14 DAY TRIAL // Nokia phones have already been recognized for their appealing camera capabilities, and the company's Lumia series of smartphones has shared this fame too, especially following the launch of Nokia Lumia 1020, which included a 41-megapixel PureView camera on the back.
The company made a splash with the PureView technology when announcing the Symbian-based Nokia 808 at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and has continued to deliver impressive camera capabilities in its devices ever since.
Lumia 1020 was not the first Windows Phone handset from Nokia to sport the technology, as Lumia 920, Lumia 925, and Lumia 928 were launched with PureView cameras before it, though it did feature the largest camera sensor a device running under Microsoft's mobile OS ever did.
Following the release of Lumia 1020, the Finnish company continued to include the same high-end camera features in other phones, such as the Lumia 1520 and the Lumia 930, and it is expected to pack it inside more devices moving forth.
If the latest reports on the matter are to be believed, soon we might see PureView added to Lumia devices that are not aimed at the high-end segment of the market, as the company is working toward further enhancing the camera capabilities of its lineup.
To be more precise, mid-range Lumia phones are expected to arrive on shelves with PureView cameras on the back, and the recently rumored / leaked Lumia 830 might be the first of them.
The handset vendor has already showed that it can include a great camera in a mid-range smartphone when it launched the Lumia 720 last year with a 6.7-megapixel camera on the back, albeit it did not feature the PureView branding on it.
In fact, back in September, Samuli Hänninen, who was vice president of software program management for Nokia’s Smart Devices business at the time, said that Lumia 720 was indeed a great example of the camera experiences that Nokia was capable of offering to its users.
Beginning with May, Nokia's Devices and Services division became part of Microsoft, and the PureView brand, along with Lumia, ClearBlack and others are now owned by the Redmond-based software giant, which appears set to continue on the same path when it comes to the imaging features of its smartphones.
By the looks of it, this would also include the release of even more affordable smartphones that can deliver high-end imaging capabilities to their users, something that few devices running under other mobile operating systems out there have to offer at the moment.
The aforementioned Lumia 830, which hasn't been confirmed as of now, and which remains nothing more than a rumor for the time being, is said to feature a 13-megapixel camera on the back, which would be a very good feature for a mid-range device nevertheless.
With the PureView branding on it, the handset would become even more appealing, especially to those users who already have an idea of what the technology has to offer and on what Nokia's smartphones can deliver in terms of camera capabilities.
Of course, the smartphone would be aimed at an even broader audience, and its possible success will certainly help not only the Lumia brand, but the Windows Phone platform too, as the OS is still struggling to prove itself.
A single PureView Lumia smartphone in the mid-range won't do wonders for the OS, that's for sure, but it would certainly mark a good beginning. And with Lumia phones usually coming in pairs, we might also see Microsoft announcing a Lumia 730 with similar capabilities next to the Lumia 830.
PureView has been available only inside high-end smartphones until now, but with mid-range Lumia handsets set to receive the technology as well, they will certainly prove great options for users on a budget.
Furthermore, there's also the patent agreement that Microsoft has signed earlier this week with Canon, which covers mobile consumer products too, and which could result in better imaging capabilities for Windows Phone devices too.
No specific info on what the agreement covers has been provided as of now, and chances are that we won't see Canon cameras inside future Lumia phones, but they will certainly have something to gain from the said agreement.
The aforementioned Lumia 830, possibly the first mid-range PureView smartphone, will also arrive on shelves with the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system loaded on top, which has been already confirmed to bring along a series of camera enhancements, especially on Lumia devices.
The Windows Phone 8.1 platform will arrive on existing Lumia phones in the form of Lumia Cyan update, and will include changes to camera roll, a better Creative Studio, and a series of enhancements to the Nokia Storyteller app.
However, these are only some of the new features and improvements that the Windows Phone 8.1 OS has been unveiled with, as users will also take advantage of a Notifications Center, a better keyboard, UI tweaks, and, of course, Cortana, the digital personal assistant.
Windows Phone 8.1 has been available for a couple of months now as a Developer Preview flavor, and it has already managed to stir users' interest, especially courtesy of Cortana, but also due to its new features and enhancements, which finally make it a worthy competitor against Android and iOS.
Basically, with Windows Phone 8.1 already capable of proving a great mobile OS out there, future mid-range Lumia devices would certainly become highly appealing if Microsoft indeed packed them with PureView cameras.
Of course, there's no telling whether that might indeed happen, even if it seems highly likely, since no official confirmation has been provided as of now. I do believe, however, that such phones would help the OS gain more ground on the mid-range market.
And since Microsoft has already partnered with various handset vendors for the release of entry-level Windows Phone devices, we might actually see the platform grabbing market share in other segments as well.
In the meantime, however, I think that the Lumia 830 might be the next Windows Phone device to wait for, as it might bring high-end camera capabilities to more users out there, at more affordable price tags.