Kent German, Senior Editor April 6, 2009
With so much variety on the market, choosing a quality camera phone can be a challenge. While just a couple years ago their photos were barely good enough to print out, camera phones with resolutions of several megapixels are now commonplace. In fact, you could say that the once ubiquitous VGA models are beginning to look like antiques. So to help you find the best camera phone, we've rounded up our favorite handsets. The unlocked Nokia N95 remains a top choice. Decked out with a 5-megapixel shooter, the N95 takes amazingly sharp photos that rivals those taken with some point-and-shoot cameras. Not to be left out, Samsung also has a high-quality 5-megapixel shooter called the SGH-G800. It, too, produced really good photos, but its lackluster flash left us wanting. Another Samsung camera phone is the Samsung Flipshot for Verizon Wireless, a 3-megapixel handset with a screen that can flip around to look like a camcorder viewfinder. On the whole, we were quite pleased with its performance. Sony Ericsson's Cyber-shot line is very solid. Though the Sony Ericsson K790a dates from 2006, it's still a photography winner. Finally, we have the LG Shine CU720 for AT&T. Its 2-megapixel camera offers a Schneider Kreuznach lens and autofocus, and it takes excellent pictures.
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As shown: $434.00
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| Review date | September 24, 2007 | January 31, 2008 | December 06, 2007 | December 17, 2007 |
| The Bottom Line | The North American Edition of the Nokia N95 brings some notable additions, including 3G support and better performance, to make this powerful smart phone even better. However, it'll still leave a deep gouge in your wallet. | The Samsung SGH-G800 does a lot of things right, but a few underwhelming features left us wanting more. | Though it could offer better call quality, the Samsung FlipShot SCH-U900 is one of the best camera phones we've seen in a while. | Though we had a few quibbles with the phone's design, overall we were pleased with the LG Shine CU720's impressive style and feature set. |
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| Features | ||||
| Service Provider | Unlocked | Unlocked | Verizon Wireless | AT&T |
| Cellular technology | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM | CDMA2000 1X | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM |
| Band / mode | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 900/1800/1900 | CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 | WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 |
| Wireless Interface | Bluetooth 2.0 EDR IEEE 802.11b/g Infrared (IrDA) | Info unavailable | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| Weight | 4.2 oz | 4.9 oz | 3.9 oz | 4.2 oz |
| Service & support details type | Limited warranty | Info unavailable | Limited warranty | Limited warranty |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices | Pricing not available | Pricing not available | Pricing not available | Pricing not available |
