 |
| NOKIA LUMIA 1020 |
Teased and leaked to death up to the very last minute before the big reveal, the Lumia 1020's 41-megapixel shooter is what makes Nokia's next marquee Windows phone, and what gives hardware jockeys a reason to salivate.
The Windows 8 phone will sell exclusively in the U.S. at AT&T for a hefty $299.99 with two-year contract. Preorders begin July 16th, with the Lumia 1020 becoming available online and in stores July 26th. (The Lumia 1020 will also sell globally.)
It's all about the camera
Make no mistake about it: the Lumia 1020's stunningly enormous image resolution is this smartphone's single killer feature and sole reason for being. Yep, the 1020 puts the mega back in megapixels.
Here, Nokia pairs an ultralarge camera sensor with the company's PureView image processing software, finally bringing us the smartphone we hoped the Lumia 920 and its many variants would be.
Camera geeks looking for the nitty gritty will find 6-lens Carl Zeiss optics (like the recently-unveiled Lumia 925), which also takes on wide angles.
There's high resolution 3x zoom, autofocus (you can manually focus, too), and a dual flash system. A smaller LED flash complements the larger Xenon flash -- a design we saw in Verizon's Lumia 928 -- and the entire shooter captures 1080p HD video at a rate of 30 frames per second.
Ball bearings surrounding the lens promise image stabilization, which CEO Stephen Elop demonstrated on stage with photos he took on a wobbly boat. We suspect that ball bearings replaced the stabilizing springs found in the Lumia 920 to conserve space and keep the camera mount profile as low as possible.
Nokia has also made strides -- and successes -- on its low light photos. In fact, the Lumia 928 has the best low light quality on any phone that I've seen, with the iPhone 5 a close second in my photo tests. Nokia aims for even more improved low-light performance from its 1020.
Nokia's Pro Camera settings boast controls that let shutterbugs and serious photographers easily navigate their options on the 41-megapixel beast, including manual exposure settings and long exposure times. The camera app also includes a tutorial, which sounds helpful for newbies to learn how to use their high-octane phone, though we'll have to wait and see what the phone can teach us.
Nokia 41-megapixels amounts to a lot of captured information, more than most people can and will really use, but -- as with the Symbian-birthed Nokia 808 PureView before -- the Lumia 1020's higher megapixel count translates into a 5-megapixel image with lossless zooming for higher quality cropped photos.
In the Lumia 1020, Nokia is also extending this "oversampling" method to video as well, which could mean some really high-fidelity HD captures when you zoom in. It isn't just about images with Nokia. Audio technology that Nokia calls "rich recording" promises to capture clear, distortion-free sound even in loud surroundings.
Design and specs
Of course, the matte white, black, or yellow Lumia 1020 is more than just a camera. Toss the large, round shooter module aside and it looks a lot like the Lumia 920 phones, both in terms of the square corners, rounded spines, and flat top, and also its guts.
Starting with the screen, this 4G LTE smartphone has the same familiar 4.5-inch AMOLED PureMotion HD+ display with a 1280x768 HD display and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Nokia's Clear Black filter lies on top for cutting down outdoor glare. As with the new guard of Lumia phones, this 1020 has an ultrasensitive touch screen that you can operate with your fingernail or gloves hand; the 1020 is new enough to get Gorilla Glass 3 as its topper.
Above the display, a 1.2-megapixel wide angle front-facing camera sits at the ready to capture shots and HD video.
The 1020 runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, and has 32GB of internal memory, supplemented by 7GB of SkyDrive cloud storage, courtesy of Microsoft. The phone is sealed in typical high-end Lumia fashion, so there's no expandable memory, though 32GB is a healthy helping.has managed to keep the phone fairly thin, coming in at 0.4-inch thick like the rest of the Lumia line.
Although the Lumia 1020 will not come with wireless charging built in, you can buy an after market charging cover. You can also pick up a camera grip made for the phone for $79.00.
Turning up the heat
With its 41-megapixel camera, Nokia's Lumia 1020 absolutely brings on the wow factor, proving that Nokia can innovate in its own way, that it is a mobile force to be reckoned with.
Nokia has certainly made good on its promise to produce Windows Phone devices at every price point. Yet with the Lumia 1020 unveiling so soon after the Lumia 925 global flagship and Verizon's 928 variant, Nokia is now out and out flooding the market.
Still, it's hard not to get excited about a modern smartphone powerful enough to replace your point and shoot, and possibly even DSLR. The $300 asking price is a high one; we haven't seen costs like this for some years. However, Nokia is betting on folks seeing the value of a true two-in-one device and making an investment.
I'd bet on those prices certainly coming down as the months progress, particularly around the holiday season. But before then, we'll have plenty of time to see just how this PureView camera handles.
Up close with the Lumia 1020
When we got a chance to handle the new Nokia Lumia 1020 in the flesh, the phone certainly impressed us with its build quality and premium feel. Like its predecessor the Lumia 920, the 1020's chassis is molded from high-quality polycarbonate. It also sports similar smoothly rounded edges and curved back side making it comfortable to hold.
There are differences though between the two handsets. First, the Lumia 1020 is slightly thinner and lighter than the Lumia 920. That's no mean feat considering this fresh model boasts such a robust camera. The back of the 1020 also uses a soft-touch coating which feels less slippery than the 920's smooth back surface.
The Lumia 1020's camera app also felt lively when we fired it up, taking photos quickly. Manipulating the Nokia's graphical camera settings was also intuitive once we got the hang of it. We did notice that the phone's fancy Map app took a while to launch and stuttered a bit when we tried the "here" augmented reality function.
Of course we reserve final judgement until we get a unit and really put it through its paces. Be sure to check back soon for a full review.
No comments:
Post a Comment