This is where Ian Burley, DPNow's editor and founder, shares his unique thoughts and impressions on subjects that he hopes will be of interest to others on the subjects of digital photography and other related or loosely related topics! You can follow DPNow Editor's blog on Facebook and Twitter, too.
Nokia revival depends on phones with great cameras
Posted 26-10-11 at 05:53 PM by Ian
Nokia has unveiled its first Windows Phone platform smartphones, along with a new 'Lumia' brand name. You have the choice of angular and curvy designs in the new Lumia 800 (below left) and more affordable Lumia 710 (below right):
Interesting, but what has this to do with photography? Well, Nokia has an unrivalled reputation for endowing their phones with above average camera functionality, at least with their up-market models. The previous Nokia flagship phone, the N8, had a camera module that could really mix it with respectable compact digital cameras, and record smooth 720HD video.
The Lumia 800 has an 8 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics branding. The pixel count is reduced from 12MP on the N8 and that camera's Xenon flash has been replaced by dual LED lights on the Lumia 800. But we know that less pixels on a small sensor can add up to better image quality, so we won't judge just yet. The Lumia 800 also has an excellent 3.7 inch 800x480 AMOLED capacitive touch screen.
Build quality was remarkable on the N8, but there is no getting away from its slightly odd styling. The Lumia 800 addresses this with a very effective refinement of the N8 design.
Of course the biggest change, not just for the phone but for Nokia is the switch from Nokia's own Symbian OS (a descendant of the OS used in the Psion Organisers of old - remember them?) to the completely new Windows Phone 7 platform. Nokia made a late decision to abandon Symbian after experiencing a sharp drop in sales as sales of more modern Apple iPhone and Google Android, as well as RIM Blackberry, platform phones surged.
It remains to be seen if Nokia can revitalise itself successfully with Windows Phone 7, but Nokia's hardware quality has always been good and if Windows Phone can succeed, then I'm sure Nokia can be competitive again, especially with photographers.
Interesting, but what has this to do with photography? Well, Nokia has an unrivalled reputation for endowing their phones with above average camera functionality, at least with their up-market models. The previous Nokia flagship phone, the N8, had a camera module that could really mix it with respectable compact digital cameras, and record smooth 720HD video.
The Lumia 800 has an 8 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics branding. The pixel count is reduced from 12MP on the N8 and that camera's Xenon flash has been replaced by dual LED lights on the Lumia 800. But we know that less pixels on a small sensor can add up to better image quality, so we won't judge just yet. The Lumia 800 also has an excellent 3.7 inch 800x480 AMOLED capacitive touch screen.
Build quality was remarkable on the N8, but there is no getting away from its slightly odd styling. The Lumia 800 addresses this with a very effective refinement of the N8 design.
Of course the biggest change, not just for the phone but for Nokia is the switch from Nokia's own Symbian OS (a descendant of the OS used in the Psion Organisers of old - remember them?) to the completely new Windows Phone 7 platform. Nokia made a late decision to abandon Symbian after experiencing a sharp drop in sales as sales of more modern Apple iPhone and Google Android, as well as RIM Blackberry, platform phones surged.
It remains to be seen if Nokia can revitalise itself successfully with Windows Phone 7, but Nokia's hardware quality has always been good and if Windows Phone can succeed, then I'm sure Nokia can be competitive again, especially with photographers.
Total Comments 0
