FAQ- Can I make Good Pictures with my Phone camera?
The longer answer is everything in 'photography is a tradeoff'
Basically, you will not be able to produce billboard size of fine print quality with the images that are a result of you using your phone camera or smartphone to make pictures.
However; if you are travelling or making 'snapshots', that will either only ever be small prints or simply end up on facebook or flickr, then the answer is a resounding yes.
The quality of chips and lenses in phone-cameras has improved remarkably in the last 10 years, to the point where some camera manufacturers market their cameras based on the quality of the lens in the phone. These cameras will, in most situations such as parties indoors or scenic location do an admirable job of recording what you see, the way you see it.
Some pointers however to watch out for.
Try and shoot with the sun over your shoulder.
Try to avoid high contrast scenes.
Try to think about your composition
Have people well lit, ie, not, under the shade of an umbrella, or with the sun beyond them. Don't expect to light up the monster truck or rock star way down on the stage from the edge of the stadium, the cameras are just not capable of recording these images, successfully.
Watch out for the digital zooms built in to these cameras, everything is a trade off here, sure you can zoom in a long way and make a more interesting picture, but these cameras use digital zoom, and pixelation and other artifacts in the image may not be to your taste, unless, you like the aesthetic, or are only ever going to display, share or view them on a site like facebook or flickr.