In New York, Microsoft and Nokia have announced the Lumia 920 smartphone, the Windows Phone 8 flagship device that will launch at the end of October. As expected, the Lumia 920 has a 4.5-inch display, 8MP camera, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 SoC, 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, and built-in wireless charging. What we didn't expect, however, is that -- according to Nokia and Microsoft, at least -- the Lumia 920 has the most advanced camera and LCD display ever seen on a smartphone.
The camera
The camera sensor on the Lumia 920 clocks in at a fairly normal 8.7 million pixels, but unlike any other smartphone on the market the camera module is equipped with optical image stabilization. This is the same kind of technology that you will find in professional Canon and Nikon lenses, effectively counteracting the shaky movements of your hands. This should not be confused with the iPhone, which performs digital image stabilization. In the case of the Lumia 920, there are actually tiny motors and springs that keep the camera module stable.
In front of the 16:9 Lumia 920 sensor there is an f/2.0 Carl Zeiss lens -- which, according to Nokia, is the biggest-aperture smartphone lens ever. Finally, the sensor itself is physically larger than those found on other smartphones -- and if you're a digital photographer, you will know that this is a very good thing.
These three features, plus some clever software, combine to create Nokia's PureView technology. In short, PureView basically means that you can shoot smoother video (i.e. no more crazy shakes every time you laugh or walk), and you can take sharp photos in very low light without a flash. In photographer parlance, PureView gives you a few extra stops.
The results speak for themselves:
Sadly Nokia hasn't released any high-resolution Lumia 920 sample photos -- but we'll add them to this post when they become available.
The screen
The Lumia 920 is outfitted with a 1280x768 (WXGA) PureMotion HD+ IPS LCD display. According to Nokia, this display is 25% brighter and has pixel response times that are 2.5 times faster than any other smartphone on the market (gray-to-gray in 9ms). We're not entirely sure what secret sauce Nokia is using -- why doesn't Apple have access to these mega-fast LCD panels? -- but we'll reserve our judgment until we actually see the screen in person.
Like its predecessor, the Lumia 920's display uses ClearBlack technology (some clever polarizing filter that makes the screen more readable in bright light) -- and curiously, Nokia is also saying that the Lumia 920 has the most sensitive touchscreen of any smartphone. In an amusing demo, a Nokia engineer put on some ski gloves and used the Lumia 920 without any issues. Apparently this functionality is provided by a "dual-mode" touchscreen -- but beyond that we don't have any more details. Perhaps it's capacitive when you have bare hands, and resistive when you're wearing gloves? Either way, those of you living in colder climes may find this feature very attractive.
For more info on the Lumia 920's hardware specs, including wireless charging, hit up our previous story.
Lumia 820
At the same event, Nokia also announced the Lumia 820 -- the 920's mid-range brother. The 820 is very similar to the 920 (the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4, 1GB of RAM, ClearBlack, Super Sensitive touch), but it has a lower-res 800x480 4.3-inch screen and an 8-megapixel camera without PureView technology. In the 820's favor, though, it has a replaceable battery and interchangeable backs (while the Lumia 920, like the 900, is one big slab of provocative polycarbonate).
At this point I think we need to remember that the Lumia 900 only launched five months ago -- and while attractive, the phone was otherwise unexceptional. The Lumia 920, on the other hand, is clearly gunning for a seat at Apple and Samsung's rather exclusive table -- and with what appears to be the best camera and screen on the market, Nokia might just be able to pull it off.
Two very important questions still remain unanswered, though. The sexiest hardware on the planet is nothing without comparable software -- and while Windows Phone 8 sounds great, we still have no idea how it will fare once it actually hits the market and goes toe-to-toe with Android and iOS. Which leads us onto the second big question: When is the Lumia 920 actually coming to market? Nokia and Microsoft spent 60 minutes extolling the virtues of their new superphone -- and yet they didn't say a single word about pricing or availability.
For now, the Lumia 920(Opens in a new window) might be the best phone in the world on paper -- but in about two weeks, Apple will actually have the best phone in the world: the iPhone 5. Tick-tock, Nokia, tick-tock.
