Review: Samsung Pixon 12 M8910

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Samsung Pixon 12 is the world's first 12 megapixel camera phone. Not only does it have an outstanding photographic capability, but it comes with virtually every other high-end feature that you might expect. Whilst not a smartphone, it's a 3G touchscreen phone with a media player, FM radio, full screen web browser, GPS with Google Maps, WiFi and support for memory cards up 16 GB. On the negative side, it's expensive and has below average battery life, but it still gets our thumbs up. Check out the top 10 independent deals for the Pixon 12 below, or click to read the full review and user reviews.

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Samsung Pixon 12 Review

Review: September 2009.

The Pixon12 is a 12 megapixel version of the Samsung Pixon and was released in the UK on 1 August 2009. In fact it's the world's first 12 megapixel camera phone. Samsung have upgraded a number of features of the original Pixon, adding a fabulous OLED screen with a massive 480 x 800 pixel resolution, support for DivX/Xvid video move playback, WiFi, HSUPA for faster uploading of photos and videos, and support for memory cards up to 16GB.

It was Samsung who launched the world's first 8 megapixel camera phone (the Samsung i8510), and they are clearly determined to hold on to their camera record beating. Samsung may not have quite the reputation of Sony or Canon in the digital camera world, but they've been one of the big manufacturers since the early days of digital cameras and their competence shouldn't be doubted. Many will point out that more megapixels don't necessarily mean greater picture quality, but we're happy to confirm that the Pixon 12 really does deliver results that match expectations. Of course with no optical zoom, the Pixon 12 is never going to beat a prosumer digital camera in a straight comparison, but it is one of the best camera phones that we have seen. As well as the headline-grabbing 12 megapixel resolution, the Pixon 12 offers a very well integrated camera-like interface that makes the advanced features accessible and easy to use. The range of options is far more than is usually seen on a mobile phone, but for the casual user, the Smart Auto setting means that the Pixon 12 can be operated as a point-and-shoot and will still take excellent photos. It captures images very quickly too, which hasn't always been the case with previous Samsung phones. The Pixon 12 manages to take very good quality images under a wide range of lighting conditions. Key to this is the xenon flash, that illuminates much more competently than the LED flash normally found on camera phones. It's also worth noting that the lens is wider than on most other camera phones (28mm compared with 35mm), meaning that you can get more into the picture.

The video recording capabilities of the Pixon 12 are impressive too. The video camera can record at up to 720 x 480 pixels, which, whilst it cannot match the HD resolution of the i8910 HD, is still an impressively high resolution. The video records at 30 frames per second in high resolution, but can also record at 120 frames per second in lower resolutions, enabling the possibility of slow-motion playback. Although the still camera uses a xenon flash for maximum brightness, there's also a LED light that can be used as a video light. You can also make video calls using the secondary front-facing camera.

The OLED display on the Pixon 12 is superbly detailed, with an ultra-high resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and 16 millions colours. This is an excellent screen that does full justice to the photographic capabilities. It's also a nice display for a touchscreen phone, although it's very slightly smaller in physical size than the display on the original Pixon. The phone uses Samsung's TouchWiz user interface and is generally an easy phone to use, despite its advanced functionality. The easy access to a QWERTY keyboard is a big bonus, and the media functions work particularly well with the touchscreen design. Heavy duty texters should be aware that this may not be the best choice of phone however.

The other media options include a music player, FM radio, video player and a full screen web browser, all of which work very well. There's also a GPS receiver built in, with support for Google Maps.

Connectivity is excellent, with Bluetooth, USB and WiFi available. The internet connection is very fast, with support for both HSDPA and HSUPA, giving fast uploads as well as fast downloads up to 7.2 Mbps on a 3G network. The one thing missing is a 3.5mm audio jack, which limits the range of headphones that can be connected.

Battery life is a weak area. This shouldn't be a surprise for a 3G phone with a large touchscreen display, not to mention the gas-guzzling xenon flash, but even so the Pixon 12 seems to eat batteries even quicker than most similar phones. Expect to charge it regularly, perhaps even daily.

