear LCD screen, boasts a 21x optical zoom lens and a
super-bright 16MP BSI CMOS sensor for shooting high-quality images close
up and in low light conditions. This device is powered by a quad-core 1
GHz processor for quick and responsive performance ensuring you can
capture the shots you want. It also includes powerful features like
Smart Pro Mode technology, which allows you to toggle through a series
of pre-set options that simplify the processes for taking
professional-level images.
“Wirelessly enabling Samsung’s Galaxy Camera will create a
significant shift in how consumers share and communicate with photos and
videos,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, AT&T Emerging Devices.
“By posting instantly to social networking sites or sending directly to
another device, the person behind the lens is essentially offering
family and friends the opportunity to share in the moments as they are
actually experiencing them. We’re excited that the AT&T wireless
network will help enable these opportunities.”
“Once again, Samsung has defined a new category of mobile devices and
AT&T is leading the way to bring this device to consumers. The
Galaxy Camera brings together Samsung’s latest innovations in mobile and
optical imaging technologies to provide the first connected camera
running on the latest Android platform,” said Dale Sohn, President of
Samsung Telecommunications America.
In addition to being able to share to social networks and cloud
services on the go, consumers can harness the speed and connectivity of
AT&T’s wireless network to share images and videos between Galaxy
Camera and a range of Galaxy™ devices including the Galaxy S® III and
Galaxy Note® II.
The Galaxy Camera is designed with several of the key content sharing features first introduced with the Galaxy S III including:
AllShare® Play
- Locate Samsung HDTVs, laptops and other devices on the same Wi-Fi®
network that are ready to receive photo and video files. Users can
remotely access files from Galaxy Camera with other devices on their
home network like a PC or Samsung Smart TV™.
Share Shot
- Automatically send still images taken with the Galaxy Camera to other Galaxy S III, and Galaxy Note devices up to 200 feet away
Buddy Photo Share
- Instantly and automatically tags faces of existing device contacts in photos making it easy to share with them.
Pricing for the Galaxy Camera will be announced when it goes on sale
in the coming weeks. For more information on AT&T, please visit www.att.com.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand
and not by AT&T Inc.
1Samsung Mobile is the No. 1 mobile phone
provider in the United States based upon reported shipment data,
according to Strategy Analytics, North America Handset Vendor
Marketshare, Q2 2012.
4G when used in relation to Samsung devices refers to the fact that the devices can operate on AT&T’s 4G network.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world.
Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are
the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the
world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the
nation’s largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless,
Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in
mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage
worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that
work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under
the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The
company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of
the most advanced in the world.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and
services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available
at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT.
About Samsung Mobile
Samsung Mobile (Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC), a
Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches,
develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products
throughout North America. For more information, please visit
www.samsungwireless.com.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor,
telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies
with 2011 consolidated sales of US$ 143.1 billion. Employing
approximately 206,000 people in 197 offices across 72 countries, the
company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine
independent business units: Digital Media & Communications,
comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication
Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and
Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LED. Recognized
for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic,
environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the
world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones
Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
© 2012 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights
reserved. 4G not available everywhere. AT&T, the AT&T logo and
all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual
Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks
contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
