Samsung has developed a cell phone with a 7-megapixel camera and will show the device for the first time later this week at the Cebit show in Hanover, Germany.

border=0 /><BR></div> </p> <p> The SCH-V770 is similar to a 3Mp model released last year by Samsung and is distinctive because at first glance it resembles a digital still camera. Its camera-like looks are thanks in a large part to a 3X optical zoom lens, just like that found on conventional digital still cameras, and a camera-style flash. On the rear of the phone there

Compared to the earlier model and phone with a 5-megapixel camera that Samsung also announced last year, the new handset offers several additional photography functions. These include functions typically found on digital still cameras, such as manual focus, user-controllable focal length, shutter speed and shutter priority, aperture priority and fully manual shooting modes. Such features are unusual in camera phones.

border=0 /><BR></div> </p> <p> Users can also clip a wide-angle converter and tele-converter to the front of the lens on the SCH-V770. </p> <p> The 2-inch display on the rear offers 320-x-240 pixel resolution. Other features include an MP3 player, video capture mode and business card reader, said Samsung. The phone measures 127-x-52-x-27mm and weighs 180g. </p> <p> Alas, for visitors to Cebit attracted to the new phone, it isn

Samsung doesn't have a sales schedule or price for the handset, said Erin Lee, a spokeswoman for the company in Seoul.

The new phone represents the latest in a string of firsts in the cellular handset market for Samsung, which is battling with Motorola for second place in the world cell phone market. Last year, Samsung was first with a 5Mp camera phone and was also the first to put on sale a handset with integrated hard-disk drive and a phone that can receive satellite radio and television broadcasts.