Android-powered compact camera tries for best of both worlds

Summary

I admit I was pushing the camera a bit hard when reviewing the S800c. You can't blame me: the materialisation of an Android-powered compact camera is a camera geek's dream. With converged devices like the Nikon S800c, photography enthusiasts can have our cake and eat it. And frankly, I have never had so much fun with a compact camera for a long, long time. I really enjoy using the Nikon S800c and I don't feel at all uncomfortable using the Android apps extensively on the responsive touchscreen.

Yet, the S800c has not reached its destination. It runs on an older Android OS which doesn't support some popular social apps, and makes the Android experience less satisfactory. The recent announcement of Samsung Galaxy Camera overshadows Nikon's first mover advantage.

The Nikon Coolpix S800c has shown us that it is now possible to hope for the unthinkable, to build multi-function devices in a small form factor.