Sony, Samsung and Nokia have been leading the market for high quality cameraphones for years now and if you’ve been following my N82 story, you’ll know that even after 2.5 years I’m still finding it hard to find a replacement for the amazing optics, sensor, flash and mechanics of the N82 camera.

It’s not just about mega-pixels. It’s never about the megapixels. 12MP might bring you some digital zoom le-way and a better large-format print but that’s about it. I wrote a semi-private article about assessing smartphone cameras [reproduced below] a few months ago and you’ll see how complex the situation can become if you’re really looking to replace that compact camera; And many people are.

It’s not just about image quality either. It’s about ease-of use, sharing, longevity, geotagging, communities and having a camera and video cam with you at every opportunity. I have literally thousands of pictures that I’ve taken with the N82 that I would never have had the chance to take with a compact camera. There are thousands of people out there that have used smartphone cameras in difficult situations too. Car accidents, citizen journalism, wars and then there’s the possibility to go live to thousands of people with applications like Qik and Ustream. Compact cameras generally have better quality optics and the very important mechanical zoom but there are still good reasons to have a cameraphone.

The new player on the block is the Apple iPhone 4 and I have to confess that I’m interested. It comes at a time when I’m deep in the middle of looking for a new cameraphone solution before my N82 dies. I’ve done some analysis on the iPhone4 pictures and although I can’t comment on the new software yet, I can comment on the sensor. It doesn’t seem to be a huge leap forward in quality. In sensitivity terms it appears to have a 1-stop advantage over the 3GS and of course, with the high resolution, is likely to product better prints but that’s not significant for most people. In fact, it’s rather disappointing given the hype that came from Apple on the backlit sensor. [Update: I estimate that the iPhone 4 is only giving users 1 f-stop advantage. That’s double the sensitivity but not a huge difference in the real world] We’re talking ‘good’ and ‘top quartile’ here but not top 5. I’ve seen better results from the N82, N86, Satio, N8, XT720, Omnia Pro, N900 and I suspect there are a few other Samsung and Sony phones out there that will beat it.  For me, the iPhone 4 brings software rather than quality and that’s a valid reason to choose it if the image quality is acceptable to you. Ignore this report though. It compares the iPhone 4 to some superphones for sure but if you’re interested in quality cameraphones, that’s not the list you need to be looking at.

The Samsung Omnia Pro had an excellent camera but fell short in a few important areas. Windows 6.5 is not exactly the best OS for photographers, it only comes with LED flash and, as with many smartphones, the open lens proved a grease-magnet and long-term quality issue. The Xperia X10 is a similar story too. Then there’s the Sony Ericsson Satio which had a good camera and flash but turned out to be a terrible phone. Currently it looks like the Nokia N8 is going to set new standards but for me, that Symbian operating system isn’t something I’m getting too excited about now that I’ve had some good time with Android. Again, the lens is open on that N8.

Given that I’ve settled on Android as the best mobile OS for me (I’m a Google user, I’d be stupid to choose anything else!) there’s one phone coming up that might take the title for me. I don’t expect it to have the quality of the Nokia N8, a phone likely to raise the bar significantly, but it looks to be a nice all-round solution. You can check out some Flickr galleries taken by Asian owners of the XT720. I’m a little worried about what could be a plastic lens (this image looks either smudged with finger grease or the result of a plastic lens) but as far as Android phones go, it looks to be good enough that it could replace the N82 although I have promised myself that I will test the N8 too.

Here’s my list of things to think about when choosing a cameraphone:

