Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905 breaks cover with 8.1 megapixels in tow

Paris who? Sony Ericsson's let yet another one slip out of its fingers before the official announcement, this time around a killer slider said to be the Cyber-shot C905, codenamed "Shiho." If the rumors pan out, it's got one heck of a rap sheet, too, starting off with an 8.1 -- yes, eight point flippin' one -- megapixel camera with both xenon and LED flashes (for still and video capture, respectively), GPS, TV out, DLNA certification, and HSDPA in your choice of European and American flavors. The screen's apparently just QVGA, but in light of everything else we're hearing, we might just be willing to let that slide. It'll apparently be announced on the 17th of the month in gold, silver, and black for a fourth quarter release. Wowza!

[Thanks, Adrian]

[kingofwale @ Jun 10th 2008 10:43PM]

Pfft, my IPhone is still better, even though it has only 2 mp camera, no flash, no video recording and no...

Oh NEVERMIND!!!!

[deyanimay @ Jun 10th 2008 10:47PM]

3mp should be the standard by now

[Pentium @ Jun 10th 2008 11:17PM]

nice one from SE...I was expecting Nokia to do it first!

by the way, nice avatar! Final Fantasy X....it was good times ;)

[Flashpoint @ Jun 10th 2008 11:18PM]

iPhone's camera sucks.

How am I suppossed to take pictures of women's asses while they aren't watching if I gotta stand 100% still due to the crappy refresh rate.

[Aguiluz @ Jun 10th 2008 11:36PM]

*Imitates familiar appleboy voice*

Your codenamed "Sh*tho" is no match for the 3G iPhone.

?I love picking my nose?

(Oh, I'm so going to regret posting this.)

[Abuzar @ Jun 10th 2008 11:40PM]

Haha, I think his little quotes at the end are so stupid.

[happy_penguin @ Jun 11th 2008 12:49AM]

iPhone does some things better than other phones. Taking pictures is most definitely not one of the those things.

[Nate L @ Jun 11th 2008 3:06AM]

Meh, I'll still buy a 3G Iphone. For $199, I'll get what I need.

For video recording, I'll take my VX2100 over a piece of shit cell phone camera.

[Hamidxa @ Jun 11th 2008 1:11PM]

Nate:

keep dreaming, you won't be getting anything at $199 for your iPhone besides the phone.

To even exploit its new feature, you have to sign up for a costly data plan and then an additional GPS nagivation service plan, so look to cough up at least $100 / month, and about $2,500 during the 2 years you own one if you want to make use of it.

On a SERO plan however, you would only be spending half of that for more features, less intrusive and limiting policies imposed by a single entity (i.e. Apple) wishing to control all facets of their phone and ATT's use of it, and more robust phones to boot, all while saving > $1000 throughout the 2 year period.

You are getting suckered and don't even realize it yet, but if you do, then well, that speaks pretty much for itself.

[Blunt @ Jun 11th 2008 2:10PM]

Megapixels stop mattering past around 5. I really i doubt that tiny lens has the resolution to make use of the sensor anyways. what i would LOVE to see is an optical zoom which would be way better than jacking up the megapixels.

[TRAZZAMAN @ Jun 25th 2008 7:29AM]

Do You Know What Would Be Sick...
An SLR Camera In A Phone That Would Kick Ass

[holycow @ Jun 10th 2008 10:59PM]

wow... thats awesome!

[Shoumik @ Jun 11th 2008 12:17AM]

Mines Bigger

[itlnstln @ Jun 11th 2008 8:11AM]

That's what she... nevermind.

[sikantis @ Jun 10th 2008 10:59PM]

Interesting post!

[Dyranios @ Jun 10th 2008 11:01PM]

ugh please have decent video recording this time around, it sucks so hard on all SE phones...Nokia are leagues ahead, im just about ready to get back on the SE train as I cant

send receive files via bluetooth
MMS
Copy Paste
Store things on it to view like every other phone on the market

on my iphone

[drsilverworm @ Jun 10th 2008 11:11PM]

Same people who leaked it are saying it records VGA video

[Nate L @ Jun 11th 2008 3:01AM]

Boo hoo.