The Pixon 12 isn't a smartphone. This limits the number of apps that are available, but it does make the user interface fast and more robust. It's a high-spec touchscreen phone with an obviously outstanding camera and pretty well everything else that you'd expect too. It's complex, so shouldn't be your first choice unless the camera really appeals, and the battery life is distinctly below average, but nevertheless within its niche it's close to being perfect.

Features of the Samsung Pixon 12 include:

• 12 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, autofocus and power LED & xenon flash
• Video camera (720 x 480 pixels, 30 frames per second) / 3G video calling
• Display: AMOLED, 16 million colours, 480 x 800 pixels (3.1 inches) with auto rotation
• Music player (MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+ formats) plus DivX/Xvid video support
• FM radio RDS
• 3D sound effect
• Ringtones: MP3 ringtones / 72-voice polyphonic tones
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
• GPS navigation with Google Maps
• Voice memo & voice mail
• Speakerphone
• Java games
• Document viewer
• Offline mode
• WAP 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, 3.5G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps & HSUPA), web browser
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, USB 2.0, WiFi
• Memory: 150 Mbytes plus MicroSD memory card slot (up to 16GB supported)
• Personal organiser functions
• Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G
• Size: 108 x 53 x 14 mm
• Weight: 119g
• Talktime: 3 hours
• Battery standby: 250 hours

Samsung Pixon 12 Consumer Reviews

Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!

Average rating from 27 reviews:

