Nokia phones may get 12MP cams, optical zoom by 2010
updated 10:15 am EDT, Tue June 30, 2009
Nokia 12MP Cams in 2010
If a tip provided today proves authentic, Nokia is poised to upgrade the quality of its camera phones significantly in less than a year. Supposed insiders for PhoneReport say the company will boost the sensor resolution up to 12 megapixels, not unlike Sony Ericsson's upcoming Satio, but that it should add optical zoom instead of the digital zoom that most phones are forced to use. The first phone to see the upgraded photography could arrive by late 2009 or early 2010 and may be a prime candidate for Mobile World Congress in February.
The same site also says it learned from camera technology maker Carl Zeiss that the N86 8MP was delayed past its original spring release window due to previously unmentioned technology central to the smartphone. Unlike other 8-megapixel phones, which reach the higher resolution by increasing the sensor density and introducing large amounts of noise, the N86 8MP has Carl Zeiss-made technology that preserves the sensor size and image quality of a lower-resolution camera. It's not specified if the future 12-megapixel phone would draw on the same technique.
