pure

Nokia imaging chief throws cold water on 41-megapixel PureView

Nokia is expected to unveil a new smartphone tomorrow featuring PureView camera technology. There's just one problem: that branding might not mean what consumers think.

In a tweet this morning, Nokia imaging head Damian Dinning said that the "PureView" branding "is NOT a single specific feature or specification." That came just minutes after he said that the technology is "about blending optics, pixels, and image processing in new and different ways to allow you to do things you otherwise cannot."

Dinning also laid down the death knell: "as said many times before, … Read more

Smartphones with unique designs (roundup)

Phone-makers use every trick in the book to differentiate their phones on store shelves, from bright colors to unusual proportions, textures, and materials.

Here are five smartphones that turn heads for striking shapes, aggressive style, and distinct physical features that you just don't see every day.

Nokia 808 PureView (unlocked), June 2012 You can't expect to slip a camera module as large as the 808 PureView's 41-megapixel shooter into a smartphone chassis without a little give. The trade-off is a thicker middle and a huge hump at one end of the phone that makes for some potentially … Read more

Nokia 808 PureView camera vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone 4S (pictures)

The Nokia 808 PureView's fame comes down to its camera, which can capture up to 41 megapixels of digital information and output incredibly detailed images at 5, 8, and yes, even 41 megapixels if that's what you really want.

The secret to the camera's performance is the extra-large sensor, which is physically much larger than usual 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel sensors (see the difference here.) Still, the camera's software has to render the image correctly as well.

I added my own shootout to CNET Asia's excellent photo test, to see how well the camera performed in … Read more

Nokia Lumia phones to expand to Verizon

Verizon customers looking to buy a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone may soon get their wish.

The Lumia lineup is headed to Verizon, according to comments made by Richard Kerris, Nokia's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. In an interview with tech enthusiast site Neowin, Kerris said that "it won't be long" before Lumia phones are available to Verizon customers, though he didn't reveal an exact time frame or which models might pop up.

AT&T and T-Mobile are currently the only U.S. carriers that offer the Lumia handsets. Nokia has been counting on … Read more

With Nokia 808 PureView, Symbian draws final U.S. breath

commentary Raise your hand if you know what Symbian is. Now keep it raised if you ever expected to see another phone running Nokia's mostly defunct OS in the U.S.

It may be "popular demand" that's bringing the Nokia 808 PureView smartphone to the U.S. by way of Amazon, but it sure as shooting isn't because of its operating system.

What makes the 808 PureView shine -- the sole feature that puts it on the map -- is its 41-megapixel hulk of a camera, which uses a clever technique and some larger-than-usual parts … Read more

Amazon to sell Nokia 808 PureView with 41MP camera

If you have extra cash in your pocket, Nokia and Amazon are ready to bring your Nokia 808 PureView jealousy to an end.

Today, Nokia announced that it will sell the Symbian OS phone, famous for its jaw-dropping 41-megapixel camera, via Amazon to U.S. customers. It'll cost you $699.99 for the unlocked handset, in addition to the cost of a SIM card and AT&T plan. You can technically use the handset on T-Mobile's network as well, but it'll top out at 2G speeds.… Read more

Taking Nokia's monster camera phone for a spin

Sigh. Sometimes I'm green with envy when reading about the adventures of my colleagues at CNET Asia. It's not because they get to fly out of the world's coolest airport (though that's partially it) or because they can stuff themselves silly with Singapore Noodles, but rather because they usually get awesome cell phones before they land in the United States, if they do at all. … Read more

With Nokia's 41-megapixel smartphone camera, size matters

I admit to having a certain fascination with the Nokia 808 PureView smartphone camera, which employs a much larger sensor than usual in order to take pictures up to 41 megapixels in size. Just how much larger that sensor is compared to the typical 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel smartphone sensors will impress you.

Yesterday I sat down with Juha Alakarhu, the head of camera technologies at Nokia for smart devices, who happens to be visiting the U.S. from Finland. After letting me tinker with the camera some more, he pulled out a felt-lined card studded with a trio of camera sensors and two camera modules, into which the sensors ultimately go.… Read more

When Nokia's '41-megapixel' PureView camera clicked for me

NEW ORLEANS--When you're stuck in the tornado of a cell phone conference, it's sometimes hard to savor what you see. I had sought out the Nokia 808 PureView at Mobile World Congress. I mean, a 41-megapixel camera -- how could I not investigate?

However, it wasn't until I had spent some time digging into the mechanics behind the phone camera that I started to really appreciate what the PureView camera does differently.

Here at CTIA is where it began to click. I had a moment to actually peruse the camera menus and take the test shots I wanted to see how oversampling worked in a meaningful way.… Read more