I not sure when the worst happened. At some point we started asking companies to not innovate, to not dream big and not create new and exciting works to please our every whim. What? We didn’t? I’d imagine it might be a good time to inform TechCrunch’s John Biggs of that.
Following Nokia’s announcement of the Lumia 1020, with yes it’s 41 megapixel sensor, Biggs pinned an impassioned plea for sanity from Nokia. It had everything. Bravado, vivid imagery – hell it even included a WTF tag. The only thing it didn’t have was firm footing.
Why doesn’t it? Niche smartphones are what the industry was founded on. At some point, some dope in technology industry has always complained about feature specific phones being unnecessary.
Remember, the iTunes compatible Motorola Rokr? Nope, but I bet you almost everyone reading this listened to a song on their smartphone at least once this week. Remember when smartphones shipped with resistive touch screens and ho-hum user interfaces. Nope, because Apple, changed the game by bringing multi-touch displays and user-friendly interface design to the masses.
I don’t think Nokia will sell many of these. To be honest, I’d have to think very hard about buying one and I write about technology for a living. The price of the Lumia 1020 is too steep for my wallet It’s exclusivity on AT&T makes it irrelevant to my T-Mobile, “un-carrier” loving life style.
That doesn’t change the fact that these sorts of camera innovations move smartphones forward. Since the introduction of the PureView and Optical Image Stabilization technologies in Nokia’s line of smartphones, camera optics have become increasingly important. So important that HTC risked everything to include a lower pixel sensor in its phones in the name of better picture quality.
Since when do we get mad at the kid in the class with latest shoes?
Since when do we get mad at the kid in the class with latest shoes? At what point did we decide that progress — no matter how niche it might be, isn’t progress? On what silly planet is a 41 megapixel camera inside a phone that is no thicker than its predecessor and software camera experiences with hardware so detailed that they have their own white paper, deserve to have their existence dismissed as nothing more than theatrics?
I have no clue, though I’d imagine it would be somewhere just past that star system where canned comment bait is appropriate on leading news sites and to the left of that moon where wild ponies made of cookies roam free across the plains.
When the 920 came out, it was noted if you wanted the best camera around, you went there. The HTC 8X, on the other hand, was touting some of the best audio performance. HTC has featured Beats Audio on multiple phones before and it was only the arrival on a Windows phone that made the news. Each manufacturer focuses on what they like.
Several years ago, I ran into a sales person with my company. Everyone marveled at her phone when she whipped it out. She had had it since something like 1992 (this was in 2003). Green backlit screen. She could receive calls and sms. I think that was it. Now our phones have become computing devices.
Japan is clogged with “feature” phones. TVs, Internet specials, etc. Anyone can create a dream phone in their minds, and hold absolutely none of the current makers as being anywhere close to the ideal.
Now, not sure I share your concern that this phone will not sell. It will be heavily subsidized and considering stepped up memory, better processor and a killer camera (the answer to the HTC One?) many will jump on board. Also, let’s remember the US is not the only market this phone will grace.
We also have to remember that the hardware is only 1/2 the story. I am psyched! For Amber. What this phone touts for advanced camera software will come to my phone as well. Chastising Nokia for focusing (as they always have) on the optics of their phone is lunacy. Long before their foray into Windows Phone, Nokia phones with their Carl Zeiss optics were some of the best around.