Nokia Preps True PureView Windows Phone

The Nokia EOS will be the first Windows Phone with a "real" PureView camera. The device is said to replace the Lumia 920 as Nokia's flagship smartphone for 2013.

The EOS, which is a codename for the device, will use a camera sensor similar to the one that is in the Nokia 808 PureView, reports The Verge. The 808, which is a Symbian smartphone announced during Mobile World Congress in 2012, has a 41-megapixel sensor that has superior zooming capabilities and low-light performance. It was the culmination of five years of work for Nokia's imaging team. Nokia said that PureView technology would eventually make its way into devices using Microsoft's Windows Phone.

The Lumia 920, which went on sale during the fourth quarter, has PureView technology inside, but not the whole kit and kaboodle. The 920 uses an 8-megapixel sensor, and the entire camera module is mounted on springs to reduce shake. It also has a wide aperture and other low-light imaging characteristics to improve overall performance. But it doesn't have the powerful, full-resolution zooming capability that the PureView 808 does, and that's the technology people want to see in Windows Phones. Hence the EOS.

[ Nokia pushes other technology envelopes. Read Nokia Embraces 3-D Printing Future, Perhaps Too Soon. ]

EOS is an interesting -- perhaps muting -- choice of codename for a device with a killer camera. Canon already brands its mid-range dSLR cameras with the EOS moniker.

According to The Verge, the EOS will break from the polycarbonate shells Nokia has used for its Lumia designs. Instead, it will tread new design ground, likely substituting aluminum for the polycarbonate. It will have squared edges, rather than the rounded shapes of today's Lumia line. AT&T will carry the device later this year.

Although the EOS will take the Lumia 920's place as Nokia's standard bearer, Nokia has a more direct replacement for the 920 in mind. Codenamed Catwalk, the Lumia 920 replacement will also have an aluminum body.

Last, Nokia is working on its own Windows RT tablet, which is expected to debut early this year. Nokia was an early pioneer with its own Internet tablets back in 2006. They ran a form of Linux. Nokia is one of the last phone makers to also offer a tablet. Nokia has yet to share the details of these products.

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