Nokia Lumia 1020 Thread

[Crono]

I think it's time for a single thread for the Lumia 1020 (previously known internally as "EOS"), now that it has a name and that the official Nokia announcement is on Thursday, July 11th. The main selling point of the phone is its 41-Megapixel (38MP effective) camera, this time paired with Windows Phone 8, as opposed to the previous high-resolution Nokia camera, the PureView 808 (which ran Nokia's old OS, Symbian).

Here are the other specs we have so far (from WPCentral):

• It has optical image stabilization (OIS) built in
• It takes the image in a 32MP and 5MP at the same time in 16:9
• The 5MP image is over sampled dropping 7pixels into one “super pixel”
• It shoots 38MP in 4:3
• “Nokia 909” was an early name for it but it will be “Lumia 1020” for release
• 2GB of RAM, an increase of 1GB from other high end Windows Phone 8 devices
• 32GB of internal storage, no SD
• WP8 V 8.0.10322.71
• FM radio (Amber)
• Flip to silence (Amber)
• NFC is on board
• Optional wireless charging backplate will be available

"Amber" is a Nokia's latest update to WP8, with some new features like a Pro camera app.

The prices will be $602 off-contract, or cheaper with a contract through AT&T. There will also be a $70 camera grip that also doubles as a extended battery, though no word its capacity just yet.

The design is unsurprising to anyone familiar with the current Lumia lineup, but it's a very reasonable price at $600 for what promises to be a high quality camera with dual Xenon/LED flash, OIS, and such a high resolution camera. Even if you aren't looking forward to shooting 41 Megapixel images, OIS plus downsampling/scaling down would produce very clear and beautiful shots for a camera phone. I'm expecting it will be slightly better than the PureView 808, which I never owned myself, but definitely would have purchased had it been on Windows Phone and launched at ~$600.


This phone is definitely exciting and is hopefully the shape of things to come - I would love to see slimmer, near-DSLR quality smartphones at this price point. I know a lot of Android users will be disappointed that this is on Windows Phone, but Windows Phone is very good in my opinion, and there are camera/smartphone hybrids (like what Samsung is going) already for Android. I'm debating whether I should buy the Lumia 1020, but only because I purchased a HTC One recently and don't want to have 2 smartphones and the One is "good enough" most of the time... though I would still love to have a smartphone with the quality of a midrange to high end mirrorless camera.

 

[notposting]

If you check out the DPReview look at the 808, it will just whet your appetite even more.

*grumble grumble Verizon customer*

 

[IamDavid]

I'm definitely getting one. Happy with my 920.

 

[VashHT]

Is Amber really a skin? I thought it was just a name for their newer firmware like portico. I'm really tempted to pick this up, the camera on my nexus 4 is so bad I don't use it as much as I normally would.

 

[Crono]

Is Amber really a skin? I thought it was just a name for their newer firmware like portico. I'm really tempted to pick this up, the camera on my nexus 4 is so bad I don't use it as much as I normally would.

Sorry, you are correct. I misread info on another site. It is an update to Nokia's custom firmware, not a skin.

 

[wasabiman123]

There's a good chance it's using the Snapdragon 800 right? I'd sure hope so...

 

[Crono]

There are two leaked images taken with a Nokia 1020 from Joe Belfiore, "corporate vice president and manager for Windows Phone Program Management at Microsoft" (Wikipedia). Image was resized and processed with Lightroom, apparently, but looks pretty impressive for a smartphone camera (albeit one with a big sensor):

 

[Crono]

There's a good chance it's using the Snapdragon 800 right? I'd sure hope so...

Probably, though I think we'll have to wait until Thursday to know for sure.

 

[darkswordsman17]

There's a good chance it's using the Snapdragon 800 right? I'd sure hope so...

Almost seems like we'd be lucky for anything beyond a dual core S4, I doubt its got Snapdragon 800.

 

[bearxor]

My biggest fear on this device is that it'll just be half-baked. if 2GB of RAM is the only spec increase we see, then I think it'd be best to wait for a version next year with a 1080p screen and quadcore snapdragon.

The camera was one of my biggest likes about the L920. This would be seriously tempting, but I still think WP8 needs to bake another year for me.

