Samsung: 5MP Camera Phone in 2005

Samsung is ramping up its efforts of convergence between consumer electronics devices and mobile phones, announcing an ambitious plan to unveil a 5-megapixel camera phone before the end of the year.

Although camera phones are currently far more limited -- and often more expensive -- than standard digital cameras, Samsung says mobile handsets will account for 75 percent of digital cameras sold this year. The company says it will offer photo capabilities on over half its U.S. handsets in 2005.

But Samsung doesn't plan to stop with pictures, boasting new phone models that can record video and watch television content via Video on Demand. Samsung's p777 phone features 100MB of internal storage for downloading and playing MP3 music and video content.

The a890, meanwhile, sports an oversized screen for viewing streaming video on EVDO wireless networks, such as Verizon's VCAST.

"Wireless phones are becoming much more than simple voice devices. They are the center of consumers' social interactions," said Pete Skarzynski, senior vice president at Samsung. "First with text messaging and now with pictures, video and music, consumers want their digital devices to connect them to what's important in their life."

Samsung's a800 will be the first 2-megapixel CDMA camera phone released in the United States. The company plans to follow up with a 3.5-megapixel model, and finally close out the year with the world's first 5-megapixel camera phone.

Although packing such capability into ever-shrinking phones seems a massive undertaking, Samsung says the devices will actually feature a form factor similar to traditional digital cameras. So instead of buying a phone with integrated camera, consumers may find themselves buying cameras with integrated phones.