Nikon CoolPix S800c - An Android but not a phone

In all likelihood the age of the independent compact camera is coming to an end. With cellphones getting smarter, cheaper, and  more multifunctional it seems as though they come to fill the needs of low end users of various forms of technology. While they're probably a while away from replacing laptops/desktops/tablets for simple cloud based interaction the leap to point-and-shoot camera replacement doesn't seem too far away.

In many ways this makes sense; cellphones and cameras are about the same size already and, for many people, the resolution of the cameras are approaching an acceptable level. Perhaps more importantly though cellphone cameras allow people to skip a step in the photo sharing process. No longer are you required to plug your little camera machine into a larger internet machine to share/print/view your images. Now you can do it on the same device that you used to take the photo.

The S800c is Nikon's first camera to incorporate this sharing element into the point and shoot - it is their first camera machine that doesn't need a separate internet machine to get your photos onto facebook, e-mail, or similar. While this might be considered a good move the Nikon Coolpix S800c seems to be an attempt to prolong the demise of the point and shoot rather than rescue them from oblivion.

The first point to notice is that the idea of a share ready camera is not an original one. It has been done already by a number of less camera-centric companies so in some ways this move is less innovation, more conformation. While this isn't a good look it's one that few consumers are likely to notice or care about. The danger comes in the second point, the operating system that they have elected to use: Google's Android. 

While Android is great for phones it may be somewhat of a dangerous prospect when it comes to selling a camera. There is a simple reason for this. Android is a great, and popular, phone operating system. In fact, odds are, when you read Android you immediately thought phone not camera, computer, tablet, or any of the other things it has been used for. This is dangerous because the first question people will ask about the camera will be "Can I make calls?" The answer will be no.

This answer is the key reason that the S800c will prolong the death of the point and shoot rather than ensure its survival. By failing to include the technology that the camera will need to compete with phones Nikon have failed to give the camera what it needs to survive the initial comparison. Given the choice between a phone that can take good photos and a camera that takes better photos but can't make calls despite having an Android on the box the camera is likely to come off second best.

However the comparison above may be the thing that saves the camera in this round. For now at least many people still consider cameras and phones to be separate pieces of technology. Odds are they still buy them in different stores. This means the comparison above is unlikely to happen in many cases. Hopefully, by the time it does start to happen, the S800c's successor will arrive with a slot for your sim card and a passable mic and speaker.