Samsung M8910 Pixon12 review: By the dozen

Introduction

The Pixon12 is about to be three times lucky. But any way you look at it, it's nothing short of a dozen. Not that we wanted to make that much fuss, but a bunch of 12 megapixel pictures coming from a phone are always worth it. All the more so, when they come out just right. With two quick primers behind us already, we're about to focus on the Samsung M8910 behind the Pixon12.

The Samsung M8910 Pixon12 is a top of the line cameraphone but some may find it guilty of not being a smartphone. It's got the ultimate in still photography but not the best video a handset can offer. It's a dream-come-true upgrade but can the mishaps of the original Pixon spell trouble? Awaiting its official launch, the Pixon12 is standing tall against the odds.

When it comes to capturing your moments and sharing them with the world though, the Pixon12 will hardly let you down. On top of the industry leading camera, the phone has all the connectivity options you may need.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 official photos

So, we're setting off on our last trip with the Samsung M8910 Pixon12. We know it's got enough fire to scorch most of them big-shot cameraphones. But is it enough fire to call the fire department?

Key features

• 3.1" 16M-color resistive AMOLED touchscreen of 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• 12 megapixel auto focus camera with LED and xenon flash, 28mm (30mm effective) wide-angle variable aperture lens
• Object tracking auto focus, geotagging, image stabilization, Smart Auto mode, face detection, smile detection, smart contrast
• D1 video recording at 30 fps with auto focus and face detection
• Amazingly short shot-to-shot time
• Latest TouchWiz 2.0 UI
• Quad-band GSM support and 3G with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA support
• Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS
• 150MB onboard storage
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• Built-in accelerometer
• TV out
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• microUSB port and stereo Bluetooth v2.0
• Web browser has full Flash and Java support
• Smart Unlock
• Preinstalled GPS navigation software
• DivX/XviD video support
• Good audio quality
• Smart dialing
• Office document viewer

Main disadvantages

• Video recording output isn't on par with the still camera performance
• No smartphone capabilities
• No stereo speakers
• No 3.5 mm audio jack on board (but a 3.5mm adapter is supplied)
• Smart dialing only works for numbers, not contact names

The original M8800 Pixon was dragged down by the lack of some key features and it seems Samsung chose to treat their top cameraphone with more respect this time. The Pixon12 boasts a complete pack of features, including Wi-Fi and SatNav software to go with the embedded GPS chip.

The complete xenon plus LED flash package will go down well with the cameraphone buffs. As a whole, the Pixon12 strives to be the complete imaging device with a wide-angle variable aperture lens and a whole bunch of camera features that Samsung are usually keen to offer anyway.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 live shots

Finally, in pure upgrade terms, the Pixon12 is well worth it for the new TouchWiz interface, full of eye-candy and faster than ever. Smarter than smart may be too much, but the TouchWiz 2.0 is simply better a year later. A multimedia gadget like the Samsung S8000 Jet will sure take maximum advantage of the new 3D interface, but the M8910 Pixon12 cannot afford to fall behind either.

Follow us on the next page for more Pixon12 action and our say on design and ergonomics.