Mobile World Congress 2012: Nokia, Asus, Intel, Samsung, And LG

By Andrew Ku
published

Tom's Hardware spent its first day in Barcelona, Spain at this year's Mobile World Congress. After a long day of press conferences and private meetings, we wanted to share our experiences before hitting the show floor tomorrow.

Nokia: Budget-Oriented WP7 And A 41 MP Camera Phone

Microsoft and Nokia are trying to deliver a Windows Phone 7 ecosystem to as broad of an audience as possible, including a number of budget-constrained segments that don't typically get much love.

Powered by an 800 MHz single-core Snapdragon processor, the Lumia 610 embodies that effort. Though the phone's specs might not sound impressive, Microsoft recently lowered the system requirements for WP7, allowing Nokia to introduce a cheap WP7-based phone. Supposedly, it'll emerge between $100 and $150.

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Interestingly, Nokia isn't completely dropping its S40-based products. Instead, it's launching the Asha 203, 202, and 302. These phones are aimed at users who don't really need premium features, but still want basic online connectivity.

The real eye-catcher is Nokia's 808 PureView, which boasts an eye-popping 41-megapixel sensor. It uses the same Carl Zeiss-branded optics as the Lumia series, but it has an atypical aspheric lens. 

Nokia claims that this phone excels in low-light environments, and that its technology was originally developed for satellite photography by Toshiba. The lens itself isn't anything special, but it has a F2.4 max aperture. The only disappointment is that the 808 runs on Symbian Belle.

Andrew Ku
5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Bloob
    "Interestingly, Nokia isn't completely dropping its Symbian-based products. Instead, it's launching the Asha 203, 202, and 302."

    S40 has nothing to do with Symbian.
    Reply
  • acku
    9527864 said:
    "Interestingly, Nokia isn't completely dropping its Symbian-based products. Instead, it's launching the Asha 203, 202, and 302."

    S40 has nothing to do with Symbian.

    You're right its not strictly Symbian but it comes from that heritage line. I'll make that clarification. Thanks for the heads up!

    Cheers,
    Andrew Ku
    TomsHardware.com
    Reply
  • JPForums
    I guess I'm going to have to see the "TrueHD" IPS screen in person, because these pictures certainly don't help their case. It's true AMOLED is at a disadvantage in resolution, but rather than over-saturated, these pictures make the "TrueHD" screen look slightly washed out.

    Comparing the purple shoes:
    The white trim is clearly defined against an off-white material on the AMOLED screen.
    The white trim tends to fade into the off-white material leaving a less clear outline on the TrueHD screen.
    I'd need to see the original image to pass judgement, but most similar shoes I've seen have a clear contrast between trim and the material it is set on.

    Comparing the faces:
    On the AMOLED screen, the whites in the shirt and eyes are white with perhaps a tinge of blue. The background is a very light gray. There is a clear contrast between the hair and the background. Freckles on the face are clearly defined. The eye color looks correct. There is a slightly red hue to the skin and lips.
    On the TrueHD screen, the shirt strap is white, the white in the eyes has a little yellow in it. The background is white. The boarder between the hair and the background is fuzzy. The freckles and areas of the hair look as if there was a smoothing filter applied. The eyes appear to have an slight yellow undertone. The lips are less red.
    Again, I'd have to see the source photo to pass final judgement. I'm admittedly biased on this one as I know someone who looks very similar and her skin tone is only slightly less red than the AMOLED image. The TrueHD image seems a little yellowed and very slightly smoothed and/or washed out.
    Reply
  • Bloob
    Now it reads:
    "Interestingly, Nokia isn't completely dropping its S40-based products. Instead, it's launching the Asha 203, 202, and 302. These phones are aimed at users who don't really need premium features, but still want basic online connectivity."

    Which isn't that interesting after realizing that the S40 and S30 phones are the best selling phones in the world. I'm coming off as an ass here, but it is what it is.

    S40 and S30 are based on Nokia OS, and although they might share some past with Symbian ( not sure if they do ), they are a totally different branch.
    Reply
  • X-GAMER
    Nokia is the best of the best in my openion correct me if i am wrong
    Reply