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We have collected 12 reviews of the Nokia 808 PureView. Experts rate Nokia 808 PureView 6.2/10. Reviewsor.com helps you find reviews, best prices, user reviews of the Nokia 808 PureView and Nokia SmartPhones.
The Nokia 808 PureView was an immediate hit at Mobile World Congress last February, for one reason and one reason alone: its jaw-dropping 41-megapixel camera commanded attention. Never intended for U.S. markets, the PureView runs on Symbian OS, where, for many North Americans in whose lives Symbian has never been a prominent feature, the OS did not. It has a bulky body (owing to the massive camera module), but more disappointing, a middle-of-the road processor. Never mind that. The handset's unique camera with lossless zoom has generated so much interest that U.S. residents can now order it from Amazon.com for a cool $700. The secret behind the camera is an extra-large sensor that dwarfs those of regular 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel shooters. The larger lens lets in more light, which in turn lets the PureView capture exponentially more information about an image. The second mobile innovation is camera software that lets more aspiring photographers play around with creative settings, and take photos in 5- or 8-megapixel resolutions so that zoomed-in frames burst with detail.
As Nokia's Symbian hardware development comes to an end, its long awaited "Game Changer" device has finally hit the UK streets with its killer camera.Although the Nokia N8 has long held the crown of the Finnish firm's best camera phone available, the Nokia 808 PureView has arrived with its 41MP camera.The amount of hardware required to support its functionality causes the Nokia 808 PureView to weigh in at a hefty 169g - compared with the 140g iPhone 4S, 133g Samsung Galaxy S3 and 130g HTC One X.As well as its weight, the Nokia 808 PureView - with its 4" AMOLED ClearBlack display - isn't exactly small measuring 123.9mm x 60.2mm x 13.9mm (expanding to 17.95mm at the camera bulge) compared with the slim iPhone 4S (9.3mm), One X (8.9mm) and S3 (8.6mm).The Nokia 808 Pureview looks and feels like the old Nokia 5800 with a hint of the more recent Nokia Lumia 610 although both were smaller, more compact, flat-backed phones.Although the 5800 and Lumia 610 appeared a little cheap in appearance, which was reflected in their purchase price, this is not the case for the Nokia 808 PureView with its 500 pricetag (black 519.99 or white 489.99).
When the Nokia 808 PureView was announced earlier this year its 41MP camera sensor (for a maximum output resolution of 38MP) made headlines all over the tech industry. Not only does it feature the highest-resolution sensor of any mobile phone camera, but at the time of writing, the 808 PureView features the highest-resolution sensor of any current camera outside of highly specialist (and very costly) medium format equipment. We've been eager to gets our hands on an 808 since the phone was announced, and a loan sample finally arrived in our Seattle office recently. We've been using it ever since. Please note though that this article doesn't touch on the 808 PureView's performance as a phone. That's not what interests us. We want to see what it's like as a camera... The Nokia 808 PureView's large CMOS sensor has 41MP total, outputting a maximum of 38MP (resolution drops to 36MP in 16:9 aspect ratio). Such a high resolution sensor would be little more than a stunt if the camera specifications aren't up to scratch, but Nokia has designed the 808 to be a serious photographic tool.
If you've already seen the specs for the Nokia 808 PureView and thought we'd made some sort of typo over the 41-megapixel snapper – you'll be as surprised to know that this is actually correct. We've seen some good snappers on phones such as the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S II – but 41 megapixels – really? We're wondering if professional snappers might eschew all their kit for a phone, and if your average user will really see the benefit of such momentous photographic technology. Because we were so impressed by the 41-megapixel snapper, we spent a lot of time putting it through its paces – see our full PureView camera review for details and plenty of photos. But in summary – it's fantastic! It seems strange, given that the camera is so utterly impressive, that Nokia has chosen to lumber the 808 PureView with its antiquated Symbian operating system, which is more than 10 years old now. Apparently it's because the camera functionality was built over it, but in reality it is responsible for pretty much everything that is not great about the handset. One good thing is that there has been an update – known as ‘Symbian Belle' – which has managed to make it a tad less clunky than it was previously.
