It's essentially a phone stuck to the backside of a 16 MP camera

Aug 27, 2012 09:34 GMT  ·  By

Cameraphones aren't a new idea, and smartphones always qualify as such things, to a certain extent. Samsung wants to take the concept to its logical extreme though, or close enough that no one will know the difference.

Someone sent a tip over to GSMArena. That tip contained all the information currently available on a Galaxy S III-based point-and-shoot camera.

There is also a picture of the product, and it does, indeed, look as though a Galaxy S III smartphone was glued to the back of a camera.

The back has no physical buttons. Instead, the standard touch-based input of a smartphone is used (the SuperAMOLED panel measures 4.8 inches in diagonal).

We are fairly certain the Galaxy S Camera will be unveiled in a matter of days, over the course of the IFA 2012 trade show.

Maybe we'll even be able to get an early hands-on photo of it, or two, or five. We'll definitely keep an eye out for it.

That said, the camera “half” of the device relies on a 16-megapixel sensor, a pop-out Xenon flash, a curved right side and the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

Wi-Fi and, on some models, 3G broadband will be supported as well, although only mobile data will be possible to send.

Speaking of which, this is really the only argument against dubbing the item a “cameraphone.” It can't make voice calls, unfortunately.

Then again, holding a camera to your ear would probably seem weird, and it wouldn't be all that comfortable either, given the thickness (around twice as thick as the S III phone itself).

The Samsung Galaxy S camera will have to compete with the likes of Nikon Coolpix S800c, a Wi-Fi-enabled Android camera that is already official, though not shipping yet (deliveries will only commence in October).