Samsung has unleashed the first 12-megapixel camera-phone on planet Earth. The Pixon12 was launched today, will be on sale within a month in Europe and will doubtless have compact manufacturers quaking in their already quaky-shaky boots.

The news will come as a bit of a blow to Sony Ericsson who’ve just shown off their 12.1-megapixel Idou, or Satio or whatever it is they choose to call it, when it hits the shelves all too late in Q4. I don’t suppose that 0.1 of a megapixel is going to keep them very warm at the wrong end of six months of potential profit loss.

Worth remembering that megapixels aren’t everything but then, if you’re reading this, you probably already know that.

For more on basic photography, check out our “how to” guide on taking better snaps.