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Polaroid SC1630.
Expected 2012.
It's not a smartphone, and not really a tablet either.. the Polaroid SC1630 is something
different: a "Smart Camera" running the Android operating system.
It looks like a standard sized touchscreen device with a big camera lens on the back..
because that is essentially exactly what it is. The sensor on the back is a 16 megapixel
unit coupled with a 3X optical zoom, just like a proper compact digital camera. The
camera is also capable of HD video capture, and the Polaroid SC1630 also appears to have
a relatively powerful flash. We assume that the camera retracts fully into the fairly
thick casing.
From the front, the Polaroid SC1630 looks like a typical Android device, with a 3.2"
display and what appears to be Android 2.3 running on it. It will run pretty much everything
that any other Android phone will run, and crucially that includes a large number of
photo and video applications. You can easily upload captured stills and movie clips to
your favourite online social networking sites, another server on your local network, or simply
email them to somebody.. this is the real advantage of running Android on a camera.
The Polaroid SC1630 ships with WiFi support, Bluetooth and GPS (which is handy for geo-tagging).
Polaroid indicate that cellular support (e.g. 3G) is optional, which would be extremely
handy it you want to take a photo of anything anywhere and share it there and then.
It isn't the first time that we have seen a device like this. The Korea-only Samsung
SCH-W800 launched in 2009 and is a very similar concept, although the Samsung was based around
a feature phone rather than a smartphone.
We don't have all the technical specifications yet, nor do we know when the SC1630 will be
available or how much it will cost. Most importantly, we really don't know if there is a market
niche for a "Smart Camera" like this, but we applaud Polaroid for giving the idea a
go.