Nokia’s iconic PureView camera tech may make a big comeback
Launched six years ago, Nokia 808 PureView came with a whopping 41-megapixel camera sensor, which is still one of the highest resolution camera sensors ever to be used in a phone. Remember Nokia 808 Pureview? Launched almost six years ago, the Symbian powered-phone didn’t sell enough to save Nokia from extinction but it did win accolades for its advanced camera technology. Years later, PureView may make a big comeback.
HMD Global, which owns the Nokia license, has acquired PureView trademark, according to reports. Acquiring a trademark doesn’t necessarily translate into a commercial launch, but does hint at what HMD Global is considering for the future. The company already has acquired Asha and Xpress On trademarks but hasn’t aggressively pursued either of the portfolios. That said, we can still keep up our hopes as HMD Global has very well revived classic phones like Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8110, popularly known as banana phone.
What is PureView technology and why it still matters
The first phone with the camera technology was Nokia 808 PureView, a phone packed in a feature phone form factor but came with a massive 41-megapixel camera sensor. It is still one of the highest resolution camera sensors to be ever used on a phone.
The first phone with the camera technology was Nokia 808 PureView, a phone packed in a feature phone form factor but came with a massive 41-megapixel camera sensor. It is still one of the highest resolution camera sensors to be ever used on a phone.
The Nokia’s PureView Pro technology yielded high resolution photos, courtesy 41-megapixel image sensor with Carl Zeiss optics. Even though it had digital zoom, it delivered optical zoom (lossless) like results. Apart from high resolution, PureView technology came with macro focus, face detection and touch focus, which are now available on modern smartphones. The technology also featured Dolby audio software support for louder and clearer sound.
The technology was later rolled out to phones like Nokia Lumia 920, 1020 and 1520, and Microsoft 950.
Even though modern phones have advanced camera sensors, they’re yet to surpass PureView technology, which debuted like almost six years ago. Sony, which currently dominates the imaging sensors on phones, last month launched IMX586, touted as the world’s highest-resolution phone-camera image sensor.
Sony’s IMX586 brings 48-megapixel cameras, with pixel counts increased to 8,000 x 6,000 and provides lossless zoom.
“Generally, miniaturization of pixels results in poor light collecting efficiency per pixel, accompanied by a drop in sensitivity and volume of saturation signal. This product was designed and manufactured with techniques that improve light collection efficiency and photoelectric conversion efficiency over conventional products, resulting in the world’s first*3 0.8 μm pixel size, with both high sensitivity and high saturation signal level,” Sony explained.
