Nokia 808 Pureview review

A technological and photographic marvel 

 

When Nokia announced the 808 it was, perhaps, the most exciting development in mobile phones for some time. Perhaps, the most exciting development since the first camera was attached to a mobile phone.The problem was, as many saw it, that Symbian is an outdated OS and this was just another sign of how out of touch Nokia is with what the general public wants. But the interest in the camera has continued, and it really is one of the most remarkable advances in camera phones. So how does it all stack up, and crucially, is it worth the massive £500 asking price.

Design

You can't miss the 808, it's a substantial bit of kit. There's a decent-sized bulge at the rear that houses the camera gubbins but it actually looks, and feels, very natural in your hand. The camera bulge gives the phone a way to rest on your hand, plus it makes the screen tilt toward you when it's on a desk. It's certainly not iPhone thin, but it's still a manageable handset.

What it is not, is light. At 169g, you really feel this phone in your hand when you're using it. It's not a disaster though, and while it does become a bit of pain to hold up for long periods, it's incredibly well balanced and has a solid and well-built feel.
On the top of the phone, you'll find a USB socket for charging and data transfer as well as a headphone socket and mini-HDMI output for displaying your photos and video on TV in HD.

Symbian Belle

The last big Nokia phone was probably the N95. You might remember it, it's the phone that did everything the current iPhone does, but in 2007. That phone ran Symbian S60, a perfectly capable operating system, but one that didn't have the ability to handle touch interfaces. Since then, Nokia has messed about trying to make Symbian into a credible touch-sensitive OS. Well, the good news is, with Belle, it has succeeded. Sadly, this has all come about just as Nokia has dumped Symbian for Windows Phone.
Of course, Symbian is still struggling in some ways. App support is decent enough, but many apps are paid-for and expensive. They also lack any of the glamour or graphical prowess of an Android or iPhone app. For example, we used TweetS60 as our Twitter client. It looks the same as it did in 2009, and while it's functional, it's about a million miles away from being pretty or stylish

The camera

There's no denying it. The camera in the 808 is every bit as impressive as the high megapixel count suggests. Of course, there have been a lot of cameras on phones that claim to have 5 or 8-megapixel sensors, but produce images that don't stand up to the hype. This isn't the case here, and the Pureview camera is really incredible...
At the most basic level, there are two modes of operation for the camera. You can take either 38-megapixel images - yes, the sensor is 41-megapixel, but you're not given access to all of them - or you can shoot an 8, 5 or 3-megapixel image. This mode is called Pureview, and is really how Nokia sees the future of camera phones - indeed, it has said that similar tech will make its way on to Windows Phone devices.
Nokia says that the 808 is really designed to take normal resolution images at, say, 8-megapixels, but to give you lots of benefits of the larger sensor. So, for example, you get a digital zoom that, unlike other digital zooms, is lossless. This means that the camera can get you close to the action, without the need for complex lens arrangements that are, for the most part, impractical for a camera phone.

Verdict

There will no doubt be people who will tell you that Symbian is out-classed by Android and iOS. In terms of apps, and perhaps the quality of the developer ecosystem, they are probably correct. But the fact is, the 808 comes to you as a feature-complete phone, with some lovely extras and the best camera ever fitted to a mobile phone.
Almost everything about the 808 is well designed, and it comes from Symbian being a well-established and solid operating system. Sure, there are some irritations, like the SMS system being a bit clunky, and there are still menus in Symbian that make absolutely no logical sense whatsoever.
The 808 was never intended to be an iPhone or an Android handset. It was a technology showcase for something that will start appearing in all manner of new phones, and beyond, over the next few years. Assuming Nokia can survive the current storm. Like all of the company's hardware, it's excellently constructed and feels like it could last 100 years.