Reviewed by Nick from UK on 28th Jan 2010
I;ve had this phone for nearly 2 months and I REALLY hate it. It doesnt like to surf the net at all. if you go from a 3G area to 2G is comes up 'DNS Failure' and you have to close the browser and re-open it so it can log onto the 2g network. it also wont allow the browser open along with anything else such as the gallery and asks you to close something. it also freezes breifly when a text comes throu. the speaker for everything including the message notifications is always covered when the phone is put down so you never hear anything. The final straw is the fact it constantly drops signal. all the time. its only saving grace is the camera and the fact that the battery life IS decent. i get three days once i drained the test charge the phone comes with and charged it for 12 hours! normal charging afer that
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Reviewed by Desalegne Mebrate from Ethiopia on 16th Jan 2010
one of the best ever since produced,I love samsung
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Reviewed by V from UK on 15th Jan 2010
Well, I bought this phone for its camera, to be precise the flash! And yes, in that area it completely delivers! However, there are a few areas which in my opinion really let it down! For starters the most ridiculous and non-sensical predictive text input! Writing texts (of which I do plenty) is an ever lasting and annoying carry-on!! Give me a Nokia any day! Also, I like my phone to fulfil a complete 'personal organiser' function and this one does a poor job of it. The reminders, schedules and tasks are all set out in a tricky to get to fashion, not at your fingertips where I think they should be. And then there's the 'New PC Studio'! Who on Earth thought of that one? PC Studio 7 did everything you could wish it to do and was a lot more overseeable and easier to operate. The New PC Studio in comparison is full of useless features and is in my eyes an overall headache! Despite the great camera (flash) I'm wishing I hadn't bought this phone.
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Reviewed by Hannah from England on 27th Dec 2009
the phone is amazing, the only faults i find with it; is that when on the phone, i have to put people on loudspeaker to be able to hear them clear enough and when on the internet; the screen enlarges and decreases alot but once its loaded its fine, just the whole loudspeaker thing im going to have to come to grips with.
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Reviewed by laura from london on 13th Dec 2009
it is A great phone .great camra great everything ..you should buy this phone
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Reviewed by Grattus from England on 13th Dec 2009
Have had this phone for about a month now and the longer I have it the better I like it. Never really been a fan of touchscreen phones but the market for high end devices seems dominated by them. However, the user interface for this device is very slick and easy to use, the touchscreen response is very quick and simple to manage even for me! The screen resolution is superb, the icons and menu layouts good once you master where everything is (read the manual!). The camera is as good or better than any I have used (and I have had the Satio, C905 and N86!). The only 2 negatives I have are that battery life is relatively poor (have all settings as low as possible, brightness, ringtones, alert noises etc) but this will hopefully be improved once extended life batteries become available. The only other negative is that the accompanying cd will not load the software to enable my pc to synch with the phone. Also will not load from the Samsung website but have been able to transfer pics using the pcs software so not a major issue. In conclusion, the Pixon12 is a stylish, high end device that is easy to use and produces fantastic results from the camera. What more would you want from a cameraphone!
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Reviewed by Claire from UK on 10th Dec 2009
Had this phone for about 4 days, and took it back! Was a good camera, but considering all the hype not that fantastic! Reception was terrible because of the casing. Slow as well. And very annoying! Getting the Jet now in Lilac, much faster, and decent camera considering its only a 5mp.
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Reviewed by Anon from UK on 5th Dec 2009
Pixon 12 is brill phone, but only niggle is when you try to navigate the internet, the screen has mind of its own enlarging and shrinking. Just need to find out to stop it doing this!!!!!
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Reviewed by Aditya from Mumbai on 4th Dec 2009
Pixon12 camera is fantastic. Features like WiFi, GPS, Internet, AMOLED screen are useful. But I found some problem with Media player. Changing sound effect has NO EFFECT after saving, it works before saving. When background play setting is OFF and we remove handsets, still the sound is played. This is so frustating. Please inform me if some of you have found out any solutions to this.
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Reviewed by Alex from England on 29th Nov 2009
I love this phone absoulutley fatastic it has a great camera google maps which finds your curent location wic came in handy last week as a got lost in tandalhills it is reat for the internet with a big scree easy use for texting no problems what so ever but it was stolen from colledge but i am happy to pay for a brand new one! MUST BUY BEST PHONE I HAVE EVER HAD ! ! !
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Reviewed by Tristen from UK on 22nd Nov 2009
The phone camera is great.
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Reviewed by laura from lincoln on 19th Nov 2009
i have this phone it is really good .the camra is good its not slow ..it just really good i recomend that you get this phone if you want a good phone and a good camra ..
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Reviewed by Hello from USA on 3rd Nov 2009
amazin fone The camera is AWESOME
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Reviewed by Julie from Bournemouth on 2nd Nov 2009
Bought the Pixon 12 together with the SE Satio. Pixon blew Satio out of the window - better battery life, easier OS, smaller and neater when holding in hand. Screen is beautifully bright, no problems with sound. I have had a lot of camera phones (the best up to date being the Nokia N82) but this phone definitely beats the lot. Wonderful.
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Reviewed by tom from cheshire on 5th Oct 2009
had my pixon 12 for about 6 days now and had nothing but problems with it dont like it atall
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Reviewed by Dan from UK on 25th Sep 2009
This phone is perfect. It is basically an I-phone with a 12 MP Camera. Awesome!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by lee j from birmingham on 25th Sep 2009
