Samsung's 10-Megapixel Camera Offers Novel Navigation

The new Samsung NV10 has a slim metal body, anti-shake compensation, and boasts 10-megapixel resolution. But what's novel about this camera is the inordinate number of buttons surrounding its 2.5-inch LCD.

The back of the NV10 looks odd at first glance. Rather than having the typical buttons and a four-position dial, the NV10 has buttons galore--a total of 13 little buttons along the bottom and right sides of its LCD. Here's what it looks like:



These buttons are touch-sensitive; text appears on the LCD explaining the button's function as your roll your finger over it. The buttons aren't labeled, which gives the back panel an understated look, but you'll need to remember which option you want if you don't want to run your finger along the entire row every time. Still, that probably beats the tiresome button pressing you have to do on some other cameras.

Samsung also announced two 7.2-megapixel cameras in the new NV series. Here's the $450 NV7 OPS, which has a 7X zoom and moves its CCD to deliver optical picture stabilization (OPS):




And here's the pocketable NV3, which uses same anti-shake technology as the NV10, has a 3X zoom, and will cost about $350.