Technofile: Samsung hasn't been that noteworthy for digital cameras in the past, but that could be about to change with a range of new cameras for the budget pocket and the gadget lover.
The new six-megapixel Digimax i6 comes with a range of useful features, including anti-shake technology, a handy 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD and something which sets it apart from the average digital camera - an integrated media player (more on this later). The i6 also has its own movie editing function, 1cm super-macro and a cradle for charging and image transfer.
About the size of the average wallet, and coming in a slim 0.72-inch casing, the camera has a sleek black or silver finish and sports a large, noticeably bright LCD screen.
The colours displayed are sharp and vivid, meaning picture-taking is easier and the MPEG-4 recording works well even in a night interior situation. In particular, the camera sits well in the hand due to its curved design, which makes for a steady grip while you take pictures.
The ASR (advanced shake reduction) feature reduces the effects of camera shake and helps you take more natural pictures indoors or in dark conditions without using flash. In turn, less red-eye-strewn pictures mean you'll take better pictures all round.
As for the multimedia player features, Samsung has been making a hoo-ha about the i6's ability to play both MP3s and video. In theory - and so goes the marketing spin - this makes it the world's first portable media player (PMP) and camera in one package.
However, don't be too quick to buy in to the patter. Other devices, like smartphones, have been able to do just that for a while, although the quality of pictures on the average mobile are far inferior to the i6's six megapixels. That's really the difference, since even digital media players which contain small camera lenses have so far only been able to produce low-quality images. Samsung's i6 reverses the concept, producing a fully-fledged camera which can play sound and audio.
That probably sounds more useful than - for most people - it may turn out to be. Although you can "take pictures while listening to music", the question is, can you even find the right album? For the i6 will play MP3s, but try loading up 1,000 songs and you will soon realise why Apple did so well with the iPod, because creating an interface which can navigate that many tracks is not easy.
Likewise with videos, the player can handle MPEG-4, but again, you will find yourself just staring at a long list of files.
However, if the media player and MP3 features are just "nice to have" alongside what is essentially a pretty good digital camera, you won't be disappointed. Now all they need to add are stereo speakers, voice recording and wireless internet access for true technofiles like myself.
• Samsung is also launching its budget S-series featuring five, six or eight megapixels with 3x optical zoom, 2.4-inch LCD, MPEG-4 video recording and "PictBridge" support - a standard technology that lets you print images from the memory card in a digital camera directly to a printer, bypassing the need for a computer. All Samsung's new digicams are expected to hit the market in "early 2006".
