T-Mobile G1 as Both Your Camera and Your Camcorder

Another unexpected experience I brought out of my recent vacation was that my G1 essentially displaced my mid-range camera and camcorder. All the snapping and filming happened on the smartphone. Both higher-end devices sit untouched on a countertop.

Why?

1. The form factor. It's so much nicer to carry one pocket-size device than one pocket-size device and two brick-size devices hanging off of your neck. If/when you have little kids you'll appreciate the benefit to the greatest extent
   
2. Nearly instant sharing. Sending pictures to Picasa and videos to YouTube is literally a few taps away. As most of the moments immortalized by average vacation pictures and videos have half-live of approximately a week, it's crucial to share them with your audience ASAP. G1 works wonders at that
3. Geotagging for pictures. In many cases a map proves to be very helpful when telling your vacation story. Your geotagged pictures taken with G1 give you such a map with no hassle
   

As it stands now, for "high-end" vacations you do want to take your high end camera and camcorder gear. On the other hand, for an average getaway-and-relax vacation a camera-equipped smartphone might be just what the doctor ordered.

This is not to say there is no room for improvement. Picture quality is mediocre, video quality is even worse. No flash. No zoom.

It looks like the forthcoming smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy and Sony Ericsson whatever-it-will-be-called are trying to address the issues. It's just a matter of time when the likes of Flip get on the Android bandwagon and build a high quality pocket-size camera phone. Meanwhile we'll relax and mind our business.