• General image quality (lens quality and sensor quality more important than megapixels)
• Low-light photography (without flash) A sensitive sensor means not having to use flash. A natural lighting wash is often better than a pinpoint flash. It also means that the camera can choose higher shutter speeds and therefore produce sharper images.
• Flash. For very low light images, flash is required. Xenon flash make a great choice not just for its power but for it’s short duration that can ‘freeze’ images. A long duration LED flash can result in blurry images if the subject is moving. LED lamps are the only choice for low-light video work.
• Preview screen (both indoor and outdoor) I make a lot of mistakes on my N82 purely because I can’t see what is in focus and what isn’t. A big, high-brightness screen is a superb way to secure a better ‘hit’ rate.
• Access to controls. Touchscreen devices can make accessing camera options easy. Check out how many presses you need to make to turn the flash from ‘auto’ to ‘red eye.’ for example.
• Type of controls.  If you want to get creative you’ll need access to focus controls, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and white balance but there are some other features that are good. How about automatically taking 6 shots at a time? Or being able to detect movement. Some of these features are gimmicks, some are useful.
• Pre-focus. Make sure that the camera is able to pre-focus by pushing the shutter release button down half-way. If you’re able to prepare for a shot like this, the duration between pressing the shutter release button and the camera taking the image can drop dramatically. A near instantaneous press/capture is obviously ideal.
• Touch capture. With touch-capture, you can tap on an area of the (touch) screen to influence the focal point. It can also be less ‘shaky’ than using a mechanical shutter release button. Be aware that touch-capture will not give you the ability to preview the focus.
• Speed to remove device from pocket and start camera. THere’s nothing worse than waiting for a device to come out of standby and waiting for the camera application to start. Having a shutter cover rather than a case saves time. Having a quick unlock feature saves time. Fast software saves time.
• Quick review. Being able to see the photo you’ve taken is critical. Often the shutter sound does not correspond exactly to the time the image was taken. If the preview takes 2 or 3 seconds to appear it’s annoying for both you and your subject.
• Transfer of photos (online, usb bluetooth, tv) Think about where you need to send your photos. Do you use Flickr. If so, think about a phone that uses 3G with a fast upload speed (HSUPA or HSPA for example.) Make sure the transfer process can be run in the background. Also think about USB transfer speed. For Facebook, make sure you can install an application that supports image uploading or that the Facebook website allows you to upload from the phone.
• Lens cover.  The value of a lens cover can not be overstated. A greasy, scratched, dusty lens is the last thing you want.
• Geotagging. Geotagging isnt just for fun, it helps you to organise your photos based on places. A fast GPS lock or use of network location services can help.
• Overall size of device. If it’s too big you might have to put it in your bag.
• Price. Clearly price is a major consideration.
• Apps. Think about third party software. The iPhone has a number of good camera applications that can be used for different scenarios. On-cam video editing is becoming a theme too as processing power increases.
• Future. Phones can often get better over time. Firmware gets improved and a phone that may have been slow on first release might get upgraded. A phone older than 18 months is not likely to get regular firmware updates.
• Build quality. A cameraphone WILL take a beating. Think about moving parts and exposed ports.

Choosing a mobile phone based on camera capabilities is not how most people will go about the process of choosing their next mobile phone but I know that there are many of you out there that put the camera capabilities high on the list. I hope the tips help you and if you’ve got any other Super CameraPhone tips or thoughts (how’s that Evo, DroidX doing?) please let me know in the comments section below.

If you are interested in cameraphones, check out these two bloggers. They’re as mad about mobile phone camera’s as I am!

Steve Litchfield – All About Symbian, Twitter

Tnkgrl – Tnkgrl Mobile, Twitter

A Samsung executive has revealed that they will be producing a ‘slate’ in the second half of the year. The keyword ‘Atom’ is mentioned alongside keywords like ‘PC-grade’ , ‘consumer’ and ‘connectivity.’

The timing and positioning sounds right for a MeeGo tablet-style device running the Intel Moorestown platform. Samsung have worked closely with Intel on mobile devices in the past and it would be the perfect partner to go alongside LG for a big Moorestown launch at Computex 2010 or even a separate Nokia/Intel/Meego launch event alongside a new Nokia smartphone.  I’ve discussed the Moorestown thought over at UMPCPortal

Source. APCMag Image: Q1 Ultra.

Over the last 4 years, Samsung have consistently produced good quality UMPCs and Netbooks. The NC10 is still a good netbook choice and the Q1 Ultra (image right) was a cracking UMPC. When Samsung announced that they would build an MID or ultra mobile PC back in 2008, we were interested to see what would happen. Unfortunately, not much happened. Samsung were a no-show at IDF08 and all we saw in the end was the Mondi WiMax device on ARM and the rather unexciting Q1 EX on the VIA platform.

You’ll excuse us then if we take the report of a new Samsung slate with a pinch of salt then!

