By Min-Jeong LeeSamsung Electronics Co.005930.SE +2.67% is taking its experiment with cameras a step further. The world’s top smartphone maker will introduce a high-end digital camera in South Korea later this week.The Galaxy NX, a 20.3 megapixel, mirrorless camera that runs on the Android operating system, can do pretty much everything that a smartphone can, except for making phone calls.
But it’s expensive. With a price tag of 1,800,000 won ($1,614), it costs roughly twice as much as a Galaxy S4 smartphone without a contract. The camera, which is connected to the Internet, easily sits on the high-end of the price range for digital cameras with a similar lens quality.
Cameras have never been Samsung Electronics’ strong point, but the company is hoping it can make a splash with the Galaxy NX as the world gets more and more wired. Their argument is that smartphones and social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter have created explosive demand for sharing pictures instantaneously through the Internet.
Samsung didn’t disclose its sales target for its new camera but said in a statement that the Galaxy Camera, a flagship model for cameras connected to the Internet that it launched last year, has been a “steady seller” with sales averaging 30,000 units per month.
But those figures add up to only a fraction of the whole digital camera market. IDC expects shipments of 101.78 million digital cameras this year.
The Galaxy NX is already available in Europe following a big launch in London in June, though the product was eclipsed by the company’s mobile line-ups such as the Galaxy S4 mini. – Yahoo News
