January 7, 2007 – Samsung Camera announced the i70 personal media player and digital camera today as the Consumer Electronics Show begins in Las Vegas. The 7.2-megapixel digital camera can play videos and music while snapping pictures. It will be available within the first half of 2007 in selected markets.
The Samsung i70 follows previous i-series devices including the i6, i50, and i5. The i5 is a 5-megapixel digital camera with a traditional 2.5-inch LCD screen and thin stainless steel housing. The i50 added MP3 capabilities to the i5’s digital camera model while the Samsung i6 has 6 megapixels. The i6 is also the first camera to introduce the personal media player (PMP) concept.
The Samsung i70 carries on the PMP legacy with its MPEG-4 and MP3 playing capabilities. It adds more resolution with 7.2 megapixels and a bigger 3-inch LCD screen. It also includes face recognition technology and ISO sensitivity up to 1600. The i70 also has a 3x optical zoom lens with a sliding lens cover.
The Samsung i70 has a casing that looks less like a camera and more like a cell phone with its highly polished finish. Surprisingly, the Samsung i70 doesn’t have cell phone capabilities, although, it seems to do everything else. It has a text viewer to read documents. It can also play MP3 files and play video up to 720 x 480 pixels at 15 fps.
At this point, Samsung has not disclosed any plans for a US release.
