Updated (Australian release September 27): Nikon announces Android-powered camera – the S800C

Update (Editor’s note): As Graham Bucknell pointed out in the comments below, there appears to be a bit of information on an Australian release. Gizmodo pushed Nikon Australia and got the information that the S800C will set you back around $449-499. It is expected to launch locally on September 27 and I’m sure these things will sell very well. More as it comes.

Nikon have today released the world’s first point and shoot Android powered camera – the S800C. Quite widely rumoured, the unit packs a whopping 16MP and a 10X opitcal zoom with a NIKKOR lense.

What makes it so special, is it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, has full WiFi support with B, G and N support.

And here’s the really big news – full Google Play store support! What does this mean? Think Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, Google +; anywhere you like to share your pics, you can do so straight from the lens with the Android-powered 5800C.

The UI is displayed on the 3.5″ OLED touchscreen which appears to be a mixture of regular Android and Nikon customisations.

With the quality increasing on mobile phone cameras, is this the way point and shoot cameras will go now?

One thing is for sure, the Android wildfire is not slowing down, now extending to a wider range of gadgets and electronics – Android is becoming more and more part of our everyday life.”

Here’s the offical line from Nikon’s press release:

The S800c establishes a new line in the COOLPIX S series powered by Android with built-in Wi-Fi® compatibility for operation similar to that of a smartphone and wireless Internet connection. With its backside illumination CMOS sensor with an effective pixel count of 16.0-million pixels and 10x optical zoom NIKKOR lens, however, the S800c enables capture of sharp, blur-free and beautiful images that can be extremely difficult to capture with smartphones. What’s more, users can take full advantage of the camera’s other features, including support for recording of full-HD movies, to upload their stunning photos and movies to social networking sites. The S800c fulfills Nikon’s latest proposal for new ways to use digital cameras–Capture, View, Connect, Enjoy–all in a single, compact body.

Other features to note are:

• Full SNS support – browse and post to popular social networking sites
• Support for Google Play and Android Apps
• 1080P video support
• 25 to 250mm wide angle support
• Built in “My Picturetown” app for sharing and uploading images
• GPS function to share image location
• 3.5″ 819K-dot OLED widescreen displauy
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread

Source: Android Central