[Sarig @ Jun 10th 2008 11:04PM]

8.1MP is all well and good, but I wonder how the optics are on it. Proper autofocus is a must of course, but it'd be really neat with optical zoom on it too.

[holycow @ Jun 10th 2008 11:14PM]

It is a CYBERSHOT phone, so it'll be using the same lenses as Sony's digital cameras.

[Anthony @ Jun 11th 2008 12:04AM]

I don't know that I agree, Kev. I had the N95-1 then went for the K850. Same megapixel level but I never liked the SE look. & the shutter lag wasn't any better, but the video was terrible.

I dumped the K850 for the N95 8gb & thanks to two firmwares the camera speed is very good, video is still good but saves faster & Nokia's got all the other nice stuff on top of it (not a dumb-phone, wifi, etc).

Strangely I'm eyeing the N78. Camera's a step down, but the design is great & I like candybars.

[bk7 @ Jun 11th 2008 3:39AM]

as a k800i owner its safe to say that your wrong about the n95 cam vs k800i. I dont know about the k850 but the stupidest thing about the k800i was lack of optical zoom. Pack as many MP in as you want but when you have to stretch each pixel to make it look "zoomed in" then its worthless.

[Rob Bourne @ Jun 11th 2008 3:58AM]

The K850i actually had a *worse* camera than the K800/810i. In fact, it has been their worst premium phone for some time now. The k800i camera is in fact better than the N95 5mp.

Optical zoom is useless on a phonecam, I have the G800 and I never, ever need the feature.

Rushed post over, meeting imminent.
/wrists

[T-Bone @ Jun 11th 2008 4:02PM]

Kev50273 @ Jun 10th 2008 11:34PM
Sony has always been the leader when it comes to optics.

O RLY? I can think of many companies that make better optics. They've all stayed away from cameraphones because the sensors suck so badly and the technology doesn't exist to make a good sensor small enough.

[TC @ Jun 10th 2008 11:04PM]

Why are we still pretending that megapixels are the be all and end all of photography? "Wow, what a crap picture!" "Hey, you can't say that, it has 14 megapixels, the big yellow sticker on it says so!" "So how big's the sensor?" "Uhhh....."

[iGod @ Jun 10th 2008 11:10PM]

At least it's a starting point of comparison between cell phone cameras.

[DefPo3t @ Jun 10th 2008 11:14PM]

i would say look at this
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/27/omnivision-claims-8-megapixel-omnibsi-sensor-will-turn-cellphone/
or you can say screw size and trow one of these in it
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/30/sonys-24-81-megapixel-cmos-sensor-going-pro-this-year/

[j.d.ripper @ Jun 11th 2008 3:24AM]

I'd be happier with less megapixels and better image quality.
What about less noise at higher ISO ?

[Temple @ Jun 11th 2008 3:38AM]

megapixels ain't the be-all-end-all.

But this Cyber-shot phone is going to be compared to the Cyber-shot point-and-shoots, not a DSLR.

Likely this Cyber-shot C905 is going to be using the same miniature sensors like in compact point-and-shoots.

Its certainly better then the crap 2MP camera on the iPhone or many cellphones. Judging by the lens and sensor, this should take decent enough pictures . It ain't a Nikon D3, but it ain't crap low-res camera phone pics either.

[Josh @ Jun 10th 2008 11:08PM]

heard they're awesome with taking pictures of people jumping out of airplanes too.

[tekdroid @ Jun 10th 2008 11:21PM]

nice to see no more problematic joystick-related Sony Ericsson designs. DLNA is unique in a phone.

