8MP Camera Phones Coming to US
There haven’t been any official announcements or anything, but the FCC has approved two 8 megapixel camera phones from Samsung for use in the U.S. According to various FCC documents, one phone is likely headed to T-Mobile, while the other will likely run on AT&T’s network.
Camera phones are pretty common now days. In fact, it’s almost difficult to find a run-of-the mill phone without at least a 1.3 megapixel camera. And while full-featured cameras with high megapixel ratings have been available overseas, we haven’t quite reached that same availability here in the U.S. Now, two 8 megapixel shooters from Samsung are looking like they might be headed stateside.
The first phone, Samsung’s M8800L / Pixon, is pretty similar to its European counterpart, but has the 850 and 1900 MHz WCDMA bands that make it compatible with AT&T. Features include Samsung's widget-based TouchWiz user interface, accelerometer, 3.2-inch touch screen display, and more.
T-Mobile's version of the M8800, codenamed Memoir or Leica, is called the T929. This phone has just received its blessing from the FCC as well. Since this phone has a 1700 MHz HSDPA radio, it’s likely headed for T-Mobile. This phone should have Bluetooth 2.0 support, a MP3 player, touch screen display, and A-GPS support. No timeframe has been announced, but rumor has it that the Samsung T929 will be available sometime in February.
Of course, it’s still possible that neither of these phones will ever come to U.S. shores, but we’re holding out hope, especially since someone took the time to file with the FCC and the phones have received the necessary approval. We’ll keep an eye out and keep you posted. In the meantime, check out this promo video of the M8800:
