New high-tech camera phone can give digicams a run for their money

London, Sept 2 : The new Samsung i8510 promises to give competition to most of the compact digital cameras, say experts.

With an eight-megapixel image sensor producing images of identical quality to most digital compact cameras, the new Samsung phone could be regarded as a milestone in camera phones.

Equipped with a flash, the i8510 can also detect when people in the picture are smiling. Paul Nuttall, from What Digital Camera magazine, said the Korean firm's latest model and others in the same league could pave the way for many consumers to decide not to bother buying a compact.

"The gap has closed between compact digital cameras and camera phones in recent years, and I think the average consumer would struggle to see the difference between an eight-megapixel phone and dedicated camera image," The Scotsman quoted Nuttall, as saying.

He added: "The only issue is one of size. In a phone there just isn't room for a big zoom lens, and that is where traditional cameras do have an advantage."

Other features of the Samsung phone include built-in satellite navigation, eight gigabytes of storage space for music and high-speed wireless internet access.

ANI