Like Panasonic's helmet camera, this Lumix snapper also allows you to beam images straight from cam to smartphone. 

There have been a lot of devices shown at CES this year that will send images from device to phone, the GoPro BacPac and the new Sony Bloggie Live for example, which work in a similar way. 

The Panasonic goes slightly further, allowing you to operate the camera using your phone, allowing things like zoom and live view to be done via the screen. The camera can also beam images straight to other AV devices like TVs or photo viewers.

Of course this isn't entirely new, as Samsung has a similar system which will let you control your camera via an Android app in their SH100 camera.

The actual camera itself looks quite like a bog standard Lumix snapper, albeit with the Wi-Fi screen sharing tech built in and Panasonic is often swift to move such prototypes to fruition. For example, in November it launched the 3D Lumix camera it had under glass at IFA 2011 (August). 

Another angle to take on this setup is that it brings Panasonic smartphones a step closer. Showing an example like this perhaps suggests that it'll launch its smartphones with the intention of leveraging the success of its Lumix cameras in Europe and the US.

We're guessing at a February announcement for Panasonic smartphones at MWC 2012, so perhaps we'll see this camera come to market in a similar timeframe.

Like the idea of live view on your smartphone? Let us know on the comments below...