Samsung has decided to merge its digital imaging business division (the division responsible for cameras) with its wireless business division. The merger will ultimately help both markets as the company aims to differentiate their smartphone offerings while at the same time taking advantage of the networks and marketing know-how of the wireless division for camera sales.
For many, the capability of a smartphone's camera is a key selling point and to some, it's more important than other specifications like the processor or storage capacity. Samsung has experimented with improved camera technology in their smartphones in the past, most recently with the Galaxy S4 Zoom.
The handset essentially molds a real point-and-shoot digital camera with a smartphone for the best of both worlds. It's of course a bit bulkier than your standard smartphone but you'll also enjoy much better photo quality than you'd get with a typical smartphone camera due to the 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, optical image stabilization, 10x optical zoom and the xenon flash.
The news also means that Samsung's point-and-shoot and mirrorless cameras will likely be marketed more aggressively but there's really no hiding the fact that the announcement is geared more toward improving smartphone cameras than selling traditional digital cameras.
It's unclear exactly how long it may take for the merger to result in viable improvements to Samsung smartphones nor do we really have any idea when we could expect to see the camera division mix up its marketing efforts.