Sony planning 3G-connected Cyber-shot digital camera?

Rumblings over on the gdgt blog are suggesting that Sony could be readying a 3G-enabled Cyber-shot point-and-shoot digital camera.

With an embedded 3G modem, the camera would be able to geo-tag and upload photos to the web and social networks instantly, as well as likely being able to upload videos to YouTube too. The camera would run on similar principles to an Eye-Fi wireless storage card, automatically emptying itself of taken pictures, and may even come with a Kindle Whispernet-style free 3G connection for uploading snaps.

Declining sales of point-and-shoot cameras are largely put down to the increasing quality of cameraphones, and this too is in part to the ease with which we can share snaps via mobile connections to Facebook, Twitter and the like. While a 3G modem inside a camera would bump its price up a little, it’d likely be a welcome addition to anyone travelling and sharing plenty of pictures.

Bump it up to a 4G connection and a whole world of online-on-the-go photo management opens up to the user.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on any developments in this story.