Why Nokia Is Late to the 8 Megapixel Party

Have you heard about the “2008 8-Megapixel mobile party”? You haven’t? Well, it goes like this: Sony Ericsson showed up first, sending its C905 19 mm thick Cyber-shot slider to set on fire the minds and souls of all SE fans. Shortly after, Samsung made its appearance – the Innov8 multimedia monster was presented, running on Symbian S60 and bringing a myriad of smartphone-like features. It didn't take long and LG, Samsung's good neighbor, came with its elegant full-touch KC910 that would take the Viewty experience to a new level. Motorola, which still rules in the US with its handsets, is yet shy on joining the party, but we shouldn't be surprised if a gentleman introducing himself as Alexander showed up at the door and said, “excuse me for being late, I had to polish my Megapixels to make them look perfect.”

All in all, it seems that a truly magnificent party is due, where all the “mobile giants” are present. Oh, wait, did I say “all”? My bad, because someone is clearly missing. It's the Nordic Nokia, leader of the global mobile market (with a 40% share), which doesn't have, until now, an 8 Megapixel handset. Even more, there aren't even rumors about such a Nokia phone (like in the case of Motorola).

Is there any concrete reason for it not coming with an 8 Megapixel mobile device until now? Not that we know of. We do know, though, that the Finnish giant has invested its recent efforts into the launch of the N85 and N79 – new Nseries smartphones that bring 5 Megapixel cameras, raising the total number of Nokia-made devices to have this “feature” to 7 (the others are N95, N95 8GB, N82, 6220 Classic and the N96). But wouldn't it have been better if Nokia had come up with only one new 8 Megapixel Nseries instead of two 5 Megapixel ones? Probably yes. Especially since neither N85, nor N79 brings something really new to the table.

So, can we blame the N85 and the N79 for not having an 8 Megapixel Nokia yet? If the Finnish company doesn't announce such a handset soon, we will probably be justified in doing so.

Of course, the Megapixel count is far from being everything in a photo camera. Lots of other aspects are involved, from the quality of the optical sensor to the presence (or absence) of auto focus, image stabilization, flashes (LED or Xenon), and optical zoom. Still, an 8 Megapixel cam with the same features that a 5 Megapixel one offers is almost surely going to offer better photos – since these would be “a bit” bigger.

Nokia is recognized for packing good cameras into its high-end handsets. The N82 or the N95 have made the delight of lots and lots of users who need their phones to act as digital camera from time to time. So why not come with an 8 MP handset, Nokia? I'm sure it can't be that hard. Moreover, with the throng of fans you have managed to attract until now, there shouldn't be any problem in making this 8 Megapixel phone a commercial hit.

The bottom line is that Nokia shouldn't hesitate any longer to come out with its first 8 MP camera phone. Otherwise, the above-mentioned folks who have already made it to the party could get all the attention for themselves and, when Nokia finally comes ringing at the door, there might be no one left to answer it.