Buyers Guide To Camera Phones

By Nicolas Fogelholm
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

A recent survey shows that people want camera phones. Maybe you are planning to buy one as a Christmas present? Here´s some basic facts and advice.

Most cell phones have a built-in camera, but if you are serious about taking photos and would like to order prints and fill the family album the basic mid-range phone with a camera of 1-megapixel or less wont be enough. This is because the picture quality is limited by the resolution, and cameras on a typical cell phone today use 1.0 megapixels or less rather than the 2.0 or 3.0 megapixels common in digital cameras.

So buying a camera phone is more than a matter of picking a phone with a camera (don´t they all have one?). First you have to decide if you want a phone with a camera or a camera phone.

Phone With a Camera
This is choice if your phone is for making phone calls, but you would like to take snapshots, save photos on the phone only, send them to friends and you have a decent digital camera. All cell phone manufacturers have these mid-range models with built-in cameras. The camera on this phone is most likely 1-megapixel or less. A swedish cell phone magazine (mobil) I read recently tested less expensive camera phones and their choice was the Nokia 6230i. Other phones tested were Samsung SGH-E720, Panasonic VS3, Sony Ericsson K300i and Siemens S65.

Something More
If you would like to have a phone that takes pictures you could add to your photo album I would say a good quality 1-megapixel is minimum. Remember this is a very personal question and depends on what you are used to. If your photo album is full of snapshots taken with the old pocket camera then 1-megapixel might be a step forward in quality. Good candidates for this category are the 1.3-megapixel Motorola E815 that has made it to the CNET Editors´Top Wireless list. Also look closer at the Sony Ericsson S710a that according to PCMAG is your choice “if you’re looking for a phone with a focus on “camera”. Here´s some pictures taken with my Nokia 6630 (1.3 megapixels).

I want the Best
For some reason if nothing but the best is good enough for you. If you need the best quality pictures you can get with a cell phone here are some 2-megapixel models to consider: Samsung MM-A800, Sony Ericsson K750i, Nokia N90 or Siemens SXG75.

Things to Remember When Buying a Camera Phone
You can send pictures (via MMS) only if the recipient has a MMS-capable phone. Here in Finland we have cross-carrier support, but I do not know the exact situation in other countries. Cross-carrier MMS support means that you send pictures to friends who use another network. Otherwise you can always send the pictures via email as an attachment.

To transfer the pictures to your PC you need some software or a picture manager. The transfer can be done with cables or wirelessly via either Bluetooth or an infrared port.

The easiest way to transfer pictures from your phone to the PC is to have a phone with a removable memory card and a memory card reader on your PC. Just remove your phone´s memory card, put it into your PC´s memory reader and transfer the pictures.

More Things to Remember When Buying a Camera Phone

- Good quality camera phones can be bulky
- Most camera phones take bad pictures in the dark (poor flash)
- Camera phones will never replace professional cameras
- You take more photos if you have a camera phone (which is nice!)
- A lens cover is good
- It´s nice with a good display on a camera phone (Compare the display quality, brightness, and size)