Samsung takes aim at Japanese rivals with Android camera

By Miyoung Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co is taking aim at its Japanese rivals with an Android-powered digital camera that allows users to swiftly and wirelessly upload pictures to social networking sites.

The Galaxy camera lets users connect to a mobile network or Wi-Fi to share photographs and video without having to hook up the camera to a computer.

While it's not the first to the market, Samsung's financial and marketing clout suggest it could be the biggest threat to Japanese domination of a digital camera industry which research firm Lucintel sees growing to $46 billion by 2017 and where big brands include Canon Inc, Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp, Nikon Corp and Olympus Corp.

"Samsung has a tough row to hoe against the likes of Canon and Nikon in the camera brand equity landscape," said Liz Cutting, senior imaging analyst at research firm NPD Group. "Yet as a brand known more in the connected electronic device arena, Samsung has a unique opportunity to transfer strength from adjacent categories into the dedicated camera world."

The Korean group, battling for mobile gadget supremacy against Apple Inc, is already a global market leader in televisions, smartphones and memory chips.

Samsung last year brought its camera and digital imaging business - one of its smallest - under the supervision of JK Shin, who heads a mobile business that generated 70 percent of Samsung's $7.4 billion third-quarter profit.

"Our camera business is quickly evolving ... and I think it will be able to set a new landmark for Samsung," Shin said on Thursday at a launch event in Seoul. "The product will open a new chapter in communications - visual communications," he said, noting good reviews for the Samsung Galaxy camera which went on sale in Europe and the United States earlier this month.

AIMING AT 'PRO-SUMERS'