The Android camera revisited: Nikon S810c travel zoom aims for mainstream appeal

 

 

In late 2012, Nikon debuted the S800c, the world's first mainstream smart camera. Today, it follows up with the 16-megapixel, Android-based Nikon S810c, which aims to refine the design and create a product with broader appeal.

The Nikon S810c looks to address many of our most significant concerns with the earlier model look, which is great news. Perhaps most significantly, the Nikon S810c sports a much more up-to-date version of Android: version 4.2.2, also known as Jelly Bean. Although it still trails the current v4.4.2 (Kit Kat) release that's now available from Google, it's nonetheless a huge step forwards from the elderly v2.3.3 Gingerbread release used in the S800c. Google services including the company's flagship Play Store are included, making it easy to obtain apps and share them with most other Android devices.

 

 

Nikon has also radically improved battery life, and added the ability to use the camera or its Android features while the battery is being charged. And the Nikon S810c also boasts a more powerful 12x optical zoom lens that can now focus much closer. Also improved is the touch-panel display through which you'll be interacting with Android, now a TFT LCD type that's both larger and higher-resolution. One other change of note: Video and music fans will be pleased to see a brand-new headphone jack added.

 

 

Impressively, all of these changes arrive with only a very slight increase in size and weight. Available from May 2014 in black-bodied or white-bodied versions, the Nikon Coolpix S810c carries the exact same list price as its predecessor: You'll be able to pick it up for around US$350. Want to know more about Nikon's brand-new Android smart camera? Read our Nikon S810c preview for the full story!