Megapixel war as LG and Samsung unveil high-spec camera phones

The megapixel war was cranked up as pictures of LG’s eight-megapixel phone leaked onto the internet in the same week that Samsung officially unveiled its most high-spec camera phone to date.

LG’s KC910 (pictured, left) is believed to take the catchier name Viewty2 when it launches in the coming weeks. The handset will follow the Samsung, but is slimmer and is understood to be a collaboration with Dolby Laboratories.

Samsung’s i850 (pictured, right) has been pitched by the manufacturer as the compact digital camera killer. The device will be available exclusively at Carphone Warehouse on Orange’s £35-per-month contract from September.
The device offers smile shot and face recognition, which takes the photo when subjects are smiling, and eliminates red eye. It also comes with 8GB of memory.

Sony Ericsson’s C905, also with an eight-megapixel camera, was launched earlier in the year and will be in shops in the coming weeks.

All three manufacturers hope there is sufficient appetite for megapixels among consumers given that the two major handsets for the second half of the year – the 3G iPhone (two megapixels) and Nokia N96 (five megapixels) – have been criticised for failing to raise the bar in the megapixel stakes.