28 manufacturers @ mobilenewsmag MobileNewsMagazine www. mobilenewscwp. co. uk
75 %
17.3 %
3.2 %
Others 4.5 %
IDC research for Q1 2013:
Operating system Market share
Elop compares camera image quality at the launch of the new device in New York Consumers’ lack of interest in Windows Phone will hamper Nokia, analysts say
“ The Lumia 1020 will change how you shoot, create and share pictures forever. You can see things that you have never seen before, with clear images and incredible zooming. You can literally find a needle in a haystack.”
Features Elop demonstrated the camera quality by comparing images taken on the Lumia 1020 with those taken on a Samsung Galaxy S4 and Apple iPhone 5.
The images, which were of two Nokia staff jumping in the air( see picture above), were captured in the same room as the event was being held before the doors opened.
Both images taken from the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 were heavily blurred, while the one taken on the Lumia was clear.
According to Elop, this was down to the“ unique” technology used by Nokia, including its‘ second-generation optical image stabilisation’ which helps images remain clear when moving, as well as its“ oversampling” technology and Xenon Flash, which help capture images more clearly in low light conditions.
Elop said:“ We have helped people capture images for more than a decade and now we can help them see more than their eyes can. Blur-free, super high-detail photos day or night.
“ We are not done. Not by a long shot. In fact, we have only just begun this journey.
“ We have packed a lot of great experiences into the Lumia 1020 to help you take and share better pictures and videos. The Lumia 1020 has become the most versatile smartphone out there.
“ This is the next chapter in smartphone photography.”
Elop was later joined on stage by AT & T Mobility president and CEO Ralph De
La Vega who labelled the Lumia 1020 as the best Windows Phone device ever manufactured, with the best smartphone camera available today.
De La Vega said AT & T, which is the largest US network operator with more than 46 million subscribers, is the world’ s biggest network reseller of Windows Phone handsets and expects the Lumia 1020 to be a“ popular addition”.
“ This device sets a new standard and a higher bar in the industry when it comes to photography. I have never seen resolution as good as this. You have what is the best Windows Phone ever, with the best smartphone camera ever.”
Concerns However, while analysts branded the device as the clear market leader for camera technology – they remained sceptical as to whether the device will capture the imaginations of users – particularly those on high-end Android or iOS devices on a wide scale.
Francisco Jeronimo, research director, European mobile devices at IDC, said while Nokia’ s strategy is admirable, the device may end up being viewed by the public as a niche product.
He highlighted recent research which questioned smartphone users in 25 countries on the most important features on their handset. Camera quality was ranked fifteenth on this list behind features such as audio quality, battery life, device security, ease of use, operating system, screen size and browsing speed.
In the first quarter of this year, 71 per cent of total smartphone shipments
Nokia Lumia 1020 features featured a five-megapixel camera or higher, but only four per cent featured a camera with a camera of 10 megapixels or more, highlighting the size of the market.
For this reason he has“ serious doubts” the device will have a significant impact in turning the Finnish firm’ s fortunes around.
“ This is unquestionably the best mobile camera on the market to date and Nokia deserves credit for that,” said Jeronimo.“ But whether this will change Nokia’ s fortunes depends on how serious Nokia is in compromising profits to improve market share.
“ Despite the quality of the device, however, I have some serious doubts about whether it will change Nokia’ s fortunes, and it risks becoming a niche product. To be able to compete with Apple and Samsung, Nokia will need to price it aggressively and to increase activities in the stores to show consumers how better the camera performs against the competition.
“ I’ ve never seen resolution as good as this – the best smartphone camera ever” AT & T’ s Ralph De La Vega
The Lumia 1020 runs the Windows Phone operating system and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor.
It is 10.4mm thick and weighs 158g, with standby and talk time of 16 days and 13.3 hours respectively.
Alongside the 41-megapixel camera, the smartphone houses Carl Zeiss optics with six physical lenses – the most found in a smartphone to date – as well as optical image stabilisation, which is designed to increase picture quality in low light conditions.
It also includes‘ dual capture’, which
The Lumia 1020 has six Carl Zeiss lenses – the most on a smartphone to date
“ Failing that, the Lumia 1020 will become a niche product for a niche segment – professional mobile phone photographers.”
He added:“ Of course the camera is the feature that consumers usually try first when they test a device, and a good quality picture will always have an impact. But the likes of Apple, LG, HTC, Samsung and Sony already deliver very good cameras in their flagship devices. Most smartphones now come with five, eight, or 12-megapixel cameras, and this offers enough quality for most users.” uSwitch. com telecoms specialist Ernest
enables the Lumia 1020 to simultaneously take a high-resolution, 38-megapixel picture, while also creating a fivemegapixel picture that can be shared on social networking websites.
Other features are a 4.5-inch AMOLED HD touchscreen made from Gorilla Glass, 1.2-megapixel HD wideangle front camera, HD video recording, a 2,000mAh battery with wireless charging supported by a clip-on cover, access to Nokia’ s HERE navigation services, 32GB of internal memory and 7GB of free SkyDrive cloud storage.
The manufacturer is also releasing the Nokia Camera Grip accessory alongside the Lumia 1020 as a separately sold product. This is a snap-on cover that provides support for one-handed shooting, and includes a tripod mount. It will cost $ 79(£ 52).
Doku agreed, claiming the manufacturer still lacks an identity in the market, and suggest a megapixel-rich camera may not be what customers want.
Concerns over the manufacturer’ s“ gamble on Windows Phone” will also hamper progress, given the“ lack of interest” from consumers in the operating system( see graph above).
“ Whether the mother of all cameras will entice phone fans away from Apple and Android devices is questionable.
“ Looking past the allure of megapixels, Nokia still seems to lack focus when it comes to an important area – namely the lack of consumer interest in the Windows Phone platform.
“ Nokia’ s huge gamble on the operating system hasn’ t quite paid off thus far and despite seeing modest success with the Lumia range, the iconic iPhone and vast swathe of Android devices are eclipsing their best efforts in terms of popularity.
“ It’ s struggling to find its true identity in a challenging market. Apple’ s handsets play the jack of all trades masterfully, while Samsung has unveiled a range of hyper-niche devices – the Zoom, Active and Mini – all trading off the success of its Galaxy brand and targeting different types of consumer.
“ While the Lumia 1020 can’ t be disputed that it wows in the camera phone stakes, it remains to be seen whether gadget fans will opt for a Windows-powered handset over increasingly impressive – and diverse – competition.”
Ovum principal analyst Tony Cripps said the cost of the device and the level of investment Nokia is willing to spend on marketing will play a major role in its success.
This, he claims, will be key in allowing Nokia to create a sense of differentiation in the market – although he doubts the device will achieve mass-market appeal.
“ While the Lumia 1020 looks to be the new belle at the smartphone ball, its debut will not necessarily attract a mass of suitors. Most obviously, the device will be expensive. Pricing has yet to be revealed but engineering of the kind on offer in the Lumia 1020 does not come cheap. Aggressive operator subsidies would no doubt help in that regard, but might detract from the device’ s premium engineering and user experience.
“ Nokia, and Windows Phone more generally, still suffers from a lack of consumer awareness and marketing dollars compared with their key rivals, Apple and Samsung-plus-Android. While this situation is improving, these factors continue to put off many prospective consumers due a greater chance of favourite applications being unavailable.
“ As such, when lined up against rival devices such as the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4, the case for selecting the Lumia 1020 is less clear cut.”
MN 2013-0730 Nokia DPS. indd 28 24 / 07 / 2013 17:00