Samsung launches M8910 Pixon12, a 12 megapixel cameraphone

Early this morning Samsung officially launched the M8910 Pixon12, the company's first 12 megapixel cameraphone with a full touchscreen. The Pixon12's camera includes a large number of high-end features, including a smart-auto mode that automatically detects the proper scene mode to use based on the subject. The Pixon12's 28mm wide-angle lens and Xenon flash should make it easy to get high-quality indoor shots, too. Samsung also knows that life doesn't tend to sit still for long, and as such it has included a touch based focus system that actually tracks the subject as it moves about the frame to make sure that energetic pet or child stays in focus.

Samsung claims that the camera on the Pixon12, which has a dedicated shutter key, offers a quick startup time and fast saves that should offer about a 2 second shot to shot time. The photo viewer in the Pixon12 is supposed to be quite speedy, as well, and once photos are tagged and rated to your heart's content, they can be easily uploaded to Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, MySpace, Photobucket, or Friendster. The phone can also record 720x480 pixel resolution video at 30 frames per second, and supports a wide variety of audio and video formats, including H.264, DivX, and XviD.

Of course there's more to the Samsung M8910 Pixon12 than just the camera. The Pixon12 sports a 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen display that boasts a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and the phone also features both WiFi and HSPA 3G data for blazing photo uploads and internet tasks. Bluetooth 2.1 is also on board for wireless headsets, and the Pixon12 can be connected to a PC through its standard micro-USB port. Other features like a built-in GPS module and an FM radio help fill out the Pixon12's impressive spec sheet.

Samsung claims that the M8910 Pixon12 is the first 12 megapixel, full-touch cameraphone. While the Sony Ericsson Satio (Idou) was certainly introduced first, it seems very likely that Samsung will, at least, be first to market. The company says that it expects the M8910 Pixon12 to be on shelves in Europe by the end of this month, and that shipments will expand to other markets in August. There is no word yet on pricing.