Samsung Pixon 12 M8910 Review

It’s barely a year, if at all, that Samsung released the 8.0 Megapixel M8800 Pixon. Yet here we are, with the next product in the evolution of the Pixon range, the M8910 Pixon 12. You don’t need a degree to work out where the improvements have come, as the name gives it all away; the new Pixon device now sports a 12.0 Megapixel camera! It is truly amazing, when you consider just how far cameraphones have come over the last few years, that we now see 12.0 Megapixel devices on the market. It doesn’t feel all that long ago that the imaging king on the market was the Sony Ericsson K800i, with its 3.2 Megapixel camera. Sure, a great device, which produced very good images. But now, here we are just a short time later, with a 12.0 Megapixel device. But it is not just all about the numbers, the Pixon 12 M8910 delivers a high quality imaging experience with many other options that complete the package.

Initially, when Samsung announced the phone, it was said that it would come with a 28mm wide angle lens, which would offer up to 20% wider viewing angle on the display when capturing images. There are reports on the web, however, that the handset does in fact have a 30mm wide angle lens. Whichever report is accurate, just having this option in a handset that focuses as much on the camera as the Pixon 12 does is a bonus, as is the inclusion of a variable aperture. This is controlled by the device itself, it will select the best option on a shot by shot basis, but still it is another welcome addition.

All the now common features on a high end smartphone are now included on the Pixon; we find image stabilisation, face detection, smile shot and blink detection, as well as a sports tracking focus option. All you do is hold your finger over the part of the image you want to focus on and the cross hairs will track it on the display. Ideal for taking pictures of young children who are always on the move, or wildlife who are never still, bird in flight or similar. Once the target has been locked on, when you press the shutter key the device locks the focus and captures the image. Geotagging is available, thanks to the built in GPS receiver, and the Pixon 12 also has a full Xenon flash, plus and LED light which can be used for low light video recording. The handset can handle recording video at D1 (720 x 480) resolution, at 30fps, and QVGA resolution at 120fps.

The camera on the Pixon 12 loads extremely fast, and can also be activated even with the keylock on, by simply pressing the external capture button, which is located on the side of the device. Whilst I can understand the idea behind this, it does mean that the camera may activate if the phone is knocked whilst in your pocket, which could leave you with a flat battery if this happens to you unawares. The camera may go to standby after a period of minutes of non use, but even so, it is activated and will drain a battery quicker than if it were not. Just something to keep an eye on.

It would be unfair, though, just to focus on the camera with the M8910. Although it is clearly the stand out feature of the phone, to say that is all it has would be to do it an injustice, because this slick touchscreen device is so much more than just its camera. The device is fairly compact, and given that it houses a 12.0 Megapixel camera, very slim at just 13.8mm. The M8910 weighs in at 120g, and the display is a low power consumption AMOLED touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours with a display resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, and measuring 3.1 inches across. The touchscreen type is resistive, meaning you can use your finger, a stylus, back end of a pen, gloved finger or practically anything to interact with the phone.

The quad band Pixon uses the latest version TouchWiz interface, meaning the phone is quick to respond to onscreen selections of menu applications, applications load quickly and menu navigation is very smooth. The phone has an acceptable internal memory of 150MB, which can be expanded by using MicroSD memory cards, with the M8910 supporting up to 16GB. Multiple connection options are available on the phone; you can browse the web using HSDPA Mobile Broadband, up to 7.2Mbps, as well as having WiFi too. HSUPA support is also included, and this is all ably backed up by EDGE and GPRS. Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP support is available, and you can connect the device to a PC with a USB to MicroUSB data cable.

Multimedia is well represented on the Pixon 12; the music player will handle MP3, AAC and WMA files, whilst the video player can deal with WMV and MP4 as well as DivX and XviD files. There is also a TV out option, allowing you to connect the device to a TV to view images and videos straight from the phone on to a larger TV screen. Disappointingly, there is no 3.5mm audio jack, but the supplied headset uses a 3.5mm adaptor, which can be used with alternative headphones.

Overall the Pixon 12 is a high quality device from Samsung, and really does reinforce their credentials as producers of fine, high quality products. With the number of handsets that now bear the Samsung name on the market, I wonder how much longer it will be before we start to call them the number one brand in the marketplace?

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