Best cell phones for shutterbugs

By: Kent German AUGUST 5, 2011 4:53 PM PDT

Digital cameras are now so ubiquitous in cell phones that's its became rather hard to find a handset without one. Indeed, the feature has come a long way since cameras entered the cell phone world, first as detachable accessories and then as integrated features. The VGA resolution was long the norm--and it still exists at the low end of the market--but that changed with the introduction of handsets like Sprint's Audiovox PM8920, which was the first 1.3-megapixel camera phone in the United States. And from that point, the technology only got better.

The problem, however, is that the more camera phones there are, the harder it is choose the best models. U.S. carriers now offer handsets with 8-megapixel resolution, a ton of features, and even high-end lenses and sensors that you'd find on a regular camera. Photo quality also can vary quite widely, which makes the buying process even more difficult. CNET, however, is here to help. Not only can you compare photo quality for yourself in our camera phone photo gallery, but also we've selected what we think are the five best camera phones right now. Granted, there are unlocked handsets with more photo prowess, but we've stuck with handsets that we've reviewed.

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