Android lovers will soon have another smartphone option in the United States, and its photo and video capabilities are far beyond other Android phones we've seen so far.
Motorola's oddly-named Motoroi, previously announced for South Korea, will come to the United States in March, according to the Korea Herald. Pricing isn't known, but if the Motoroi is on par with other Android phones it'll be in the $200 range.
Like the Motorola Droid, the Motoroi runs Android 2.0 and has a 3.7-inch touch screen that supports multi-touch, but it ditches the physical keyboard presumably for a slimmer profile, though Motorola hasn't supplied exact dimensions. The Motoroi appears to share some of the Droid's block-like aesthetics.
The main attraction for this phone, however, is its 8-megapixel camera with xenon flash and the ability to capture 720p HD video. The phone's camera also includes face detection, multi-shot for shooting six photos in a row, face filter, red-eye reduction and camera shake protection. Plus, there's an HDMI output for playing video on a big screen.
By comparison, both the Nexus One and the Droid have 5-megapixel cameras and shoot video in 480p, with no HDMI output. They're also missing face detection, face filter, red-eye reduction, and burst shooting.
That doesn't mean the Motoroi is the most feature-rich camera phone on the market. You could get a Samsung Pixon 12 or a Sony Ericsson Satio, both of which have 12-megapixel cameras and other photo-friendly features. And Nokia is so proud of its 8-megapixel N86 that it commissioned professional photographer David Bailey to take some professional-looking shots.
However, as Android rises in popularity, the Motoroi has a good shot at disrupting the digital camera market. It may not have optical zoom or the highest resolution, but it could be good enough for people who mostly snap quick photos of friends and family.
