Photography

Samsung unveils Galaxy Camera EK-GC100

Ronnie Bulaong August 30, 2012 · 2 min read

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We call phones with camera a camera phone, but what do you call a camera with the latest Android OS, 3G/4G connectivity and a quad-core processor? A term for that hasnâ€™t been coined yet, so in the meantime let’s just call it Samsung Galaxy Camera.

We recently featured the Gingerbread-powered Nikon Coolpix S800 which is among the first camera with Android OS (the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera as the first one). Samsung did their own take on the Android-powered camera and yesterday announced the Galaxy Camera (EK-GC100) that would redefine the term camera phone.

For starters, the Galaxy Camera runs on Jellybean which is displayed on an edge-to-edge 4.8-inch HD capacitive touchscreen display which occupies the entire back portion of the camera. Running the show under the hood is 1.4GHz quad-core processor which we assume to be the same as the one found inside the SGS3.

Apparently, putting Wi-Fi functionality on a camera is just the start of the evolution of the camera as the EK-GC100 now sports a micro-SIM slot that enables it to have 3G/4G connectivity. The camera is equipped with a 1650mAh battery pack which will be put to the test considering that itâ€™ll power a large screen and quad-core processor on top of the camera’s wireless and shooting functionalities.

The Galaxy Camera’s 16MP BSI CMOS sensor backed with 21x f/2.8-5.9, 23-480mm Super Zoom lens isn’t exactly the best configuration we’ve seen on a point-and-shoot, and while we don’t expect DSLR-like image quality with this configuration, we’re sure that this camera is capable of snapping pretty decent stills.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera will start to be retailed this October but its price is still yet to be announced. With the insane features mentioned above, we expect this camera to have a premium price tag which is around the same price range as the Canon PowerShot S100, maybe even more.

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Ronnie Bulaong

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This article was written by Ronnie Bulaong, a special features contributor and correspondent for YugaTech. Follow him on Twitter @turonbulaong.

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58 Comments

Master Emperor · 14 years ago

I’d love this item to send and recieve calls when needed. I wonder if it can be used paired with Gmate for gsm network.

Pipo · 14 years ago

This could work. But it would have been better to swap out the quad core with a dual core cpu, then bumped up the battery to 3500mAh. The CPU is not the selling point of the product, the camera is. And you need a big battery to operate all that and make it viable :D

Turonbulaong · 14 years ago

Well said sir.

Benchmark · 14 years ago

Probably this is the next big thing….well I am not sure.

Pero ok kayang may phone capabilities to? Maybe not a good idea…kasi sa battery na ganyan, I think it is only good for camera lang, and a little wifi connection.

MagTXT · 14 years ago

Can we call it the SmartCam? :)

hapismiley · 14 years ago

well, i guess samsung won’t be sued for its innovative design, the pureview lumia may even be dead on arrival… :-)

yuja · 14 years ago

just add speakers and mouth piece,then its a phone

paeng · 14 years ago

i’ll go with pureview. nice design. good battery life. its all i need in a phone

Potatoshoe · 14 years ago

you can always go to Nokia Pureview. :)

aries · 14 years ago

mababa ang battery considering lcd tapos may xenon flash pa yan..pero nice idea…

Blackrabbit · 14 years ago

That’s right samsung. Stop copying the iphone already :))

ronald · 14 years ago

According to writer of this story for samsung in the comments section, the item will cost US$599. So, that is about P25,000 and below. Not bad.

ronald · 14 years ago

http://www.samsungimaging.net/samsung-presents-camera-reborn-the-galaxy-camera/

AlainL · 14 years ago

I’m definitely getting this. My GNex’s camera is already insufficient for my needs. :)

lexty · 14 years ago

question po Sir Yuga. allowed ba SMS dito?

Turonbulaong · 14 years ago

We’re not yet sure if it supports SMS, but there’s a big chance that it can.

Marcelino · 14 years ago

Now, that’s INNOVATION!

Ang ganda pang Instagram! :))

gboy · 14 years ago

true. samsung did it again :)

INNOVATION!

dun ako sa underdog lage. hahaha

leslie · 14 years ago

…what do you call a camera with the latest Android OS, 3G/4G connectivity and a quad-core processor?

A term for that hasnâ€™t been coined yet…

CamDroid

reader · 14 years ago

so since people have been taking pics with their mobile phones, Samsung has decided that people will want to make calls using their camera.

lalabeat · 14 years ago

lol. Micro sim for 3g connectivity only. Magbasa kasi.

aianonymous · 14 years ago

i think he just said that in sarcasm :))

leeto · 14 years ago

mababa naman ang battery for a camera

booboo · 14 years ago

Could have had a better battery.

el toro bumingo · 14 years ago

What a design! I hope the picture quality is really great :)

Ramon · 14 years ago

Interesting…but do we really need a quad core processor in a camera?

Anyway, strange ideas sometime lead to something great :-)

hopefully they release some kind picture editing app that would use it’s full potential XD

mary · 14 years ago

I think you can find a lot of picture editing and/or uploading apps in the android marketplace.

One of the benefits of using Android OS on a phone. :)

Ramon · 14 years ago

Yea, but none of them really justified the need for a quad core processor

I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing :-P
But they really do need something to make use of it’s full potential or else people would think of it as some kind of publicity stunt rather than a real innovation =/

mary · 14 years ago

Oops. I didn’t know that you meant the quad core when you mentioned the camera’s full potential.

I thought you meant the android os in a camera.

Sorry. :D And you’re right. Maybe an enterprising android app maker can start working on it. I think win8, ios, and android on cameras is going to be common real soon.