Aigo A8 / Leo 14 megapixel cameraphone hands-on (video)

We were wandering the floor at CES just before the end of the show when we stumbled upon this oddly familiar device. It's the Aigo A8 -- née Altek Leo -- an Android cameraphone (more like a phonecamera, really) destined for China Unicom that sports a 14 megapixel autofocus camera with a CCD sensor, xenon flash, 3x optical zoom, and support for 720p HD video recording. Of course, we wasted no time taking this rare beast for a spin, even going so far as to sample the camera. Take a look at the pictures below, followed by more information -- and videos -- after the break.

Aigo A8 / Leo 14 megapixel cameraphone hands-on (video)

Aigo A8 / Leo 14 megapixel cameraphone sample pictures

From the front, the A8 looks like a thicker iPhone 4 with a very nice 3.2-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen and three additional buttons. In back, the collapsible zoom lens, xenon flash, and aluminum battery cover mimic a point-and-shoot camera. The phone runs Android 2.1 without any of the Google applications (such as Gmail, Google maps, or the Android Market), and feels like it's powered by a circa 600MHz processor. It packs the usual collection of radios including GSM (quadband), HSPA (likely triband), Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS. We tested several SIMs, and in addition to being unlocked, the device successfully connected to AT&T over 3G and to T-Mobile over EDGE. Of course, the camera is the star of the show; we captured both stills and video with the phone, and the results were pretty good despite the harsh show floor conditions. The camera interface is reasonably intuitive, too. Overall, we were quite impressed with the A8, but it was clear that the hardware and software are still being worked on.



Sample video shot with the A8: