Nokia 808 PureView won't be offered by UK networks
The Nokia 808 PureView and its 41-megapixel camera won't be offered by any UK networks. If you want one, you'll need to pay a pile of cash.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Bad news if you're hoping to splash your upgrade credit on Nokia's new 808 PureView mega-camera phone -- all the UK networks seem to have unanimously decided not to offer the bonkers blower.
The PureView may have stolen the show at this year's Mobile World Congress trade show with its outrageous 41-megapixel sensor, but it seems that hasn't curried any favour with Britain's stuffy old networks. Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 have all stated they do not intend to offer the phone, Wired.co.uk reports. Three is taking a similar stance, according to Engadget.
Orange and O2 both confirmed the news to me, with O2 stating, "We pride ourselves on offering our customers a range of the best devices on the market. Although we aren't selling the Nokia PureView, we're continuing to work with Nokia on future products."
I've contacted the other networks for clarification and will update this article when they get back to me.
If you still want to get the photo phone phenomenon, your only choice is to buy it SIM-free for the mighty price of £500. When the amazing new Samsung Galaxy S3 is just ten pounds less, is the PureView's camera really enough of an attraction to shell out half a grand?
Although nothing has been explicitly said, telecoms insiders have explained that while the camera technology is great, the Symbian software it runs on has left them cold and they don't believe it offers the best experience they want for their customers. It's likely that if Nokia does bring the PureView technology to its Windows Phone line, the networks will get behind it.
This will come as a blow to Nokia, which was no doubt hoping the new phone would be a sleeper hit and partially alleviate its continually plummeting finances. I for one was very keen on the concept of the PureView, but I found its decision to use the dying Symbian OS utterly baffling -- my colleague Rich Trenholm vividly described it as "a rocket strapped to a rollerskate". Let's hope Nokia can manage to quickly bring that great camera to its new line of Windows Phone 8 devices.
Are you disappointed at this news? Were you hoping to bag yourself a PureView on your network of choice? Hustle to the comments below or bustle over to our Facebook page.