IFA 2012: Samsung unveils Galaxy Camera with Jelly Bean

Samsung has announced the Galaxy Camera at the ongoing IFA 2012 event. Samsung claims that the Galaxy Camera combines high performance photography with the latest Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system, and wireless network connectivity, thereby creating a new type of device. Samsung Galaxy Camera is said to be ideal for those who wish to shoot, edit, and share high quality photographs and videos easily and spontaneously from anywhere, at any time.

“The Galaxy Camera opens a new visual communication era and shifts a paradigm in communication. With the growth of social networks and the prevalence of smartphones and tablets, people today communicate faster than words. As we increasingly articulate our experiences through pictures and videos the Galaxy Camera has been created to lead the way in this new era of visual communication. Communication becomes more vivid and lively with high-quality images and instant sharing anywhere, anytime,” said JK Shin, President of IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.

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The next phase in camera technology

Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google congratulated the Samsung team on the occasion of the launch and said, “When we first started work on Android, we envisioned building a smart camera that would take digital photography to the next level. The Galaxy Camera is an innovative product that speaks to the openness and flexibility of the Android platform”.

Samsung claims that users of the camera will not need to sacrifice picture quality in order to edit and share their photos instantly as it easily outperforms any smartphone camera. This model features a 21x zoom lens and a bright 16M BSI CMOS sensor. The device also features ‘Smart Pro’ technology, which is a series of modes that make professional-looking photography easy.

The Galaxy Camera is that it runs on the latest version of the Android OS. Wireless connectivity enables the device to load applications for photo-editing, sharing, and much more. Users will experience all of Galaxy Camera’s features on a HD Super Clear LCD display.

The Galaxy Camera’s 21x zoom can be controlled by either button or through the touchscreen, while the optical image stabiliser ensures that images stay clear. The camera’s 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS sensor captures images in good colour and resolution, while the 23mm aperture lens delivers wide-angle shots.

The Galaxy Camera features a large display which is a 4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD screen. Another advantage of smartphone technology is the Voice Control option, which allows the user to control a number of functions such as ‘Zoom in’ and ‘Shoot’ through voice. 

The Galaxy Camera includes a set of 35 photo editing features through the ‘Photo Wizard’, allowing users to make professional quality edits on the go. The camera has an ultrafast quad-core processor and an HD Super Clear LCD, giving access to a feature such as Auto Face Calibration so that edits can be made. The ‘Movie Wizard’ also allows users to create and edit videos from the touchscreen.

The Galaxy Camera also features ‘Smart Content Manager’, an on-device organisation tool, which creates folders, tags faces, and even suggests pictures to delete when they do not come out as desired. In addition to the pre-installed applications from Samsung, users can browse the web and enjoy any applications from Google Play or Samsung Apps stores. If users are not sure which app to download, ‘S Suggest’ will help them recommend a new photo editing app or fun game to download.

The camera’s convenient ‘Auto Cloud Backup’ feature will automatically save precious photos into the cloud via Samsung’s AllShare the moment they are taken. The Galaxy Camera also allows users to share photos at the same time as they shoot them with ‘Share Shot.’ As well as sharing to social networks and cloud services, users can also connect to a range of Galaxy devices including the Galaxy S III and the recently announced Galaxy Note II for automatic sharing of pictures across the Galaxy family of devices. The new device enables connection to 3G or 4G.

The Galaxy Camera also functions on Wi-Fi with Dual Band and Channel Bonding for enhanced speed. Connectivity is supported by a quad-core processor that enables fast web-browsing and multi-tasking, as well as fast image processing without a significant impact on battery life.

The Galaxy Camera comes in two connectivity options: a 3G and Wi-Fi version or a 4G and Wi-Fi version. There is no word on the pricing or availability of the Galaxy Camera yet. As Samsung has just announced the device, we expect the model to be launched in the near future.