Nexus 4 sequels promised to make 'insanely great' cameras

Google has something special up its search-engine sleeves for the next Nexus phone's camera capabilities, a holiday-bound Google exec has hinted.

Google's vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra, who last year posted holiday photos from the then-unreleased Nexus 10 tablet, took to Google+ to discuss camera tech, saying "We are committed to making Nexus phones insanely great cameras."

In the comment, which was in response to a commenter postulating that one day Nexus phones would replace chunky digital camera, Gundotra further teased, "Just you wait and see."

Gundotra's initial post discussed which cameras he should take with him on yet another getaway (Google, call me). The high-ranking exec said, "Obviously I'm taking my Android phone and Google Glass."

The cryptic comments regarding Nexus camera tech carry extra weight, because Google's recent Nexus 4 earned brownie points in our review for producing good pictures.

The images cranked out by Google's latest own-brand mobile are roughly on par with those managed by other high-end smart phones, but Google did manage to squeeze in some lovely software treats for camera fans, like built-in vintage filters, 360 panoramas, and the option to turn those panoramas into tiny-world pictures, like the one below.

You might think such image-altering snaps are gimmicky, but they at least prove that Google is thinking about camera software, as well as hardware, and that can be just as important when it comes to capturing a cracking photo.

What are you hoping to see in the next Nexus phone? Do you use your smart phone as your primary camera? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.