Samsung unveils 8-megapixel camera phone

The Samsung Innov8 promises a full set of camera features to keep shutterbugs happy.

(Credit: CNET Asia)

With a 10-megapixel cell phone in its handset lineup, Samsung is no stranger to high-end camera phones. But as if to prove that it really means business, today the company announced a new 8-megapixel shooter.

Called the Innov8 (the what?), it promises a full set of camera features to keep shutterbugs happy. Inside you'll find an auto-panorama mode; a bright flash; smile, blink, and face detection; wide dynamic range capturing abilities; and a video recorder that captures clips at 30 frames per second.

A phone or a camera?

(Credit: CNET Asia)

Beyond snapping shots, it also has an FM radio, Wi-Fi, a large display with an accelerometer, and an optical mouse (we're not sure how the latter works). It has a 3.5mm headset jack, stereo Bluetooth, 16GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, a music player, and A-GPS. And of course, it makes calls as well.

Also called the i8510, the Samsung Innov8 is a quadband GSM handset that supports the 1900 and 2100 HSDPA bands. It should launch in the European market by next month with other regions following in September. Pricing details are not yet available. With this new handset Samsung seems to be going after both the Sony Ericsson C905 and the Motorola ZN5. But for a deeper analysis of the Innov8, head over to our colleagues in Singapore at CNET Asia.

[dragoyang]

Great googaly moogaly....if you can't beat the competition, just put in as many bells and whistles as you can and deafen them will all the ringing, huh Samsung? I just hope they're not sacrificing quality for quantity.

[clarrkkent]

yay! another great phone we WON'T get here in the U.S.. If cell companies could get their act together and stop trying to sell us cheap iphone knockoffs, they might actually stop hemorhagging customers to AT&T.

I'd drop my iphone in a heartbeat if I thought I could get a cell phone that could actually replace my camera too. The convenience factor would be through the roof.

[RU2010]

I'm not sure what you mean by cell companies "hemorhagging" customers to AT&T. NOT including the Alltel merger, Verizon Wireless added 200,000 more customers this quarter than at&t. Check your facts before you post.

[Benf]

Wow, this looks like yet another iPhone killer. Ill still take an n96 though

[schnear25]

I have been getting free phones and no digital camera for the past 5 years waiting for a phone exactly like this. It finally came...but its only in Europe. I hate the way cell phone carriers are in America.

[tech_junky48]

I'm still waiting for the phone that replaces my kitchen sink, but I'm sure it'll be released in Japan next year and here in 10 years.

Seriously, though, what gives? Why is it that the best phones here that are carried are 3.2mp's, when Orange has carried the N95 in the UK for over a year? I'm talking with subsidizing and everything.

[johngarger]

Can someone give me an idea whether or not I should go for a smart phone or just use a more stylish phone and wait for some better technology? I am on the Sprint network, and was referred to http://www.sanyowireless.com , but I'm not seeing any options that look like smart phones. I don't need an MP3 player or a camera, I'd rather have a phone that is lighter and easier to carry. Any recommendations would be welcome.