PureView & The Secret of Exceptional Photos
Nokia's 808 PureView is a mammoth achievement and it has a truly fantastic camera.
Ergonomics & Build Quality
Even though the 808 PureView does not have a unibody shell, it feels like it does. The back cover still pops off so that you can replace the battery. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a phone which feels as sturdy, as durable and as reassuring as this. A scratch-resistant matte coating covers all the plastic bits (except the screen and camera module). Every single button reeks of high quality materials and workmanship. Bottom line: this is an area where Nokia can't be faulted.
Software
The 808 PureView draws a lot of flak because it's powered by Nokia Belle (Symbian). It's true that Symbian is showing its age & that apps are limited. But that doesn't change the fact that Symbian is incredibly efficient when it comes to battery usage and hardware requirements. It's the reason why the 1400mAh battery easily lasts over two days. And Symbian is also the reason why the 1.3Ghz single core processor 'feels' like a 1.5Ghz dual core processor.
Hardware
The 808 PureView has pretty good specifications for a Symbian smartphone: 1.3Ghz ARM-based processor, 512MB RAM, Broadcom GPU, 16GB storage (expandable via microSD), 4-inch (360 x 640 pixels) amoled display with Nokia's ClearBlack technology, A-GPS, 41MP rear camera with Xenon flash and dedicated video light as well as a VGA front camera. Connectivity
The PureView ticks all the right boxes as far as connectivity goes. Apart from the usual Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth found in most smartphones, it also includes NFC (Near Field Communication), USB on-the-go (to connect external drives), FM transmitter (to broadcast songs to a car stereo or multiple other phones, for example), DLNA (to wirelessly stream multimedia to/from other DLNA-capable devices) and HDMI out. The only thing missing is that it does not include a wireless hotspot feature.
Camera
Much has already been said about the 808 Pure-View's mammoth 41 Megapixel sensor. Some readers may correctly point out that more Megapixels don't necessarily mean better photos — except in this case, it's also the image sensor that's supersized. In fact, leave aside cameraphones, the PureView's image sensor is even larger than the image sensor in most compact digital cameras. PureView essentially uses a technology called pixel oversampling — simply put, it uses all the data captured by the giant sensor to create either a 5MP or 8MP image with higher detail, sharpness and much lesser noise than any other cameraphone. If you like, you can also choose to take full 41MP images (but PureView can't work its magic). Add to that the fact that the camera module has a mechanical shutter (like a DSLR), fixed aperture of f2.4 (for a shallow depth of field), a built in neutral density filter (for better colours), high output xenon flash and a 5-element Carl Zeiss glass lens — and you get a recipe for high quality photos every time. Happily, all the camera enhancements also apply to videos. Possibly the only thing we could have asked for is manual exposure controls, given that this phone has so many firsts. But that's perhaps saved for the next version, when PureView technology gets applied to Windows Phone devices. The Downsides
THE OUTDATED OPERATING SYSTEM
PureView technology has been in development for five years, which explains why the platform of choice is Symbian (Nokia Belle). According to research firm IDC's global smartphone market share report this year, shipment of Symbian smartphones has dropped 60.6%. Symbian's market share is at an all time low of 6.8% of smartphones worldwide. Bottom line is, even though the camera is undeniably great, it's not enough to cause a shift in consumer preference from Android and iOS.
IT'S HEAVY & ODD SHAPED
The bulging camera is what most users will find strange, especially in an age when smartphones are impossibly slim. It's also bulky and heavy (18mm thick at the camera module and 169 grams) — we think it's enough to put off even a Nokia loyalist.
Even though the 808 PureView does not have a unibody shell, it feels like it does. The back cover still pops off so that you can replace the battery. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a phone which feels as sturdy, as durable and as reassuring as this. A scratch-resistant matte coating covers all the plastic bits (except the screen and camera module). Every single button reeks of high quality materials and workmanship. Bottom line: this is an area where Nokia can't be faulted.
Software
The 808 PureView draws a lot of flak because it's powered by Nokia Belle (Symbian). It's true that Symbian is showing its age & that apps are limited. But that doesn't change the fact that Symbian is incredibly efficient when it comes to battery usage and hardware requirements. It's the reason why the 1400mAh battery easily lasts over two days. And Symbian is also the reason why the 1.3Ghz single core processor 'feels' like a 1.5Ghz dual core processor.
Hardware
The 808 PureView has pretty good specifications for a Symbian smartphone: 1.3Ghz ARM-based processor, 512MB RAM, Broadcom GPU, 16GB storage (expandable via microSD), 4-inch (360 x 640 pixels) amoled display with Nokia's ClearBlack technology, A-GPS, 41MP rear camera with Xenon flash and dedicated video light as well as a VGA front camera. Connectivity
The PureView ticks all the right boxes as far as connectivity goes. Apart from the usual Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth found in most smartphones, it also includes NFC (Near Field Communication), USB on-the-go (to connect external drives), FM transmitter (to broadcast songs to a car stereo or multiple other phones, for example), DLNA (to wirelessly stream multimedia to/from other DLNA-capable devices) and HDMI out. The only thing missing is that it does not include a wireless hotspot feature.
Camera
Much has already been said about the 808 Pure-View's mammoth 41 Megapixel sensor. Some readers may correctly point out that more Megapixels don't necessarily mean better photos — except in this case, it's also the image sensor that's supersized. In fact, leave aside cameraphones, the PureView's image sensor is even larger than the image sensor in most compact digital cameras. PureView essentially uses a technology called pixel oversampling — simply put, it uses all the data captured by the giant sensor to create either a 5MP or 8MP image with higher detail, sharpness and much lesser noise than any other cameraphone. If you like, you can also choose to take full 41MP images (but PureView can't work its magic). Add to that the fact that the camera module has a mechanical shutter (like a DSLR), fixed aperture of f2.4 (for a shallow depth of field), a built in neutral density filter (for better colours), high output xenon flash and a 5-element Carl Zeiss glass lens — and you get a recipe for high quality photos every time. Happily, all the camera enhancements also apply to videos. Possibly the only thing we could have asked for is manual exposure controls, given that this phone has so many firsts. But that's perhaps saved for the next version, when PureView technology gets applied to Windows Phone devices. The Downsides
THE OUTDATED OPERATING SYSTEM
PureView technology has been in development for five years, which explains why the platform of choice is Symbian (Nokia Belle). According to research firm IDC's global smartphone market share report this year, shipment of Symbian smartphones has dropped 60.6%. Symbian's market share is at an all time low of 6.8% of smartphones worldwide. Bottom line is, even though the camera is undeniably great, it's not enough to cause a shift in consumer preference from Android and iOS.
IT'S HEAVY & ODD SHAPED
The bulging camera is what most users will find strange, especially in an age when smartphones are impossibly slim. It's also bulky and heavy (18mm thick at the camera module and 169 grams) — we think it's enough to put off even a Nokia loyalist.
For comparison with Samsung Galaxy SIII and HTC One X go to the
original article in Economic Times 4th July 2012
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