Review: The Samsung Memoir

Pro photogs often say that the best camera is the one you have with you.  Now that our cellphones rank up there with our wallets and housekeys as must-carry’s, it makes more sense than ever to seek out a camera-phone with legitimate shooting cred. The new Samsung Memoir (available from T-Mobile for $250 with a 2-year contract) earns those camera bragging rights.  

It’s the first phone available in the U.S. to boast an 8-megapixel camera, and it also sports a powerful Xenon flash, a 16x zoom (though digital, not optical, so close-ups can be grainy), auto-focus, anti-shake, and a self-timer.  These features team up to produce crisp outdoor shots and more than acceptable indoor pics, all of which can be uploaded directly from the phone to Flickr, Snapfish, Photobucket, and Kodak or T-Mobile galleries.

The backside of the vogue, matte-black Memoir is a touchscreen whose slightly pokey interface still hooks you up with web surfing, full messaging capabilities and GPS.  The Memoir raises the bar of what’s possible in a handset, and serves as a reminder that the perfect phone-camera hybrid is likely only a generation or two away.

Samsung Memoir
www.samsungmobileusa.com/Memoir
$250.00 (with service contract from T-Mobile)
8 Megapixel Camera
16x digital zoom
Touch Screen
MicroSD card slot
Video: 720 x 480 resolution, 30 frames per second