The Symbian-based Nokia PureView 808 has been getting a lot of attention because Nokia touts that it has a 41MP camera. There was a lot of skepticism about this and whether it’s truely 41 megapixels, but now CNET Asia has a photo shootout between the PureView 808, Apple iPhone 4S, and HTC One X and we finally get some legitimate answers.
If you’re looking for the short answer, the Nokia PureView 808’s camera does in fact kick some serious ass. The quality blows away both of its competitors. CNET took just seven photos with each device and in almost all of them, the results are unquestionably in the PureView’s favor.
The secret is in that 41MP camera. It turns out that the photos it takes actually are not 41 megapixels in size per se, but the camera does snap a 41MP photo. It’s then shrunken down to about 5 megapixels or so and in the process combines about 7 pixels together for each one pixel in the final photo. Those extra pixels fuse to make a “super” pixel, free of noise or other errors. The technology behind this is incredible — and it’s even better because it’s clearly effective.
The Nokia PureView 808 went on sale for pre-order in the UK on May 30th. It’s sadly not yet available in the United Sates, but Nokia says it’s working on bringing all that photo technology into upcoming Windows Phone handsets by the end of 2012.
View the full gallery of test shots at CNET Asia to witness all that pixel-packing power.