Is a picture worth a thousand words? How about $700? That's the going price of the unlocked version of the Nokia 808 PureView, a phone with a 41-megapixel camera, the highest yet on such a device. The technology behind this camera enables some the best photos we've seen from a phone. Actually, this device is a camera first and a smartphone second, which is why you should way wait for Nokia's PureView magic to hit the Lumia line.Click to EnlargeAt 4.9 x 2.4 x 0.56 inches and 6 ounces, the Nokia 808 is certainly bulkier than most smartphones with a similar screen size. The back of the 808--ours was an elegant white plastic-- bulges out at one end to accommodate its camera and flash.However, because of the gently curved back, which has a slightly gritty surface, the 808 didn't feel awkward to hold--especially when taking pictures. The handset also slid into our pants pocket easily. It's certainly a lot easier to hold in one hand than the massive Samsung Galaxy SIII (5.4 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches), although that phone is a much lighter 4.7 ounces.
Not surprisingly, the 808 PureView drew some mixed reactions, but surprisingly, none were taking the middle path. Some said it was the best camera phone around. Albeit with a few compromises, but also opined that \"about what, in this world, do we not compromise on?” The other side said that this is a good camera with a phone bolted on to it, and will hang on to their cash tightly till something like this comes along with the Windows Phone OS for the rest of the time! For all that it brings to the table, the 808 will not win any points in a slimness competition. At 13.9mm thickness, the 808 does have a big footprint. Maybe it is not to be blamed as much as we think, mostly because ultra slim phones have spoiled us over the last few years. Weirdly, the phone does have decidedly different thickness at different points. To understand this, you need to flip the phone over and see how the camera sensor clearly sits on a higher platform than the rest of the battery cover.
At Mobile World Congress this year, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop cast a wary eye over the catalog of shiny new phones introduced by his competitors and posed the challenge, "which ones will you remember?" At the time, I was asking him why the Finnish company he's in charge of was introducing the 808 PureView with Symbian on board when, by Nokia's own admission, that operating system was already on its way out. Elop's laconic response encapsulated this phone's entire raison d'être: the PureView camera technology is disruptive, memorable, and not something Nokia wanted to keep in its labs any longer. Headlined by a 41-megapixel sensor, the 808 PureView is the true successor to Nokia's N8, the 12-megapixel cameraphone that has ruled as the undisputed king of phone photography since 2010. As with the N8, the 808's sensor is larger than average not only in terms of pixel count but physically as well, necessitating a rather comical hump on the phone's back to accommodate the camera assembly. So, before you even pick this handset up, you know you'll have to compromise on two major things: software ecosystem and physical dimensions.
What's the difference between innovation and an upgrade? Real innovation is when you do something nobody has done before you, that was deemed impossible or not worth pursuing. In the Nokia 808 PureView, which has been conceived and tweaked in Nokia's R&D labs for the last five years we have these markings of true innovation,.Granted, the handset is a chunky little thing, and it is running Symbian, but it's the potential for major disruption in the smartphone camera department that its PureView photographic technology holds that matters here. Shutterbugs will tell you that you can live with less apps, and slick design gets old quick when you use a handset daily, but if you have the typical smartphone camera module inside, you are stuck for the duration of your ownership with mediocre pics, in a time where your phone is your most used camera.Hopefully the technology in the 41MP sensor of the Nokia 808 PureView will be leveraged into a versatile line of products to mark the next era in smartphone photography, but for now let's look at this enthusiast device as a whole in our review, with a special emphasis on its stellar camera abilities...
Excitement, about a Symbian phone? The Nokia 808 PureView has forced many to reconsider their platform loyalties by virtue of its big number boast: 41-megapixels of camera goodness. The surprise stand-out of Mobile World Congress, the 808 PureView is the first public evidence of a five year labor of love inspired by ultra-high-resolution satellite photography. There's compromise galore involved, however, to join the early PureView train, so is it worth it? Read on for the full SlashGear review. Miniaturization can only get you so far: if you want 41-megapixels - and Nokia really does - then you have to accept some heft with it. As a result the 808 PureView is a chunky phone, measuring in at 123.9 x 60.2 x 13.9 mm and 169 grams, though it's biased toward the lens section with its oversized sensor. In the hand, though, it's actually quite a pleasant thing to hold: the textured plastic back cover feels high-quality and sturdy, and your forefinger butts naturally against the curve of the camera hump. That's not to say you don't notice it when it's in your pocket. In contrast to the slimline devices we've grown used to, the 808 PureView makes for a considerable bulge; we could fit it into a jeans pocket, front or back, but it wasn't the most comfortable we've ever been.
