The first camera phone

The first cell phone with a built-in camera was manufactured by Samsung and released in South Korea in June, 2000. The SCH-V200 flipped open to reveal a 1.5-inch TFT-LCD, and the built-in digital camera was capable of taking 20 photos at 350,000-pixel resolution, which is 0.35-megapixels, but you had to hook it up to a computer to get your photos. The camera and the phone components were essentially separate devices housed in the same body.

There’s a strong argument that the first real camera phone was produced by Sharp and released in Japan by J-Phone (now SoftBank Mobile) in November, 2000. The J-SH04 could take photos, like the one on the right (from Japanese site Showcase) at 110,000-pixel resolution or 0.11-megapixels. The real difference between it and the Samsung SCH-V200 was the fact that the J-SH04 allowed you to send your photos electronically.

First US camera phone

– Sanyo SCP-5300

It was November 2002 before the United States adopted the crazy Japanese trend with the Sanyo SCP-5300 on Sprint. It cost $400 and it featured a chunky clamshell design. With a 0.3-megapixel capability, it could capture shots at 640 x 480 pixels. The one pictured on the left comes from this IGN review. The Sanyo SCP-5300 also had a basic flash, white balance control, self-timer, digital zoom, and various filter effects like sepia, black and white, and negative colours.

By the end of 2003, camera phones were really taking off in the US and over 80 million had already been sold worldwide. We even covered the trend by reporting that camera phones rival DVD players sales back in November 2003. The good news for consumers was that quality was rising and prices were dropping.