Mobile Phones

Nokia have launched a new phone, the 808 Pureview, with Symbian OS, and it was the BEST NEW DEVICE at the MWC, all because of their 41MP camera sensor. Thats right, 41MP camera! Nokia have just opened up a whole can of worms in that. Do they really mean to stick with Windows, even if their sales never reach targets, or could they switch to Android, or maybe back to Maemo, Tizen, or run Boot-to-Gecko (cloud based)? Either way, I'd hope Nokia jumps on the Linux based OS bandwagon, and then bring ther 41MP tech to that.

By the way, Nokia have said they won't release the phone in North America. I personally think that its because the Windows OS can't accomodate such huge camera abilities, and they need to make their Windows phones look good.

Image samples and article.
Hands on (mini review)

Nokia already had the best camera for photos of any mobile phone, and now they have jumped so far ahead, I can't see any manufacturer catching them for maybe 3-4 years. Yes, they're that far ahead. Anyway, camera-makers have been concentrating on slimmer and slimmer phones, so that scuppers incorporating such a huge sensor.

I'm sure Andyp will look on with a certain amount of pride in this, as the Symbian platform shows that its got strengths we hadn't even realised.

Massive want!
Where can I get one?

41MP????? That's mental!

Technically, i believe it's three lower resolution sensors laid one over the other.

Still, impressive technology.

Massive want!
Where can I get one?

41MP????? That's mental!

It will be released in Europe soon-ish I think, within the next few months.

I predict it will be the death of some digital camera makers.

The 41MP image is downsized to a 5MP image normally, but the image can be also saved and manipulated later, in proper image processing conditions. It is so fucking amazing, that even the Zeiss company, responsible for the camera and lens, were a bit amazed at the final result.

I'm not so sure about Symbian OS though. My last phone, before I switched to Android, was a nightmare.

A good article on the lens in the PureView 808 here;

http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/03/05/nokia-808-pureview-carl-zeiss-science-of-making-the-perfect-lens/

This phone is the last Symbian OS powered mobile phone from Nokia, and probably the last Symbian OS device ever. The software that makes it possible has been in development for some time and, from what I understand, was too tightly integrated with the Nokia hardware to be easily ported to Windows Phone and Qualcomm hardware, hence it being released on Symbian.

dimi3's experience is all too common I'm afraid, since the N95 Nokia have produced poor phones with suspect software quality that are slow and bug ridden. That is why Symbian will soon be consigned to history (and a book really ought to be written about the small British software company that tried to take on silicon valley and lost).

Nokia 808

I believe today these were due to go on sale. But not sure.

Not yet, and in Russia and Kazakhstan first. Not sure if it'll ever be shipped in the UK.

If I was in the market to buy a new phone today, yes you read that right, I don't want to be tied in to expensive 12 or 24 month contracts. What is recommended, I currently use the iPhone 3GS and want something similar. The iPhone appeals to me because of it's ease of use and browsing the net is pretty quick. Budget is about £300 max.

All for very different reasons, but here are my choices in that price bracket. I've only selected phones that do different things better than the iPhone3GS.

Nokia N9 - fantastic phone, but not many apps, and limited support/growth
Motorola Atrix (w/laptop dock) - this already has the Android Gingerbread OS, and ICS update is forthcoming (I've checked)
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play - if gaming is your thing, then this is a bargain (older specs though)
Samsung Galaxy S II - not new, this is secondhand/pre-owned, but good value at the price

was reading this review of the HTC One V, look pretty good, and around £240 smacko.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/18/2950522/htc-one-v-review

Motorola (hate the brand fwiw) and the HTC look like winners. Thanks for posting.

Not yet, and in Russia and Kazakhstan first. Not sure if it'll ever be shipped in the UK.

Its available for pre-order at the moment- would be surprised if they didn't ship to the UK though...

So 4G coverage has launched in the UK.... Engadget have been testing the network this morning and are getting consistent speeds of 38Mbps down and 20Mbps up.

I'm naively hoping that the prices wont be horrendously expensive but i'm not holding my breath.

it kills me that the Google Nexus 4 doesn't have expandable storage (or 4G, but it's so cheap that i could upgrade before my standard 4 years).

i've been waiting for a 64GB phone forever, but the iphone 5 is £800!
only options are microSD cards but hardly any of the new phones have them.

samsung galaxy s3 @ £380
samsung galaxy s3 LTE @ £480 (has 4G)
nokia lumia 820 @ £360 (has 4G)

thinking nokia lumia 820, as 4G will be for everyone in a couple of years.
thoughts anyone?

(i'm on a contract that isn't offered any more, so i don't want to buy on contract or upgrade)

HTC One X Plus.

^ you've complicated matters

OK...

If I will never be steaming media, only using network data for email, Facebook, web surfing (very occasional video watching), will I be frustrated by not having 4G in two or three years time?

What 3G doesn't do that 4G do?

Also, why 64GB? I can barely use up 16GB.

Make fast load of page.
Music. Like having it all at the touch of a button.

it kills me that the Google Nexus 4 doesn't have expandable storage (or 4G, but it's so cheap that i could upgrade before my standard 4 years).

i've been waiting for a 64GB phone forever, but the iphone 5 is £800!
only options are microSD cards but hardly any of the new phones have them.

samsung galaxy s3 @ £380
samsung galaxy s3 LTE @ £480 (has 4G)
nokia lumia 820 @ £360 (has 4G)

thinking nokia lumia 820, as 4G will be for everyone in a couple of years.
thoughts anyone?

(i'm on a contract that isn't offered any more, so i don't want to buy on contract or upgrade)

I'm 1 week into my (white) Lumia 820, and I like it. Win 8 is very slick and the hardware is excellent quality. Only using 3G so can't comment on 4G. I keep reading that MS don't have the quantity of apps that Apple / Android has, but so far it's got all I need. Nokia Maps is cool and I got a free wireless charging base with the phone, nice.

Bought the 820 after dicking about with one on a string for half an hour at carphone warehouse.
Got the plate charger and a free Windows 8 Pro upgrade, after schlepping up and down Oxford Street to find a store that had the colour, plate, upgrade combo.
Imagine I'll probably regret not getting the 64GB iPhone 5 in a year - but realistically it's way too expensive.

No way, everyone's got a pikey iPhone. One thing bugging me about the 820 though, is the PDF Reader, for some reason it reconstructs a file (train map) from scratch every time I zoom or move around in it.

Haven't unboxed mine yet.
Can you not get a new app?