A senior Samsung executive in Australia has revealed that they will be producing a ‘slate’ in the second half of the year. The word ‘Atom’ is mentioned alongside keywords like ‘pc-grade’ , ‘consumer’ and ‘connectivity.’

If you ask me, the timing and positioning sounds right for a MeeGo tablet-style device running the Intel Moorestown platform. Samsung have worked closely with Intel on mobile devices in the past and it would be the perfect partner to go alongside LG for a big Moorestown launch at Computex 2010 or even a separate Nokia/Intel/Meego launch event alongside a new Nokia smartphone. (Sidenote: I doubt we’ll see MeeGo+Nokia at Intel’s IDF or MeeGo+Intel at Nokia World. What do you think? Joint marketing could be quite the challenge with MeeGo.)

We know already that the Moorestown platform runs at 600Mhz with ‘turbo’ features enabling it to run for short periods at 1.2Ghz (video) which would make it far more powerful than the iPad (mentioned in the article.) With ‘power-gating’ bringing it smartphone-like always-on features, HD (720p) video encoding and HD video decoding along with the unique feature of being very USB-host-capable (think docking stations) you can see that Moorestown fits in very well with the keywords mentioned above and offers quite the flexible solution.

Personally I hope that Samsung doesn’t go the Windows 7 route. We’ve learned over the last year that Windows 7 + Atom is not the best solution if you want to enable consumer features like Windows Media Center and multitouch. With the mobile-focused hardware/software partnership of Moorestown and MeeGo, we could see some far more usable and consumer-friendly systems.

Source. APCMag

According to apcmag.com, “a senior Samsung executive has confirmed that the company will release a ‘slate’ PC in the second half of this year. inch

The aforementioned executive is the director of Samsung Australia’s IT division. He says that the slate will feature “PC-grade processing power, inch according to the site.

They also state that the device would have a clear focus on the consumer market. Sounds to me like we won’t be looking at computer with a Windows OS. It’ll likely be an X86 device based on the “PC-grade processing power inch quote, which leads me to thing that it could run Meego, but there is always the possibility of it being Moorestown based.

Samsung is no stranger to the slate field. They have several slate UMPCs from the original Q1 through the Q1EX. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll see a sweet Moorestown based Mondi-like device.

Nice find Jkk.

There’s some news out this morning that Samsung will get into tablet PCs next year. They seem to forget that Samsung is already selling Tablet PC’s! I was going to write a short article moaning about the hype and the fact that this subject seems to come up every year but when I checked up on some Q1 Ultra prices I decided to do a promo piece instead. The Samsung Q1 Ultra, 7 inch Tablet PC with 5hr battery life, 1024×600 screen and weighing just 840gm is available for just £359 in the UK.

[Yes, this article is an infomercial now, I will get some money if you use this offer, but it’s a very good offer and comes completely unplanned.]

The Q1 Ultra is a 7 inch touchscreen tablet with integrated mini keypad, an excellent, bright, 1024×600 resistive touch screen, the 800Mhz Intel Stealey processor (comparable with a 1.3Ghz Atom) with the GMA950 GPU. There’s a web-cam, [note: no BT too] excellent stereo speakers, a stand, 40GB HDD and in this case, the XP Tablet Edition (Pro+Touch) operating system. Two years ago we were looking (and paying) about 1000 Euro for such a device. I bought one (why?) and even managed to upgrade to SSD and 3G making it a fantastic package. Even the battery life was good. At 5hrs with the extended battery, (7hrs quiet-state) it proved that Samsung had done an excellent engineering job. I would still be using mine today if I hadn’t blown it up in a solar charging experiment.

Really, honestly, I think the Q1 Ultra was the best tablet ultra mobile PC ever. Only the Viliv X70 beats it now.

I’m starting to sound like a QVC salesman now but you have to believe me when I say that I nearly spit my coffee all over the monitor when I saw it on sale at Expansys for 313 pounds (360 pounds inclusive tax 400 Euros today) with the 6-cell battery pack as standard. There don’t seem to be any ‘gotchas’ here at all. This is the full version of the Q1 Ultra.

