Leave it up to Samsung to begin its gadget announcements on the second day of the new year.
The company introduced the next generation of its Android-powered point-and-shoot camera, the Galaxy Camera 2. It features a 4.8-inch Super Clear Touch LCD screen, 16.3-megapixel camera sensor, 21x optical zoom, and a 23mm wide angle lens, as well as Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). Inside, the camera is powered by 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, and a microSD slot for up to 64GB expansion. It also features a 2,000mAh battery pack, Bluetooth 4.0, and an NFC chip.
Samsung also bundled the camera device with its own version of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The TouchWiz-a-fied Galaxy Camera 2 comes with 28 different Smart shooting modes, including a Macro mode, a Rich HDR mode, and a continuous shooting mode. The feature is already a staple on many other Samsung-branded Android devices.
SamsungSamsung will exhibit the new camera in its booth on the CES show floor next week in Las Vegas. There is also no specific price or release date just yet, or word on whether there will be carrier-specific versions available.