Nikon just announced the world’s first digital camera that is powered by the Android operating system. Android version 2.3 Gingerbread to be specific. I’m not sure I really agree with the “world’s first camera powered by Android” desgination. I mean there have been a blue million Android smartphones with cameras and Android tablets with cameras. The new COOLPIX S800c features a resolution of 16MP, 10x optical zoom 4.5-45mm, a high resolution OLED touch screen with anti-reflection coating, SD/SDHC memory card slot, WiFi and GPS. Since it uses the Android OS, you will have access to Google Play and the ability to install apps on your camera. I can see the attraction of having a really good camera with the ability to upload pix directly to Facebook, Instagram, etc. But the S800c only has WiFi and v2.3 of Android isn’t even the latest and greatest. So it’s only slightly interesting to me. If you can’t wait to get your hands on one, it’s available in Black or White and will be priced at $349.95. You can pre-order it now from B&H Photo (affiliate link).
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I’ve been waiting for someone to try this – Wifi-only I think is probably fine for this (cellular would mean you need a data plan, and you’d probably want a mic and speakers, and at that point you’ve got an overpriced clunky phone), but a newer version of Android would be nice. And it’s good to see that is has built-in GPS: I’ve been wondering when camera companies would get the idea that geotagging should be built in.
“I mean there have been a blue million Android smartphones with cameras and Android tablets with cameras.”
Phone/Tablet cameras started out no better than webcams and haven’t really gotten that much better since.
Really, you can’t really compare a 8MP phone/tablet cam to a 8MP dedicated camera, let alone the higher end offerings.
Phone/Tablet cams are great for convenience but compared to dedicated cameras they are still sub par.
Things like night shots, fast action shots, real zoom vs digital zoom, graininess, color accuracy, lens options, etc. Clearly shows the difference!
A Phone/Tablet has to deal with much smaller image sensor. So needs more light, longer exposures, etc. Cost limits also often imposes plastic lenses instead of high quality lenses. They’re too small for physical zooming. The MP rating is often exaggerated as final image is down sampled.
So while they’ve improved over the years, there’s still significant differences between a phone/tablet cam and a dedicated cam that doesn’t have those limits imposed upon it.
@James I’m aware of the differences between a dedicated camera and a smartphone camera. I was referring to the fact that Nikon is throwing around the term “world’s first Android powered camera”, when it’s not exactly true depending on how you look at it. You’re looking at it a bit different than I am obviously 🙂
Sorry, but Phone/Tablet devices are Phone/Tablet devices first and foremost. They have camera functionality but only as a added secondary function.
Not all Phone/Tablet devices even have a camera!
While this product on the other hand is a camera first and foremost! The Android functionality is secondary and thus that makes it the first camera running Android!
Really, turn it off and look at it and the only thing you see is what is clearly a camera.
It may not be the first Android device with a camera but it is the first camera that’s also a Android device.