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SteveBIRK

Why is the better of the 2 cameras on all these tablets on the back?

In my opinion I see more users using the front facing camera more because of video chat. I would think the back camera will go unused. It seems like it would be awkward to hold your tablet up to take pictures especially if you got a smart phone with a good camera.
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dave

dave

Hah, that's an interesting point. To be fair though, I don't think you need a 5MP or 8MP front facing camera just to take photos (or video) of your face. For video conferencing, 720p is fine and offers enough detail (iPad 2 and iPhone 4 are VGA @ ~480p). You also have bandwidth considerations. It's probably not wise or prudent to send 1080p @ 30fps just for a conference call or update with the family.

I think you're more likely wanting to take a high quality picture of something besides your face and then do some editing of photos or videos on the device. If the higher res camera was on the front, you'd have to always turn the device around and then couldn't see what you were shooting.
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cass

cass

At this point, I don't think having a back-facing camera necessary, but if they can do it, why not? It comes standard and the price is the same, so I don't have a problem with having an extra camera.

Also, I'm sure when developers start working on new apps, they'll find out a clever way to use the extra camera.
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kernco

kernco

Yeah, I agree with Dave. It's because you don't need a huge resolution for video conferencing, but if you're taking photographs, you do want a high resolution. I agree with you, though, that it seems silly to use a tablet to take pictures.
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richardlawler

richardlawler

In using the Galaxy Tab and the Xoom I've found the full-res back camera to be indispensible. Most often this has been to quickly capture a page of hand-written meeting notes, a markerboard full of brainstorming ideas, a quick high-dpi copy of a document, letter or page from a book. Hi-res, autofocus and a flash make this task easier.

Sure you could use your smartphone to do the capture, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful in a tablet.

I'm sure there are many other applications for a full-res camera on a tablet that haven't been thought of yet. It will be interesting to see what people come up with.
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Infotainers

Infotainers

Dave said it - higher resolution camera for video chat would result in larger bandwidth. You don't need 8 MP of detail for video chatting. On a home network, sure, but not on a mobile device.

Would be nice if it had software that could crank the resolution down when on 3G and crank it back up when you're on home wi-fi.
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