Monkey pixels are a marketing game
After I had intermediatly dropped my iPhone 3GS, (damaged but not yet dead), I really tried to get an 808; I'm a photographic printer (epson and canon large format, rather than snappy snaps). I print from all kinds of scans and files - drum scans, imacon scans, Hasselblad and phase1, via canon 5d2 through D2x and onto iPhone and the ilk.
Pixel numbers are a marketing game. Pixel quality is something else (imagine a drinking budget for four people: £100. That gets you three bottles of Veuve, a case of Sancerre from majestic, 25 average London lagers, or a Wapping ton of pseudo-cidre). We all know that the lagers are the optimal drink quality point, unless there is really nice food / company, in which case, the French white tips things.
I've run A1 (seeing as we are European, best part of a yard high), prints from lowly 4mp (monkey Pixel) cameras (such as Nikon's then flagship D2x), six foot high prints from iPhone 4gs, and larger from real serious (5 series costing) medium format kit.
These are prints that have been hung in places such as the National Portrait Gallery.
Where the (back when) ground breaking Canon 5d2 scored highly, was in its pixel count. Unfortunately many snappers used it at >3200iso, and produced noise. At 100iso, it had the potential to rival 6x9cm film (good old 35mm film being 25*36mm)
Canon and Nikon's most expensive offerings now have less resolution than the 5d2, and their top end compacts have 10-12 mp sensors. And these have dripped in resolution from the precious generatios, a N&K have realised that less can be more. I'd contend (and take the at the bar/Pepsi/ bloody huge print out challenge) that most people don't need more than 8-10 mp, ever.
Small sensors are inefficient captors of light. Those who claim that they wouldn't want less than twelve monkeys know nothing about image quality.
I have many thousands of £'s of high end digital camera kit. - I take more pics on my mini (v4s) JFS, of friends, family, and for pleasure, than I do on all the other cameras. The picture quality is good. It prints fine at poster size. I would have loved to get the 808, but I was a few weeks early.
The pixel count in my pocket, although designed @infinite loop, is definitely in the napa valley class.
But I did did did want to see what 41 monkeys could do: could they snap the equivalent of to be or...