Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 Release Date: To Launch 'Unique' Smartphone This Summer

At the recent CES 2015, Panasonic announced that the Lumix DMC-CM1 smartphone, which the company released in September 2014, would come to the U.S. market sometime during this summer. In its release last year, the Lumix CM1 smartphone was made available in limited numbers to the French and German markets.

The Lumix CM1 has been labeled as a unique smartphone by many since its launch as it has a state-of-the-art point-and-shoot cameras. The camera has a massive 20 megapixels combined with a one-inch image sensor. Added to this is a f/2.8 28mm Leica lens which allows for Raw and JPG images to be captured. The phone also has the ability to shoot 4K videos but only at a frame rate of 15fps. The aperture, shutter speed and ISO of the camera can also be controlled using the interface or manually via the control ring around the camera pod.

On its phone side, the Lumix CM1 has a Snapdragon 801 chipset coupled with 2GB of RAM. It comes with a 2600mAh battery.

The phone has a switch that allows users to shift from phone to camera mode. As for its display, it has a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1080p, which makes it great for capturing and displaying crisp images.

However, critics say the phone feels "clunky" when held because of the huge lens mounted on its back panel. Gizmodo also pointed this out, saying the Lumix CM1 is more of a camera than a phone.

The phone is powered by the Android KitKat.

As for price, the Lumix CM1, according to rumors, will cost around $1,000 in the U.S. and will be sold in its unlocked form on AT&T and T-Mobile.