October 19, 2006: OK, maybe that headline is unfair. But isn’t it weird that Samsung just came out with a ten megapixel phone, but that their top-tier DSLR has only has six megapixels?  What are they thinking?

I don’t know what kind of pictures even the best phone can take, but, theoretically, why wouldn’t it be at least as good as a basic point-and-shooter? I’d actually love to have a phone that took reasonably good pictures. And from Samsung’s press release, this one certainly sounds like it could be a contender:

The B600 offers the same level of picture-taking sophistication that a 10 megapixel digital camera offers. The camera function includes 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom.

It also has auto focus and a flash unit that performs optimally for 10 megapixel photographs. Also, the B600 comes fitted with a LED autofocus feature which assists users to capture clear, crisp photos even in dark settings. Located next to the lens, the LED autofocus automatically determines the distance and utilizes the appropriate focus setting for optimal photo shooting.
The B600 also supports white balance, manual focus, continuous picture-taking, and interval picture-taking functions.

It also supports Bluetooth which enables users to send pictures wirelessly to other mobile phones, printers or to Bluetooth headsets. (Editor’s note: That last bit is crazy - How could you send pictures to a headset? Does someone need to tell Samsung that you can’t see through your ears?) The high color Reproduction TFT-LCD produces the highest possible display for its size. The photo-fine chromic LCD can reproduce 16 million colors, virtually any color found in nature, earning it the True Color appellation. Moving pictures can be recorded in QVGA resolution at 15-30 frames per second.

The B600 comes with a design reminiscent of a real digital camera. The front is designed as a bar-type mobile phone, while the back side is used as the digital camera.

Other advanced functions in the B600 include an MP3 player, business card reader, and 128 polyphonic sounds.

Of course, all of this is moot since the B600 is only available in Korea, and at a cost of $900! But are we coming to a point where camera phones will make basic point and shoot digital cameras obsolete?  If so, shouldn’t the camera makers get into this game before the phone companies win it?  Can we look forward to the Nikon Phonepix and the Canon Phon-elph? 

  Believe it or not, this is a phone!

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