The Nokia 808 PureView ($699 list) is an engineering exercise and a collector's item. It's also a near-total failure as a modern smartphone. It packs an amazing 41-megapixel camera sensor, but thanks to an exceedingly long development time, the 808 PureView runs the archaic Symbian OS instead of Windows Phone like all current Nokia devices. Worse, some of the preloaded apps don't even work correctly. Nokia hasn't given an exact date for the 808 PureView's arrival in the U.S., and if you're wondering why you'd want this cell phone, you don't. It's way too expensive and is compromised for American consumers. Design and DisplayThe 808 PureView—not to be confused with the Kanye West album, 808s & Heartbreak, or the 808 kick drum you hear on Beastie Boys and Run D.M.C. records—is an odd beast. It's slightly bulky and misshapen, measuring 4.9 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighing a hefty six ounces. It's not actually 0.6 inch thick all the way through, though, as there's a very prominent bump around the camera lens. The PureView 808 is closer to half an inch thick otherwise, which is still more than most in this era of super-thin smartphones.
The Nokia 808 PureView is the best cameraphone ever made. End of story. Now, how do you proceed from there? And why is this particular phone so hard to write about? How about because a picture is worth a thousand words and we just had a truckload of them in the mother of all shootouts? Or is it because 41 megapixels is more than five, eight, twelve, or the sum thereof, and there's no two ways about it? Close, but no cigar. What could've easily been an ode to Finnish awesomeness may be no more than a flash in the dark for struggling Nokia and the still-standing-against-all-odds Symbian. That's what makes it hard and we've been there with the Nokia N9. At different points in its history, Nokia has had the best-selling phone, the best business phone, the best gaming phone, the best cameraphone and the best smartphone. At one particular time, they even had all of the above in one go. Honest to god, if there ever was anything like the best are-you-kidding-me phone and the best gimme-a-break phone, they would've been runners-up at least. Yeah, they were that good. And yes, the Nokia 808 PureView camera is that good. They wanted something to maybe, just maybe, match the most basic of compact digicams.
The Nokia 808 PureView is probably the most powerful camera phone ever but it's powered by an operating system that's heading for the history books. Its big boast is a gigantic 41-megapixel snapper. But when you pair that with the Symbian OS, it's the camera phone equivalent of a pushbike carrying a howitzer. Nokia purists will point out that Symbian is technically a very powerful and capable OS -- which is technically speaking true. On the measure of most importance to most people -- ease of use -- it's been blown out of the water by Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Beyond the 808's headline-grabbing megapixel count, there's a lot of cool camera technology to get excited about here. But even dyed-in-the-wool Nokia fans may baulk at the whopping price tag. Amazon is offering this curio for pre-order, SIM-free for an eye-watering £500. The Nokia 808 PureView feels like a proof-of-concept device -- to the point where we were surprised at CNET Towers to see it destined for sale at all. Despite making it out of Espoo and into retail packaging, the phone remains hamstrung by an OS that Nokia has very publicly given the boot.
| Retailer | Information | Prices | |
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Nokia 808 PureView Black Factory Unlocked 41MP GPS | $376.99 | See it |
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Nokia 808 PureView White Factory Unlocked PENTA BAND 3G 850/900/1700/1900/2100 from Nokia by New Generation Products LLC., | $386.99 | See it |
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Nokia 808 PureView Unlocked Phone with a 41 MP Camera with Carl Zeiss Optics White | $389.99 | See it |
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Nokia 808 PureView Unlocked GSM Phone with 41MP Camera with Carl Zeiss Optics and Symbian (Belle) OS - Black | $390.15 | See it |
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Nokia 808 PureView Unlocked Phone with a 41 MP Camera with Carl Zeiss Optics--U.S. Warranty (White) | $394.99 | See it |
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Nokia 808 PureView Unlocked Phone with a 41 MP Camera with Carl Zeiss Optics--U.S. Warranty (White) | $484.99 | See it |
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Nokia 808 PureView Red Factory Unlocked PENTA BAND 3G 850/900/1700/1900/2100 from Nokia by New Generation Products LLC., | $499 | See it |
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Nokia 808 Pureview , White (Factory Unlocked) Smartphone 41 Megapixel Camera !!! Specail Gift for Special One Fast Shipping | $879 | See it |