Nokia unveiled the latest in their line of Windows 8 smartphones yesterday with the Lumia 1020. The most impressive and certainly the most hyped feature offered by the device is its impressive 41-megapixel camera, which many analysts are claiming is without a doubt the best smartphone camera on the market. At yesterday’s launch, one demo showed the camera zooming in to the point that it showed an actual needle within a haystack, while another showcased its increased image stabilization with a demonstration of clear photos taken from a wobbly boat. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop stated at the launch that the Lumia 1020 will represent “the introduction of the next chapter of smartphone technology”; but will this little gadget actually deliver all it promises?

The basic design and specs of the Lumia 1020 seem to be pretty on par with current smartphone technology – it offers a 1280 by 768 pixel 4.5” AMOLED PureMotion HD+ display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and has 32GB of internal storage, with an additional 7GB of SkyDrive cloud storage, compliments of Microsoft, and 2GB of RAM. Even more impressive is its size - despite the addition of the most formidable smartphone camera on the market, the 1020 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the Lumia 920. Photogs will delight in the new options featured with the camera, such as the ability to see the impact that adjustments to settings like white balance and ISO will have on the final image prior to snapping it. An especially convenient feature is the dual-file creation with every captured image. Each time the user shoots, the phone generates two files – one high-resolution, 34- or 38-megapixel file, and one easily shareable, 5-megapixel file. Additionally, the 1020 boasts the ability to zoom in the high-resolution image up to 3 times without any loss of clarity. Compound that with both auto- and manual-focus options, a dual flash system, “rich recording” technology that promises to capture clear, distortion-free sound even in the noisiest of environments, and its stunning video capabilities (it is equipped to shoot 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second), and you have a group of shutterbugs awaiting its release like kids before Christmas.

The real question now is whether or not its stunning camera capabilities will be enough to make Nokia’s latest venture a success. History has shown that there is a specific sect of consumers that will purchase a smartphone based almost solely on the merit of its camera and related features, but as of yet it is unclear if that sect is large enough to generate the commercial success that a smartphone with a $299.99 price tag will need to be profitable. While efforts have been made to make the device more consumer-friendly, with options like wireless charging and NFC-enabled wireless music, a large concern is that a phone being marketed with such heavy emphasis on its camera’s capabilities should offer more storage options for the inevitable slew of photos that someone interested in purchasing this phone will likely take (it offers 32GB of internal memory, but no card slot for additional storage). At any rate, we won’t have to wait long to see – the Lumia 1020 goes on sale in the US July 26^th, and is available for pre-order starting July 16^th, exclusively through AT&T.

 

Sources: BBC News, CNET.com, Forbes, engadget.com, USA Today