As anticipated, CES 2012 was awash with Android gizmos and gadgetry. The floor was a sea of Android tablets touting Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and quad-core processors, not to mention mountains of high spec Android phones. Not only was there news of smartphones and tablets to expect in 2012 however, but there was also a whole bunch of other nifty Android devices to look forward to, including smart cameras and smartwatches.
As 2011 ended we were already well aware that 2012 would be the year of the camera phone; we say camera phone as the very essence of these devices is the camera and the phone seems almost secondary. About time too. Although smartphone cameras have been continually improving, there has still been a need to have a secondary dedicated camera. Up until now!
The first camera phone on the horizon at the end of last year was Panasonic Lumix 101P. We still have a while to wait before this one is released in the UK (Easter maybe?), but it’s safe to say that its specs are impressive throughout.
Announced at CES was Sony’s first solo venture into Android (without their usual partner ‘Ericsson’), Sony Xperia S. As smartphones go, this one certainly packs a punch in the camera stakes, boasting a fantastic 12 MP beastie.
CES, however, unveiled a new Android phenomenon, the Android Smart Camera. Kodak’s Polaroid SC1630 smart camera was unveiled at CES 2012.
Similarly, last year saw a few smartwatches making their way onto the Android market, including the rather impressive and bringing i’mWatch. Since then Android smartwatches seem to be the new buzzword in a useful fashion, and Sony Ericsson announced their own at CES. Are they all they’re cracked up to be? We’ll just have to see.
Kodak Polaroid SC1630 Android Camera Phone
Whether Polaroid SC1630 is a dual Android smart camera/smartphone remains to be seen. The confusion seems to surround this Kodak product that was announced at CES. The main consensus seems to veer towards it being purely a smart camera at this point, with the advantage of Android and Android apps. We’re sure, even if it is the case that there’s no phone on this smart camera, we’re sure the added benefit of Android (think Netflix, Angry Birds, etc) will more than suffice the avid photographer… just don’t forget your smartphone.
Smart Camera Specs
Whether Polaroid SC1630 is a camera phone or simply a camera, it’s exciting to see a little healthy competition emerging on the smart camera front, in the form of Kodak’s Polaroid SC1630. As well as packing a hugely impressive – for those of you where every pixel counts – 16 MP CCD sensor, it’s also one of the only phones to have optical zoom onboard its camera. 3x optical zoom on a 36-108 mm lens to be precise.
It isn’t hard to see where the confusion arises from, as Polaroid SC1630 looks like any other smartphone, albeit with one hell of snapper on the rear, and has a 3.2-inch capacitive home screen and notification bar. In other words, other than the lack of a phone, it’s used in just the same way as an Android phone.
Upload all of your photos to Facebook etc with just the click of a button. There is a microSD memory card slot, up to 32 GB, to store your treasured pics too.
Weirdly, there seems to be no 3G support on Polaroid SC1630, but rather an EDGE, and video recording may be limited to only 720p. There is, however, full WiFi connectivity which allows you to download Android apps from over 40,000 in Google Android Market.
It’s also seeming unlikely that Polaroid SC1630 will come armed with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
It is expected that Polaroid SC1630 will be released sometime in 2012, although exact dates and prices are as yet unknown. We’re sure there will be plenty of keen snappers salivating at this news! Take a look at the YouTube video below courtesy of AndroidCentral.