A tipping point: Sprint PCS debuts first 1.3 megapixel camera phone in U.S.

This is a landmark day for the camera phone market in the United States. Sprint PCS, the cellular operator that is by far the leader in camera phones in the U.S., early this morning (Thursday) announced it would offer the first 1.3 megapixel camera phone in the U.S.

The phone is the Audiovox PM-8920. It will retail for $299.99, with a $150 rebate for a two-year contract and a $100 discount with a one-year contract. Sprint's Web page about the PM-8920 notes the 3.88 ounce handset features two color displays (a larger internal and a smaller external), a flash, an 8x digital zoom and five resolution settings.

The internal screen is 1.12" x 1.4" internal screen and the external screen both can display 260K colors. According to some reports, such as those on SprintUsers.com, the PM-8920 is manufactured by the South Korean company Pantech & Curitel, not Audiovox/Toshiba. Audiovox is the distributor.

The PM-8920 also includes a macro capability, four sounds for the shutter and the ability to record your own shutter sound, 40 different frames and borders and a speakerphone. There is 64M of RAM and 128M of ROM in the handset that is dual-band/tri-mode (800 MHz, 1900 MHz CDMA digital, 800 MHz analog).

A tipping point

Assuming the PM-8920 actually does take photos that are significantly better than today's best VGA camera phones, this is indeed a landmark day. (Higher resolutions don't necessarily translate into better photos unless the sensor, lens, imaging software, etc. are good enough to deliver the better image quality.)

If the Audiovox's photos are dramatically better (and I haven't tested the handset) then today marks a tipping point in the U.S. camera phone marketaplace. With a one megapixel camera phone, you can print 4" x 6" photos and get good results. You might even be able to get a decent photo with larger size print.

(To be fair, I've gotten some pretty decent photos from VGA camera phones. But all things being equal, a one megapixel camera phone photo should blow away VGA images.)

Caveats

The PM-8920 doesn't include any memory card slot so unless Sprint or a third party offers software and a cable for transferring photos to a computer, you have to transmit photos via Sprint's network. Since Sprint offers a monthly plan for unlimited picture messaging that's not a big deal from a cost standpoint.

However, if you want to take lots of photos, memory card storage is indeed a big deal. I have gotten several e-mails from camera phone users who don't realize until they've already bought the handset that they aren't able to transfer photos to a computer except via the cellular network.

Personally, I won't purchase a camera phone that doesn't have a memory card slot and a cable (or Bluetooth) for transferring data back and forth to a computer. I also won't purchase a cellular phone that doesn't have a keyboard, but I'm certainly in the minority.

More caveats

While some camera phone enthusiasts will undoubtedly purchase the PM-8920 specifically because it has a 1.3 megapixel camera, it takes a lot more than a higher resolution camera to convince most people to purchase one handset over another.

By the fourth quarter, in time for the holiday buying season, we'll see many one megapixel camera phones offered by most of the U.S. cellular operators.

Comments

[Katerina]

How do you transfer a pic from a sprint pcs cell phone on to a laptop. Please help..

[Sam]

I really hate the fact that Sprint touts their camera phone so extensively, but never mentions that you need to subscribe to their Vision plan in order to download any of the pictures. And it took alot of digging for me to find that fact out. I'm glad it's mentioned here because I know alot of people who like the idea of a camera on their phone, but didn't know that you have to pay $15 a month to get the pics off the phone. In one year, that's $180 - that's the cost of a small, portable decent 3mp camera.