Local cellular operator Vodacom has announced that is offering Nokia’s latest and arguably greatest Symbian operating smartphone, the stunning 808 PureView. This cameraphone is available as of today (6 July 2012) at Vodacom World as well as other participating Vodacom outlets.

Customers can purchase this smartphone on a 24 month Business Call contract at R399 per month, which includes 250 MB of data per month over the duration of the contract. The recommended retail price on prepaid is R7999, but the operator stated that prepaid pricing may vary at the various retail outlets.

Nokia’s 808 PureView boasts a high-resolution 41 megapixel camera sensor, with Carl Zeiss optics that enables users to capture the sharpest and most detailed photos. This smartphone also has the ability to save images in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS and across social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Images and video are displayed via the smartphone’s 4" nHD (360 x 640 pixels) AMOLED ClearBlack display, which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.

It is powered by a 1.3 GHz ARM 11 CPU, whilst Nokia Belle (with Feature Pack 1) handles the operating system. Also onboard is stereo FM radio, integrated GPS with a-GPS assistance and 16 GB internal user memory that is expandable to 48 GB, thanks to the microSD memory card slot.  

New king of the smartphone camera hill

According to Nokia, the phone’s pixel oversampling technology allows one to zoom without loss of clarity at standard resolutions (two, three, five and eight megapixels). This is due to the fact that the 808 captures seven pixels of information, condensing it into one pixel for the sharpest images imaginable.

At the highest resolutions (up to a maximum of 38 megapixels), this technology provides users of the 808 with the ability to capture an image, and then afterwards zoom in, reframe the photo, crop and resize it, and still retain a high level of detail.

The Nokia 808 PureView also delivers full HD (1080p) video recording at 30 fps (frames per second), as well as a 4X lossless zoom, due to its massive sensor and performance-driven image processing technology. At lower video recording resolutions, the capabilities of the zoom increases to 6X at HD-Ready (720p) and up to 12X lossless zoom during nHD (360 x 640) video recording.

Users will be able to record high-quality audio to go along with the video, since the 808 is also the first Nokia smartphone to feature the company’s Rich Recording technology. This enables audio recording at CD-like levels of quality, which was previously only possible when you connected your smartphone to an external microphone.

“This remarkable smartphone has built a reputation for delivering the highest and most outstanding imaging experience,” said Zunaid Dinath, managing executive of sales at Vodacom. “Customers will be able to take quality digital photographs that capture expression, emotion and the finest of detail. We are delighted to be the first network provider in South Africa to bring the high-end Nokia 808 PureView smartphone to our customers.”