Wirefly, which provides one-stop comparison shopping for cell phones and wireless phone plans, has announced its list of top 10 camera phones. With its 8.0-Mpixel performance, the highly anticipated Samsung Memoir topped the list, followed by the 5.0-Mpixel Motorola Zine and Samsung Behold. According to Wirefly, the list showcases the evolution of the cell phone from a voice-centric handset to a multifunction consumer electronic device.

“Camera phones have been on the market over a decade, but the phrase ‘cell-phone photo’ was always synonymous with small, poor quality photos,” said Brian Westrick, president of Wirefly’s Consumer Wireless Division. “The photos were suitable for forwarding to a friend, but for quality photos, you still pulled out your camera. With these new cell phones, that’s not a problem anymore.”

With more than 1.9 billion camera phones being used globally, wireless customers now use more camera phones than cell phones without cameras, and with prices for high-quality camera phones coming down, the trend is sure to continue. The devices in the Wirefly top 10 represent some of the best camera cell phones on the market today, with most rivaling the picture quality of standalone digital cameras.

Wirefly ranked the top 10 devices according to megapixel. However, the company warns, consumers shouldn’t rely solely on megapixel grade when shopping for a quality camera phone. Higher resolution does not necessarily translate to a higher quality image. In addition to the megapixel count, consumers should consider features such as auto-focus, optical zoom, built-in flash, plus, lens quality, and size.  

Samsung Memoir T929: This T-Mobile camera phone offers QVGA 240-by-400 resolution. As America’s first 8-Mpixel camera, it features a 16x digital zoom and xenon flash. The TouchWiz Samsung Memoir features auto-focus, geo-tagging, anti-shake, and easy upload to a variety of platforms, and it can even record up to one hour of video. 

Motorola Zine ZN5: This T-Mobile camera phone uses Kodak lenses and offers QVGA 240-by-320 resolution. Designed by Kodak, the surprisingly slim Zine ZN5 packs a 5-Mpixel camera with xenon flash, auto-focus, and more, as well as Kodak’s Perfect Touch and other editing abilities.

Samsung Behold T919: This T-Mobile camera phone offers QVGA 240-by-320 resolution. As the predecessor to the Samsung Memoir, the 5-Mpixel Samsung Behold was the first camera phone to feature Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, with its easy-to-use features, LED flash, and an expandable memory up to 16 Gbytes. 

Samsung Omnia: This Verizon Wireless 5-Mpixel camera phone offers VGA 480-by-640 resolution. Featuring Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, it also boasts 8 Gbytes of memory that’s expandable to 24 Gbytes with the addition of a 16-Gbyte microSD card, making it productive as well as fun. 

Sony Ericsson W760a: This 3.2-Mpixel AT&T camera phone offers QVGA 240-by-320 resolution. It also features a slider-style form factor with multiple shot modes and easy uploading of photos to the Web on the nation’s fastest 3G network. 

BlackBerry Storm: This 3.2-Mpixel Verizon Wireless camera phone offers QVGA 240-by-320 resolution. It also features a touchscreen, including LED flash, face detection, and editing tools, moving past the workplace and into the consumer space.

HTC Fuze: This 3.2-Mpixel AT&T camera phone offers VGA 480-by-640 resolution. With new 3D TouchFLO, the HTC Fuze is intuitive to use and easy to customize for business and pleasure. Auto-focus and editing tools ensure a great shot every time.

HTC Touch Pro: This 3.2-Mpixel Sprint camera phone offers CIF 288-by-352 resolution. The slide-out HTC Touch Pro also includes a full QWERTY keyboard and Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, which business users need, while providing the entertainment features everyone wants.  

LG Dare: This 3.2-Mpixel Verizon Wireless camera phone offers VGA 480-by-640 resolution. A reasonably priced iPhone competitor, the LG Dare features face detection, SmartPic technology, and editing tools. Besides camcorder noise reduction, the LG Dare is the first American phone that can record high-speed video and play it back in slow motion. 

Samsung Eternity A867: This AT&T camera phone offers QCIF 144-by-176 resolution. It features a popular touchscreen with vibration response. Also, its 3.2-Mpixel suits on-the-go photos and video as well as AT&T’s exclusive Video Share video calling functionality.

Wirefly

Related Articles:

1. Camera Design Focuses On Wafer-Scale Lens Technology
2. Hybrid Camera Uses 10-Mpixel Sensor For Full HD Video
3. Hardware/Software IP Offers Complete Camera Subsystem