upgraded to this from my previous lg viewty had this phone since this mornin , been usin it non stop and ogt it all set up perfect for me , the battery dont seem to bad , camera is brilliant , internet speed is fab , touch screen is great , does what it says on the tin , end of the day you people expect a lot , its a phone your meant to make calls and texts off it as long as it does that then whats to moan about , you want a good picture - go buy a camera you want good internet speeds - get a pc with broadband you want good music player - get a mp3 player you want a decent sat nav - go buy a sat nav but overall for what it is its amazing phone - no problems yet - touch wood if you got the option go for it
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Reviewed by Matt from England on 20th Sep 2009
This seems to be a bit of a Marmite phone looking at the reviews. I have to say I am very happy with my Pixon 12, as it ticks all the boxes for me. I've ready about the battery life, but it compares well with my Nokia N82. With my usage it's lasting me 3/4 days between charges. Positives: Superb Camera qualtiy, Camera startup time (locked phone to picture taken in less that 3 seconds) Screen (resolution and viewing angle are top notch), Snappy UI, Seamless WIFI (when setup properly). Negatives: The touch screen isn't the most accurate, the web browser is great for WAP but crashes on busy propper web sites, I do miss my series 60 apps. Concluion: If you are looking for an internet phone that you can expand with apps and games, then this isn't the phone for you. If you're looking for the best camera phone, with pretty good calling/texting, then I can't recommend the Pixon 12 enough. It also help that I got mine second hand for half price on eBay...
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Reviewed by Neil from UK on 7th Sep 2009
I like the phone too - the camera is amazing when it works but a lot of my pictures don't work and I get a message saying 'capture failed' does anyone know why this is (it seems to happen a lot indoors - when the flash is on - not matter what setting i choose) - are my setting wrong or something? Any help would be appreciated!
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Reviewed by B from UK on 2nd Sep 2009
Fantastic phone - Best phone I have ever used and I have used plenty, including the brick called n97! The phone is so easy to use - fantastic camera - great looks - and the new interface is such an improvment over the s8300 and original pixon. The Pixon12 runs the same fast 800mhz processor that the samsung jet uses, so the phone is very fast, even with the menu transition effects turned on there is no lag! Highly Recommended.
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Reviewed by Mattty. from England on 1st Sep 2009
ive had this phone almost 3 weeks now. Used to own the LG viewty which i renewed for this. The samsung pixon 12 blows it out of the water. My sister has the lg viewty smart it doesnt even compare to this phone. The interface seems abit more lively, but the fact its all based around a cube is a gimmick. If you are buying this phone its for the camera, not the smartphone capabilities, whether it has an app store such as ovi or itunes or for its music like the walkman phones. For a camera phone the shots are amazing. I dont think you will find a camera phone that could beat it, we'll just have to wait and see how SonyEricsson stand up to the competition. Ok the battery life isnt the best, but is it really much trouble putting it on charge every night, i can assure you it isnt, i manage it and im so soo lazy; trust me. The oled screen is lush and everyone seems to comment how bright and bold the colours are in my photos when viewing them in the well layed out media browser. All in all dads money has been well spent. I got a well good deal with phones4u, £35 for 18months, 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and internet and a free phone. The only thing i would change about this phone is its interface, it could just be abit more lively and animated like the sclass found on the LG's which i find really fun to use with the iphone like icons.:)
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Reviewed by Cold_Turkey84 from UK on 1st Sep 2009
I have had this phone for exactly a week now and have 2 main issues with this phone. I got it just before going to work at reading festival and the screen broke on the second day. It ran out of battery and when i put it on charge the screen just came up with a garbled mess in charging mode, I turned it on and the garbled mess changed but was still totally garbled. With all intention of taking it back I put it on charge 1 more time, more garbled mess, so i went to turn it off and like magic my sreen came back with no problems at all! I am totally at a loss to explain it but am happy it's back. Other than that it is a good phone if a little slow due to the touchwiz interface. Camera and video facilities are excellent, just disappointed I couldn't take the pics and vids I wanted to.
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Reviewed by i luv me from mars on 16th Aug 2009
Alright phone battery life not to good but other features ok!
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Reviewed by Older user from UK on 16th Aug 2009
Had this phone for just over a week now. Previously owned Samsung i8910 but returned it because of disappointing video recording performance. This seems much better - no lost frames, auto focus on video is excellent. Also tried the LG Renoir (which I thought was good on the video front) and would say this is even better. Auto camera lens cover is also a welcome addition. Still images are very good, improved by both xenon flash and video light. The touch screen UI isn't fantastic (not as intuitive as Nokia or SE imho) but certainly easier to use and more responsive than the i8910. Downsides for me: Screen is clear and vibrant but size makes web browsing a bit of a chore (although in fairness, this is I guess true of many smaller touch screens). Despite its great features, the handset looks a bit "anonymous" and won't turn heads (if you're into that sort of thing of course ;-)) Organiser function appears to limit calendar entries in length, so synching with Outlook not as great as say, my previous K800i. On the whole, I got this for its video and camera features, and on that score have not been disappointed.
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Reviewed by Haseeb Sheikh from England on 14th Aug 2009
After the pixon and the omnia, it is a decent phone with an excellent display, speaker is decent and quite loud, louder than the 5800 but the omnia is better but is a good phone
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Reviewed by tony from uk on 13th Aug 2009
rubbish phone many problems poor battery life always crashes. If you have any common sense get the new nokia n97 best phone ever made
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Reviewed by theincrediblemobileman from space on 11th Aug 2009
great phone with great features must by :)
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