Since the rebirth of the smartphone (with Apple’s original iPhone), mobile devices have been taking over the functions and marketshare of the independent devices of the past. In short order, they’ve usurped the watch, made dedicated media players a thing of the past and are even are even likely to begin killing off the third-party media remote any day now. With the arrival of Nokia’s latest flagship the Lumia 1020, it’s likely the smartphones are finally poised to kill off the once venerable point-and-shoot camera as well.
Here’s the thing: the point-and-shoot camera has begged to be sent packing for years now. Until recently, the only problem really had been that the things that make the smartphone and high-quality camera mash-up unique simply hadn’t been on the buying public’s radar.
Now with the Lumia 1020, these features are finally being integrated in a way that makes sense for smartphone buyers and point-in-shoot camera lovers.
Optical Image Stabilization
Optical image stabilization had been something of a novelty. While the idea of suspending an image sensor inside the device to avoid sudden movements and bumps wasn’t entirely new, smartphone makers hadn’t yet added the feature to their devices in large numbers. That changed with last year’s introduction of the Lumia 920. Today, Nokia’s Lumia 925 and Lumia 928 also offer the functionality. With the optical image stabilization in the Lumia 1020, pictures and video come out clearer.
Mobile Data
Just as with every smartphone, the Lumia 1020 will include mobile internet. That means looking up the address of new places to take shots on the go and learning about new picture-taking techniques in real-time. For users who grew accustomed to the old way of doing things, it is a god send.
Windows Phone 8
As the Lumia 1020 is shipping with the latest versions of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system, the ease of use that is a part of that ecosystem is on the Lumia 1020 as well. The result is a camera that includes all the software users need to make photo taking easy.
That includes built-in photo editing tools and the ability to automatically upload pictures and video to cloud services like Flickr and SkyDrive. No added software, no USB cables.
Accessories
Sure, the Lumia 1020 is a smartphone at heart, but its accessories run the gamut of thing point-and-shoot watchers will find useful. This includes a dedicated camera shell that adds an extended battery and a large shutter button. This turns the Lumia 1020 into the camera users want, and the svelte phone that takes great photos event when they aren’t necessarily on the hunt for great photos. A wireless charging shell will also be available.
Software
Sure, Windows Phone 8 has what most regard as a pretty decent camera interface, but it’s not even close to the software that Nokia ships with the Lumia 1020. Nokia has replaced the default view finder with Nokia Pro Camera, an all-new interface that allows photo takers to control everything from photo temperature, to exposure times. In effect, the company has delivered the customization of even a DSLR in a smartphone package.
Additionally, developers will be able to create applications that interact directly with the camera sensor using the company’s exclusive Imaging SDK. You simply don’t get this kind of customization on today’s mid-to-low range cameras.
Nokia will make the Lumia 1020 available to users across the world on multiple carriers starting this summer. The Lumia 1020 will launch exclusively on the AT&T network in the United States on July 26th. Users can pre-order the device starting July 17th.
No comments:
Post a Comment