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A yellow Lumia 1020 arrived Mobility Towers this afternoon. It is interesting that at this time exactly a year ago, I owned a Nokia 808 PureView, the ancestor of the Lumia 1020. Now, I have the 1020 in my hands. It feels so like I have been here before. And maybe I have, in which case it isn’t a bad thing. Till today, the older 808 PureView has only one credible challenger – its very own flesh and blood, the very phone in my hands right now. Both of them are the only 41-megapixel cameraphones in existence. Throw in Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash into the mix, and it gets more interesting.
The 1020 looks very much like the Lumia 920 – with the exception of the 41-megapixel camera hump on its rear. They both run Windows Phone OS and have similar polycarbonate shells. But, while this phone has a lot in common with the 920, as mentioned already, it also has a shared heritage with its older brother, the Symbian-powered 808 PureView. Remove the hump and you will be forgiven for thinking that the 1020 is actually the 920. Incidentally, despite the hump, it is about 30g lighter than the 920. The screen sizes and resolutions of both phones are the same. Processors too. The 1020 however has 2GB of RAM – double what the 920 has. They both have PureMotion HD+, ClearBlack displays. However, the 1020 is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, as against version 2 used on its older brother. Besides these differences, you are looking at pretty much the same device.
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Oh! One more difference! The 920’s loudspeaker has more bass and depth, which is a pity. I guess its more robust body is a good explanation for that. Anyway, here is the deal: if you are interested in the Lumia 1020, it can only be for one thing – the 41 megapixel camera and its Xenon/LED flash. Yes; you read that right. The 1020 has both a Xenon and an LED flash. Best of two worlds. I owned a Nokia 808 PureView and can testify how it out-gunned every cameraphone that I threw at it. So, you can imagine that I am itching to get going with the 1020.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
My first impressions of the camera – awesome levels of details, even in 5-megapixel mode. But then, you need to see the photographs for yourself. You will have to wait for images from my waka-about in the next few days. Sorry. Yes; in the next few days, I will be heading out to snap everything possible under every condition possible. A cameraphone like the 1020 is not one that you sit down at home to review. If you are a cameraphone enthusiast, do hang around. This party is just getting started.
Just so you don’t think I am a spoilsport, here is a teaser:
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This is a crop from a 5 megapixel image captured with the Lumia 1020. Indoors. Natural lighting. Look at the level of details. No contest.
