[WARNING: LONG POST]
3MP in a phone is more than enough.
I used to have a N70 with a 2MP camera --> horrible pictures.
- For example, the first pic: taken with my N70, outdoors, sunny day, like 10ft from my bike. Result: out of focus, not that good colours, so detailed you can barely see the make of the bike.
Then I bought a first generation iPhone, same MPs, but somehow better pics.
-Like the second photo: a wonderful day in Central Park. The colours are right, the pic isn't that detailed but more than enough for a phone. I thought.
I bought an iPhone 3Gs, 3MP camera, auto focus/brightness where you tap on the screen. And that's a GOOD camera, even if it hasn't Karl Zeiss lenses, even if it hasn't five million MPs.
Here are the pics taken in my New York holidays, in August.
- In the first pic, I was in front of Lady Liberty. Gorgeous colours, perfect focus.
- Then, indoors, Museum of Natural History. Almost no light, behind the glass. Focused, right colours, you can actually read well.
- Next: same museum, a diorama. Same conditions, the pic isn't perfect, but my father's pic taken with his Fujifilm FinePix S9500 (9MP) isn't either.
- Then, I'll tell you the story of the next pic. New York, August, hot, walk, walk, walk, walk...
I hear this loud noise, look around myself and see that car. Take the iPhone out of pocket, fire up the camera (double tap on the Home button), -the lights turn green-, let the auto focus work, the car was accelerating hard... CLICK. All in less than 5 seconds. The pic speaks for itself.
- Next photo: the Chrysler Building. There wasn't much light where I was, so the picture looked very bright. I just touched where the building was, and it did all by itself. You can see that the Chrysler is focused, and that the rest is slightly out-of-focus.
- Last, that squirrel. A hazelnut and it stayed still just the time to take a pic. It isn't well centered, I know, but I was so near I feared he would attack me. And kill me. To death.
In the end what I wanted to say is: I've seen several 5MP phones that take worse pictures than my 3MP iPhone. I don't say that the pics taken with a phone can compete with the pics taken with a REAL camera, but for an "emergency" it can be enough.
And yes, the iPhone can run GB, GBA, NES and PSX games too.