[Click on the image to use my affiliate link]

This is a great deal for Europeans and I encourage anyone who’s on the fence about a TabletPC to check this one out. The Q1 Ultra will work well on the sofa, in the office (second screen using Synergy is great) in the car (car mount is available) and should (I haven’t tested) work with Windows 7 tablet features. Jolicloud should install too.  RAM can be upgraded to 2GB. It includes rotation for book reading (although the unit is a little heavy for that.)

The Q1 Ultra has been on the market for over 2 years now but it’s still a great device. I can’t say I’m not looking forward to a new Samsung Tablet PC but the Q1 Ultra is still a valid choice.

I want to update you all on the devices I’ve been testing recently. It’s a super range of advanced devices that represent the best in the smartphone, MID and ultra mobile PC market. All four are advanced, fun and productive mobile devices.

Nokia N900

Possibly the most advanced device of the four is the N900. It runs one of the newest and most powerful ARM-based platforms out there with one of the newest mobile operating systems. From what I’ve seen, the Maemo teams have done a great job in preparing an operating system for today’s web-focused user. Nokia have also done a a great job in tying it together with some amazing hardware. Camera, keyboard, screen, GPS, accelerometer, FM TX/RX, consumer IR, keyboard, speakers, Wifi, BT, 3G, voice along with strong quality materials and an attractive, if slightly understand, design.

Users considering the N900 need to consider the following important points.

• Battery life. With all that power, it’s easy to end up with a device that can’t do anything after 2pm!
• Applications. While the developer community is active and passionate, there’s relatively few people out there. Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile will provide you with a better application suite at the moment.
• Despite the lack of applications, much of what you need is already built in to the N900. From exchange support to Skype and of-course a full desktop-standard web browser with full Flash 9 support.
• Price. The N900 is up there with the Droid, iPhone 3GS and HTC HD2. (See my post about WVGA phones for more information)
• One-handed use. The N900 is a two-handed device because most of the user interface only supports landscape mode. This can affect use in ultra-mobile situations.

Unfortunately the backlight has stopped working on my test device now but I’ve managed to get together enough material and make enough notes that I can answer most of your questions on it now. Don’t forget to check out my previous articles and videos on it before you fire-away with queries though.

All N900 articles from UMPCPortal including overview, unboxing, real-world testing notes, video performance and more.

Samsung Omnia Pro (B7610)

The global roll-out of the Omnia Pro B7610, a WVGA slider smartphone running on Windows Mobile 6.1 with an 800Mhz ARM11 CPU has been a very staggered, uncoordinated affair, typical of the way Samsung works independently in its different regions.  The only reason I’ve got it is because it was one of the best sliders available when I decided it was time to start watching the high-end smartphone sector very closely. The HTC Touch Pro2 was available but as the Omnia Pro was new in the market (I’m still one of the only people to have written detailed English-language posts on it) so I went for it. Despite talk of the Droid, the HD2 and the N900, It’s still one of the best WVGA sliders available right now and with a recent price drop, represents excellent value but it’s disappointing that the Windows Phone upgrade has delayed the launch in most areas. I’m actually waiting for the Windows Phone upgrade before I do my full review on it but I can tell you that the screen is stunning, the keyboards (hard and soft) are great, the camera and camera software is amazing (i’ve tested it in detail against my current camera favorite, the Nokia N82) and Samsung have done a great job with the Touch-Wiz software. It extends wide and deep into Windows Mobile and is not just a user interface, it’s a subsystem and front-end application suite too. As a day-to-day phone (rather than MID) the Omnia Pro is actually better than the N900. It has longer battery life, is cheaper, has nearly all the end-user features of the N900, has more software and the correct focus on voice calling for most people. It is much slower all round and the browser quality is a big step down from the class-leading one you’ll find on the N900 but for 390 Euros (lowest current price in Europe) it is better value than the N900 for most people.

I’ve been focusing heavily on the Omnia Pro in a side project called ‘MyOmniaPro‘ If the B7610 slider interests you, there’s no better resource than the one I’ve created over there!

