Panasonic Camera Includes Both WiFi and Free T-Mobile Access

April 21, 2008
David Schloss, Technology Editor

For years now pundits have predicted the intersection between different electronic devices—cellphone meets camera meets GPS; TV meets phone meets microwave. Everything will quickly combine into one interface.

That hasn't happened as quickly as many had predicted, it took years for even Apple, who was running off with the portable music market to get video into their ubiquitous iPod, and it wasn't until last June that the iPhone finally combined several things into one device.

Still, many multi-function devices suffer from one critical flaw being that one part of the chain doesn't work as well as the others. In the iPhone, for example, the 2-megapixel camera is no where near as powerful as even the cheapest of today's digital cameras, and so most people who care about photography carry around a camera as well. The screen is beautiful on the iPhone; so most people do NOT carry around a television with them to supplement the device.

Other forms of synergy are starting to emerge taking technology and coupling it with something that's already doing well. Take for example, the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50, a 9-megapixel digital camera that not only features built-in 802.11b/g WiFi (as do so many cameras these days) but in an interesting twist also includes a free year's subscription to T-Mobile WiFi hotspots.

This gives the camera some added functionality, namely the ability to actually CONNECT to something when out in the field. Sadly, T-Mobile has just been replaced by AT&T as the primary WiFi provider for Starbucks, meaning that there are now 7000 fewer places to connect, but until all the plugs are pulled at all those coffee shops there are still several spots and many other roaming points at Borders, Hyatt hotels and airports.

More interesting than the actual service provided in this camera is the fact that they were smart enough to bundle a service plan, essentially adding value to the device without having to also give it a telephone or a GPS unit.

The rest of the specs of the $500 device are nice too, it's got a 10x zoom with a nice 28mm equivalent wide setting, image stabilization, red eye reduction, face detection and more, all with a nice Leica lens on the front. The TZ50 will drop in May and be able to instantly connect to the world. Now that's some smart combination of technology.