You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Nokia has posted some sample images from its new half-camera, half-phone Lumia 1020. Since we weren’t allowed to shoot and keep any photos of our own during yesterday’s hands-on
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Nokia has apparently reinvented zoom with the newest addition to the Lumia family, the Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 1020, with a 41-megapixel PureView camera. It lets you zoom after the fact and still see ultra high resolution detail and sharpness. Meanwhile, Microsoft underwent a huge reorganization moving most of the company’s high-ranking leadership into new positions.
Is the Lumia 1020 worthy of its $299 price tag? Are we excited Microsoft is streamlining its leadership and services?
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Ever since the digital camera module was introduced into a smartphone, it was safe to assume that one day, the average dedicated digital camera would suffer a drop in sales, as most folks would just use their smartphone cameras to capture memories wherever they go. The day has not yet arrived, but it is definitely close with the recent announcement of the Nokia Lumia 1020 – a smartphone which boasts of a massive 41-megapixel sensor as well as optical image stabilization (OIS) that have surpassed existing benchmarks of smartphone photography. We are talking about unmatched picture detail and quality with an effortless capture, edit and sharing features here.
For starters, Nokia claims that they have reinvented zoom through the combination of their next-generation 41-megapixel sensor, ZEISS optics with half a dozen lenses and OIS. This would allow the Lumia 1020 camera to zoom into the details of every shot, where it over-samples the results so that your digital memories look sharper and clearer than ever before. Since you might be rather new to this digital photography thing, the Lumia 1020 allows you to point and shoot without worrying about missing the moment, as you can, at a later time, reframe the photo thanks to the new Nokia Pro Camera application.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 will support LTE networks where applicable, and it comes with a 4.5” AMOLED WXGA (1280×768) touchscreen display with Corning Gorilla 3 Glass, a 2,000 mAh battery, wireless charging support, a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, their piece de resistance – a PureView 41-megapixel with optical image stabilization with Xenon and LED flash, a 1.2-megapixel front facing camera, 2GB RAM, 32GB of internal memory, 7GB of free SkyDrive cloud storage, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, all crammed into a body that weighs just 158 grams. The Nokia Lumia 1020 will arrive in yellow, white and black colors, shipping to the US on AT&T first this July 26th at $299.99 a pop – obviously with a 2-year contract, of course, before making its way to China and Western Europe later this quarter.
Press Release
[ Nokia Lumia 1020 announced – is it the end of entry level digital cameras? copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Nokia isn’t leaving adoption of the Lumia 1020‘s 41-megapixel PureView camera up to chance, pairing its new Imaging SDK with a hackathon to encourage innovative uses of the oversampling and lossless zoom system. The new Windows Phone, revealed yesterday after a cavalcade of leaks, will support more advanced photography than most any smartphone on the market today out of the box, but now Nokia is calling for suggestions as to how to make it even more flexible, as part of its Nokia Future Capture program.
“We want you to push the limits of imaging too, think outside the box, and create apps worthy of the phone’s unique capabilities” Nokia says of the scheme. Developers can submit up to three ideas each – either for hacks or imaging-based apps for the Lumia 1020 – and company will take the creators of the ten best ideas to Sweden in August, to work on actually producing their software.
The top two app developers will get a Lumia 1020 to keep, while the best app will get a “VIP treatment” trip to an upcoming event, and see their app promoted through Nokia’s store.
Nokia Lumia 1020 hands-on:
Ideas submitted can optionally make use of peripherals – such as Nokia’s own Camera Grip, though there doesn’t seem to be any restriction on developing your own accessory – and they’ll be judged by Nokia’s local and global developer teams, along with members of the company’s imaging division. Criteria for picking the best apps includes creativity, user experience, and quality, and Nokia says that “creations should be as polished and as close to final as possible at the end of the weekend.”
As that implies, you’ll need to be a developer with some actual skills in coding to take part. Nokia will be asking for “development credentials” such as existing apps in the Windows Phone Store – or in other app stores – along with files, designs, or other evidence that you know your way around an SDK.
Ideas need to be submitted before the end of July, and there’s more information on the SDK itself at Nokia’s Developer site. The toolkit includes access to the partial JPEG decoding, which Nokia uses to quickly apply effects and tweaks, over 50 filters and enhancements, the ability to perform basic edits, and more.
There’s more on the Nokia Lumia 1020 PureView in our full hands-on.
Nokia Imaging SDK overview:
Nokia Lumia 1020 “Future Capture” puts out call for PureView hacks is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Yesterday, Nokia announced to some fanfare its new Lumia 1020: a 41-megapixel, Xenon-flashed, highly tweakable camera that, y’know, also makes phone calls. But how good does the camera on your phone really need to be?
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Nokia’s new Pro Camera application may debut on the Lumia 1020 announced yesterday, but the software will also be rolled out to the company’s existing PureView Windows Phones, albeit after a firmware update to pave the way later this year. Pro Camera marks a considerable step up over the default Windows Phone camera app, overlying concentric controls for exposure, ISO, and more over the preview screen, and giving real-time feedback on what tweaking each of the settings will actually do.
Now, Nokia has confirmed that the Lumia 920, Lumia 925, and Lumia 928 – all of which are PureView branded – will also get the Pro Camera app eventually. It’ll require the “Amber” update first, however, which Nokia has previously said will be released sometime this month.
It’s not the first we’ve seen of Nokia ensuring that existing owners aren’t left behind when new features arrive. Amber will also bring support for the Smart Camera application we reviewed on the Lumia 925, offering features like combination shots coupling together elements from multiple frames, and object removal.
Meanwhile, Amber will also have an impact on the quality of photos, Nokia has promised. On the Lumia 920, for instance, the update will add a broader ISO range, among other things.
Of course, even with the Pro Camera app, there’ll be some things the Lumia 920, 925, and 928 can’t do that the Lumia 1020 can. The biggest is lossless digital zooming, which will remain the preserve of the 1020′s 41-megapixel sensor.
There’s more on the Nokia Lumia 1020, and the Pro Camera app, in our full hands-on. As for how the oversampling system in the Lumia 1020 works, check out our SlashGear 101 on the topic.
Nokia Lumia 1020 PureView hands-on:
Nokia Lumia 1020 Pro Camera app will get 925, 928 and 920 release is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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