Viliv S7

The Viliv S7 has been an extremely hard device to review. My wife is simply in love with it and has even nicknamed it ‘Willy’ (That’s Villy in  her German accent!)  The result is that I can’t prise it out of her hands for long enough to be able to write about it. Fortunately, Ben, the co-editor here at UMPCPortal, did an excellent full review for our friends at Pocketables.net and has covered everything I could have ever said about it. I will be writing up an article which focuses on the unique features of the S7 (power/weight/battery life ratio, 3G, convertible touchscreen) but for the time being, take it from me that the Viliv is a solid device, has amazing battery life, great return-from-standby speeds, reaches the usual build-quality standard that we’ve come to expect from Viliv and is a lot of fun to use. Out of the box it’s a much faster device than the U820 and I’d argue that it’s more productive than the Sony Vaio P-Series. Viliv needs to know that the white finish isn’t getting many fans from the male-sector of our readership and as that makes up the most of our readership, maybe they should think about toughening up the looks a bit. The white-leather case just makes the matter worse!

One last note on the S7: Speaker quality and volume…WOW!

Archos 5 IT

If there’s one device that’s proven to me recently that there IS a market out there for dedicated MIDs and that my 3.5 year-old Carrypad idea still has legs, it’s the Archos 5 IT. It also highlights something else that I believe and that’s that ARM-based devices will have the upper-hand in the MID market during 2009. That will carry through until Moorestown finds its feet in late 2010.

Combining a great browsing experience, high-quality YouTube experience, one of my favorite mobile Twitter applications (Twidroid,) good media playback, 32GB storage, WiFi and Bluetooth on an interesting mobile operating system with some interesting applications it shows how the ARM platform has really come of age in the ‘full web experience’ market.

I wouldn’t recommend this as a pro or business-level product to anyone but for those looking for social and entertainment activities at home, in the car, on holiday and in the coffee-shop, I don’t think there’s a better device out there. Only gaming is missing from the line-up of web, music, video, navigation (could do better) and social internet capabilities. At 230 Euros for the 8GB version with Wifi and Bluetooth it sets a new pricing level for MIDs and I’m excited to see what follows. The Dell Streak certainly looks like it could be a better device (keyboard, camera) but the price is still unknown.

When you read about the Motorola Droid/Milestone and the great web experience on that, remember that the Archos is faster and more comfortable due to its bigger screen. It also plays YouTube videos like no other device in the smartphone, MID, netbook or even low-end laptop category. I haven’t bought the TV docking station for this but I’m very close. The DVB-T adaptor is on my list too.

Not a converged, voice-capable or 100% stable device but if you’re into mobile gadgets, this is probably the best Christmas present you could give yourself this year. Go for a low-end SSD version and drop a 16GB Micro-SDHC card in for the best value.

Coming up soon.

We’re looking at the Eking S515 (review unit secured. arrival in the next week), the Viliv S10 (review unit probable. Timescale unknown), Wits A81 (we’re 50:50 on this one as we need to buy it to review it), UMID M2 (need to chase a few people about that one) and Evi Group Pad (contact made. Review unit likely at end of November) and praying for the Dell Streak to just turn up at the door here! We’re also working on the HTC HD2, Motorola Milestone and KAX-15 and as always, waiting for a iPod Plus.

Many of you know that I’m re-cutting my teeth in the smartphone world over at MyOmniaPro. What better way to track the smartphones as they move closer to MID and ultra mobile PC territory than to buy one, write about it and talk to the smartphone fans and experts out there. I even joined my first ever smartphone podcast this evening with WMpoweruser, PDA.pl and UnwiredView.com. It was great to talk to those guys about features, user requirements and operating systems. Running a blog at the edge of your core catchment area is a great way to keep a balanced view.

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There’s a strange excitement over the Samsung Mondi [specifications]. It’s basically a PocketPC and yet that MID form factor, the hi-res screen and the slide out keyboard make it look incredibly appealing for mobile internet work.

Jenn at Pocketables has just received hers and posted a set of unboxing pics. She’s happy with the build quality and pleased at the surprise set of car mount accessories. We’ll have to wait for her to dive into the software and give her feedback on the user experience, speed and of course, the keyboard.

Unboxing the Samsung Mondi (SWD-M100).

Meanwhile, Vincent Nguyen of Slashgear has posted his first impressions of the device along with an overview video that I’ve embedded below. Vincent is, like Jenn, impressed with the build quality but isn’t convinced about the keyboard. A full review is promised.

Specifications and more related articles in the Samsung Mondi product page