The most powerful camera phone ever made is coming to Britain. An online shop is taking orders for the 41-megapixel Nokia 808 PureView -- for £540.
Clove is taking orders for the 808 PureView now, and will relieve you of £538.80 for the pleasure -- surely making the 808 the most expensive Symbian phone ever.
It's worth taking that with a pinch of salt though. Clove, gawd bless 'em, has discovered the PR value of being first to announce a price for a hotly tipped new phone, so the actual price may not reflect that. We also don't know the release date yet. I've contacted Nokia to find out if these details are kosher.
The 808 is the first phone to boast PureView technology, which marries multi-megapixel hardware with powerful photography-focused software. It has way more features and manual control of the camera than any camera phone yet -- but still feels to us more like a prototype or proof of concept than an actual consumer product. In fact, if Clove is on the level we're pleasantly surprised we'll be able to get it in the UK at all, after previous niche Nokia the N9 failed to make it to these shores.
But the PureView technology is set to trickle down to more phones. In fact, word on the street is that a 41-megapixel Windows 8 phone is on the cards. Nokia has a track record with camera phones -- the camera was by far by the best thing about the otherwise disappointing Nokia N8 -- so PureView could put Nokia way ahead of the competition.
I'm excited about PureView, and looking forward to giving the 808 a proper test. In the meantime, check out our in-depth photo gallery or press play on our video to see how it works:
Are you excited about the Nokia 808 PureView? Would you pay £540 for a Symbian phone? Tell me your pure views in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 24
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Fantom 18 April, 2012 11:10
Better to go and buy DSLR camera,it's all digital no any optical power there.
anonymous 18 April, 2012 12:00
Really dont see the point of this. Nokia deserves to go under if they spend their money on producing this.s
anonymous 18 April, 2012 14:59
Personally, I do like that they have pushed to improve the quality of pictures on camera phones. However, at this price I think if someone is really looking for a good quality camera they will just go for a standalone one. For this price i think people will just think. I could buy an iPhone 4S at this price or a Samsung Galaxy S2 with change for a standalone camera. What has happened to you Nokia? You have lost touch on what customers actually want. Marketing 101.
Junaid 18 April, 2012 15:46
Lolz....will have to agree with all above. Nokia please go and get a life and come to terms with what market demands. We want to see Nokia Android Phones :)...
anonymous 18 April, 2012 16:57
I'm pretty excited about this phone. I enjoy photography and don't like having to carry around several devices. Convergance is the name of the game. It's a shame it hasn't been released as a Windows or Android phone but, saying that, I can tolerate Belle, the 640x360 resolution and mono speaker for the wonderful camera, CD (almost) quality - stereo recording, dolby headphone sound and 5.1 output, the ability to browse the internet, check emails etc., watch videos and listen to my music collection all in one attractive unit. And it is pretty - particularly compared to the powerful but hideous Galaxy S2. A front facing camera for video calls and the ability to use a micro-SD card to expand the memory and the positives far out-weigh the negatives - for me.
anonymous 18 April, 2012 17:23
£540 for a symbian phone
no thank you
anonymous 18 April, 2012 17:27
(...Also sat-nav/GPS, NFC, hdmi, Gorilla glass and as a bonus - thanks to the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, IM and a whole heap of useful tools and apps currently only available on Windows phones...)
billfred 18 April, 2012 18:51
epic fail.
anonymous 18 April, 2012 19:37
nice post....i love nokia...
anonymous 19 April, 2012 02:31
Give it a few months the price tag will change for £429.99
anonymous 20 April, 2012 18:19
Shame that CNET published this story when this pricing was already totally debunked by Nokia 6 days before CNET published this. This story should be revised or deleted because currently it's just spreading misinformation.
Proof:
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/45253/nokia-808-pureview-release-pricing-41-megapixel
Incidentally, given the capabilities of the 808 and the fact Symbian Belle FP1 is more than a match for any Android or iPhone, I'd say £549 was very good value.
However, it will almost certainly be substantially cheaper.
the1beard 20 April, 2012 22:51
Epic garbage nokia deserve to go broke
the1beard 20 April, 2012 22:52
This at any price complete garbage
dorix 21 April, 2012 07:37
As a N8 symbian belle user I am looking forward to upgrading my camera phone,although I must say that I will hold off for a while until the price comes down a little.I would be willing to pay £400 to £450 only.
anonymous 21 April, 2012 13:19
I was never dissapointed with my wonderfull n8, Still use it every day and will for some time yet!
Nathan Explosion 22 April, 2012 21:08
Good to see Nokia taking the two pronged approach.
If the horrendous Windows Phone based Lumias don't sink the company, other crap like this certainly will.
PS. It's not REALLY 41MP, they are fooling you with math.....
anonymous 22 April, 2012 21:33
Nokia would be better employed improving the lumia range than wasting money on DEAD os.
anonymous 23 April, 2012 07:54
Whatevrr the MP they said, it's going to provide a picture quality taken by Camera Phone :(. Can't beat the SLR
anonymous 23 April, 2012 08:10
@Nathan Explosion
They are not trying to fool you - read their literature watch their videos, the technology's all clearly explained.
anonymous 23 April, 2012 08:26
Symbian is far superior to iOS and WP7 but you have to RTFM and too many people have self-induced ADHD to do that these days. They're much happier with a feature-light, dumbed-down OS so long as the screen transitions look pretty - it mustn't be 'laggy' or they'll have a pathetic little hissy fit.
That said this phone is so damned expensive even knowledgeable smartphone users who appreciate Symbian wont buy it.
Nathan Explosion 23 April, 2012 09:40
Q: When can a 41mp camera not ACTUALLY contain a CCD with 41million pixels.
A: When marketing men get involved.
This doesn't have 41MP, and lets stop pretending it does. It uses algorithms to SIMULATE 41MP.
the1beard 23 April, 2012 21:22
I tend to use my phone as a hammer nailing things all day long I want Nokia to make a phone with a long handle ....
Who needs a phone with a camera that has a ccd of more than 5 meg
The same person who would want to use their phone as a toilet brush....
anonymous 2 May, 2012 07:18
Shut up Nathan Explosion you're talking rubbish!!
anonymous 23 May, 2012 11:58
1st: How can Nokia be fooling us with the 41mp lie? there are people, technical people, on charge to be sure it HAS 41mp sensor.
2nd: You don´t like it, don´t buy it!. But don´t blame it just because you don´t like it. There are people who really appreciate what a SMARTHPHONE really is, and they appreciate their money. (not just an overpriced dumb FAST device, with tons of apps to distract you from what really important is)
3rd: ONLY symbian can handle that amount of pixels, can iOS, Android, WP handle it?. I don´t think so.
4th: Of course is not a DSLR, not even the most powerful smarthphone these days... but, would you carry your PERFECT PICTURE DSLR (600$ worth) all the time with your FAST PHONE (700$ worth) every day if you can choose to carry ONLY 1 DEVICE (600$ worth) that is more confortable to carry on?.
5th: The actual price is less than what is mentioned above, make your homework on the most common online retail stores.
C´mon guys, just wake up!, iOS and Android has blinded your mind with their tricks.