Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 coming to India soon; US pricing and availability announced

After announcing the second iteration of its Android camera in January, Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Camera 2 for India the its Forum 2014 event in Bali. The Galaxy Camera 2 is an Android-based point-and-shoot with enhanced connectivity options. While Samsung did not announce the price for India, it did tell us the Camera 2 will be coming in late February or early March. The Camera 2 has also been put up for pre-order through Samsung and online retailers in the US for $449.99,  which translates to Rs 28,000. So, we can expect the device to cost a couple of thousands more in India. It should be noted that the original Galaxy Camera was launched in India for Rs 29,900. [caption id="attachment_218653" align="alignnone" width="640"] 16-megapixel sensor on the camera[/caption]The Galaxy Camera 2 is not that big of an update to its predecessor if you look at the camera specs. It’s got the same 16-megapixel image sensor and the 21x (23-483mm equivalent) lens as the camera which was announced last year. There’s a hinged flash, which Samsung claims can support bounce flash by being tilted back. There are also some camera software improvements along with newer connectivity options. Smart shooting modes have been given a facelift and there are now 28 modes to choose from. Users can separate exposure and focus, controlling each independently. There’s a Smart Mode Suggest feature which handholds a user in securing the best picture and a new Selfie Alarm mode brings some refinement to shooting self-portraits. [caption id="attachment_218656" align="alignnone" width="640"] The camera UI[/caption]It's going to ship with the latest version of Jelly Bean i.e. Android 4.3. It is powered by an upgraded 1.6GHz quad-core processor (chipset unspecified) and supported by 2GB of RAM. The rear display is the same 4.8-incher that we first saw in the Galaxy Camera. Support for NFC has been added, which should make it easier to connect with other Samsung devices. In addition, there’s a larger 2,000mAh battery. The 8GB internal memory is supplemented with 50GB of free storage on Dropbox for up to two years.