 

[darkewaffle]

That yellow phone is just frighteningly ugly lol. I like having a decent camera in my phone but even if it were on Verizon I wouldn't move to 1020 from 928 at least, it's good enough for me and I prefer "no lump" to "lump" since it's something I won't really use.

 

[pantsaregood]

I honestly doubt there's going to be a spec increase aside from 2 GB RAM, and the RAM increase isn't going to improve performance much in itself - I'm fairly certain it was increased for the purpose of maintaining high performance while working with high-resolution images.

This phone is (like the Lumia 925 and 928) not a new generation or a replacement for the Lumia 920. It's a very niche product that offers some slight advantages over the Lumia 920.

I believe Nokia's second generation of Windows Phones is done now, and we need to look towards the third. GDR3 (set to launch later in 2013) is supposedly set to bring 1080p (and hopefully 1920x1152) support, as well as support for quad-core CPUs. I'm a bit unconvinced that WP8 can't function on a quad-core now, though; it is built on NT 6.x, so it seems like it should be capable.

As of now, Nokia is targeting six markets with their second-generation Lumias. I don't think there's really anywhere else for them to go; they can't realistically make a device cheaper than the Lumia 520.

Lumia 520/521
Lumia 620
Lumia 720
Lumia 810/820/822
Lumia 920/925/928
Lumia 1020

 

[bearxor]

That yellow phone is just frighteningly ugly lol.

I got a white L920 and had to get AT&T to replace it. The y said I could pick a different color and so I picked red thinking it would like cool. It didn't. Luckily there was an issue with it and I had to get it replaced and ended up getting a black one. The phone is VERY nice in black, but the other colors just don't look or feel good in person.

 

[darkewaffle]

Yeah, I went with black for my 928 and am quite happy with it. I just don't think warm colors work well on handhelds.

 

[dagamer34]

I honestly doubt there's going to be a spec increase aside from 2 GB RAM, and the RAM increase isn't going to improve performance much in itself - I'm fairly certain it was increased for the purpose of maintaining high performance while working with high-resolution images.

This phone is (like the Lumia 925 and 928) not a new generation or a replacement for the Lumia 920. It's a very niche product that offers some slight advantages over the Lumia 920.

I believe Nokia's second generation of Windows Phones is done now, and we need to look towards the third. GDR3 (set to launch later in 2013) is supposedly set to bring 1080p (and hopefully 1920x1152) support, as well as support for quad-core CPUs. I'm a bit unconvinced that WP8 can't function on a quad-core now, though; it is built on NT 6.x, so it seems like it should be capable.

As of now, Nokia is targeting six markets with their second-generation Lumias. I don't think there's really anywhere else for them to go; they can't realistically make a device cheaper than the Lumia 520.

Lumia 520/521
Lumia 620
Lumia 720
Lumia 810/820/822
Lumia 920/925/928
Lumia 1020

Yep, and with the exception of one model (the 810), every model number is x2x, basically indicating it's a 2012 design. When you start seeing x3x model numbers like the 830 or 930 for 2013 platform, that's when I'll get excited.

 

[AstroManLuca]

There are two leaked images taken with a Nokia 1020 from Joe Belfiore, "corporate vice president and manager for Windows Phone Program Management at Microsoft" (Wikipedia). Image was resized and processed with Lightroom, apparently, but looks pretty impressive for a smartphone camera (albeit one with a big sensor):

That really doesn't look a whole lot better than what you would get from any other high end smartphone. Megapixels aren't everything. Used to have a 5 MP Sony F717 with a huge Carl Zeiss lens; it died, but when it worked it took amazing shots. The interior of the boat looks decent if slightly grainy, and the background is awful.

Still better than the piece of shit excuse for a camera on my Lumia 521, but that's to be expected for a $130 (off contract) phone.

I'm a bit concerned about throwing a 40 MP camera on a phone and then limiting its storage space. Without an SD card, that internal storage is going to fill up pretty quickly and you'll have to go in and delete stuff if you're, say, on a trip and can't back up the pictures to a computer.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

That really doesn't look a whole lot better than what you would get from any other high end smartphone. Megapixels aren't everything. Used to have a 5 MP Sony F717 with a huge Carl Zeiss lens; it died, but when it worked it took amazing shots. The interior of the boat looks decent if slightly grainy, and the background is awful.

