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The Samsung Galaxy Camera looks like a typical point-and-shoot camera with a decent lens and a 21x optical zoom. But what makes this $499 camera special is the fact that it has the guts of a pretty good smartphone, including a Samsung Exynos quad-core processor, a 4.8 inch touchscreen display, Android 4.1 software, and even 3G data capabilities.

And like almost every Android device shipped to date, you’re not stuck with the software that comes on the phone. Independent developers have figured out how to root the Galaxy Camera and make other changes.

Xda-developers member AdamOutler has posted instructions for rooting the Galaxy Camera. This lets you access files and settings that would otherwise be unavailable and use root-only apps like Titanium Backup which let you backup and restore apps and data.

AdamOutler has also posted a teardown video, showing how to completely disassemble the camera and explore its insides, along with some well-informed commentary about the build quality and a tour of the processor, storage, and other bits.

Eventually he hopes to convince the camera to boot from an SD card, which would help developers figure out how to install custom firmware.