Not a fan of the sliding form-factor, but this looks feature-packed. Apparently it's not running Symbian and no option for Opera over that wifi, but overall looks good, if the performance adds up.

[Fernando @ Jun 11th 2008 12:41AM]

DLNA is most certainly not unique

http://www.dlna.org/news/pr/view?item_key=7ca2aaf9472fbee4bed16098aea05f55966e44f5

[tekdroid @ Jun 11th 2008 12:50AM]

Fernando, unique for SE?
;)

[hwoarang27 @ Jun 10th 2008 11:22PM]

yes make my next phone decision harder please.
thank you Apple, sony ericsson, HTC, Blackberry, Samsung, LG

[Yenraf @ Jun 11th 2008 12:21AM]

Haha, I totally agree... though, I kinda enjoy the 17 hours I spend obsessing over every little pro and con over the 6 different options to choose from...

@ Dyranios - I hear this "capitalism" thing actually stems competition... so "supposedly" more/better phones should show up every year... lol so theoretically this phone wont have any of those problems, cause you know... the iphone is perfect... ugh why can't companies use common sense?

[King Mustard @ Jun 10th 2008 11:32PM]

Don't forget Nokia with its upcoming N96, E66, E71, N85 etc.

[AC @ Jun 10th 2008 11:22PM]

looks like I found my next phone.

[Kralos @ Jun 11th 2008 12:05AM]

Agreed. Fuck the iPhone and AT&T's contracts, I'm waiting for this now :O

[BobfromVegas @ Jun 10th 2008 11:23PM]

Wow-you actually praised something that wasn't apple.

Anyway, sounds cool. Can't wait to see it officially.

[freshboyz @ Jun 10th 2008 11:25PM]

price range & phone company anybody?

[cesium @ Jun 10th 2008 11:41PM]

you can use it with any provider who uses GSM...

[omnicloud @ Jun 10th 2008 11:36PM]

Yes, wonderful.

8.1 brilliant megapixels of unrelenting noise all over.

[derX @ Jun 11th 2008 1:51AM]

Apparently you've never heard of the Sony Ericsson CyberShot line...

[L @ Jun 11th 2008 2:11AM]

I think that he's saying that precisely because of the "Cyber-shot" brand :p

[Sam @ Jun 10th 2008 11:38PM]

I know this does not matter in the end, but how can you appreciate those amazing pictures on a lackluster screen

[marK @ Jun 10th 2008 11:50PM]

view them on a different device....

carefully though

[Richard @ Jun 10th 2008 11:47PM]

Well, right when I was about to sell my Razr2 to get the new iPhone you do this to me Engadget. Thank you very much. As if I was not conflicted enough about buying an Apple product, now I have to debate about whether I have the patience to wait until the fourth quarter for this beauty. But then, maybe I oughta just get the Touch Diamond at that point. Or maybe the Sony Experia.

Damn it!

[derX @ Jun 11th 2008 1:56AM]

Wow, you have the resources to get the Xperia or Touch Diamond and you're stuck choosing between those phones and the iPhone II? Wow.

I don't know, it seems kinda clear cut which of those phones is the best.
(Hint: It's the Xperia.) I mean, if you don't mind WinMo or OSX on the iPhone (not that there's a problem with either), the features of the winner (see hint), render it the clear winner.

Moral of the story: Xperia wins.

...wait, I'm posting this on an article about the SE C905....first time I'm mentioning it...hah.

[S7ORM @ Jun 10th 2008 11:48PM]

Makes my K800i (3.1mp) feel ever smaller and not cool, which use to only be compaired to the K850i (5mp), but now out done by an eight point flippin' one mp!

[T @ Jun 10th 2008 11:59PM]

8 MP is bad. With such a poor quality sensor, the images are going to have lots of noise.

The megapixel race is harmful to camera (and camera phone) quality. Instead of improving the optics and sensor, the manufacturers just increase megapixel counts to entice unaware customers, most of whom will not benefit from it.