Still better than the piece of shit excuse for a camera on my Lumia 521, but that's to be expected for a $130 (off contract) phone.

I'm a bit concerned about throwing a 40 MP camera on a phone and then limiting its storage space. Without an SD card, that internal storage is going to fill up pretty quickly and you'll have to go in and delete stuff if you're, say, on a trip and can't back up the pictures to a computer.

Odds are the default is not going to be saving 40MP images. I believe an oversampling technique will be used to produce ~5MP images or so.

 

[Slick5150]

Odds are the default is not going to be saving 40MP images. I believe an oversampling technique will be used to produce ~5MP images or so.

Supposedly it will save 2 versions by default - the full 40MP version and the smaller 5MP images to use for sharing on FB, email etc..

Those images above taken using the 1020 are the smaller version (obviously).

 

[Muyoso]

There's a good chance it's using the Snapdragon 800 right? I'd sure hope so...

There is no chance its using the Snapdragon 800. Windows Phone doesn't support that processor, and unless the phone will remain non functional for 6 months before Windows Phone is updated to support that technology, it is almost assuredly going to have the exact same processor as the 925/920. The only things being improved are the RAM and the camera. Its a lateral move with regards to mobile technology instead of a leap forward.

 

[pantsaregood]

There is no chance its using the Snapdragon 800. Windows Phone doesn't support that processor, and unless the phone will remain non functional for 6 months before Windows Phone is updated to support that technology, it is almost assuredly going to have the exact same processor as the 925/920. The only things being improved are the RAM and the camera. Its a lateral move with regards to mobile technology instead of a leap forward.

Qualcomm did let it slip that Snapdragon 800 will support Windows Phone. As for current support, I am pretty sure Windows Phone would run on a Snapdragon 800 without issue. It wouldn't benefit at all, however; NT 6.x natively supports no fewer than 640 logical CPUs, but the scheduler in WP8 is currently only configured to use two - meaning two cores would likely be parked at any given time.

The phone will likely have the same 1.5 GHz S4, but it could potentially use up to a 1.7 GHz MSM8960T, which runs an Adreno 320 instead of 225. It would result in a 13% CPU speed increase and almost double GPU performance. I doubt it will happen, but WP8 does currently support (and in the case of the Lumia 920T, use) it.

 

[Ravynmagi]

http://www.slashgear.com/nokia-lumia-1020-camera-full-spec-sheet-leaked-ahead-of-launch-10289969/

They are saying an Snapdragon 1.5GHz dual core.

 

[Crono]

http://www.slashgear.com/nokia-lumia-1020-camera-full-spec-sheet-leaked-ahead-of-launch-10289969/

They are saying an Snapdragon 1.5GHz dual core.

I guess that's dual core Krait, same processor in the Lumia 920 variants and (I think) the S4 mini, though that's clocked higher at 1.7Ghz.

Not to make excuses for having lower hardware than its newer/upcoming Android competition, as it is disappointing that it's not a Snapdragon 800 processor, but Windows Phone 8 does seem to run fairly well even with lower end hardware.

 

[Germanic]

Is a 1080p screen confirmed?

 

[386DX]

That really doesn't look a whole lot better than what you would get from any other high end smartphone. Megapixels aren't everything. Used to have a 5 MP Sony F717 with a huge Carl Zeiss lens; it died, but when it worked it took amazing shots. The interior of the boat looks decent if slightly grainy, and the background is awful.

If you think the background looks awful because it's out of focus you need to read up on photography. From the sample pics the camera sensor is pretty good but I think the lens has some issues with distortion at the edge. Look at the buildings and poles in the background they look slanted. I suspect this was a trade off to get the bulge for the camera module much thinner then the 808 and not have to use a smaller sensor.

 

[maevinj]

Is a 1080p screen confirmed?

I don't believe WP8 supports 1080p at this time. I think I read it's going to be supported in one of the updates coming.