Rumours: Ultimate Nokia Cameraphone, 12MP and Optical zoom coming early 2010

According to PhoneReport.info, 2010 will be the year Nokia will “surprise the market with its offerings”. It bloody better be! 🙂

First on the device list maybe wielding a 12mp with optical zoom. Whilst 12MP is not anything new, with the Satio from Sony Ericsson coming in October and from Samsung, the M8920 and Pixon 12, the Nokia and Carl Zeiss relationship should ensure that consumers aren’t being fooled by numbers, and are actually getting effective use of each and every pixel, e.g. the slow entrant N86, has been shown to be a great performer in all but the lowest lighting conditions.

Some basic things this supposed 12MP shooter needs:

• Xenon Flash! I need not start on why.
• dedicated camera/video SWITCH. A physical switch is better than a button, as you can set the camera to how you want it to start, rather than having to starting on the wrong format and being forced to switch to the other.
• Media button. Quick gallery access from anywhere in  your smartphone. No wading through menus.
• Improved camera interface. If this 12MP phone is going to have touch screen, it needs to revamp the Imaging UI to take advantage of “buttons” capable of being anywhere, so image settings can be changed with minimal screen tapping.

On the wish list, but not essential:

• Large screen, 3.5″ minimum, optimally, touch.
• 16:9 photos (with the whole screen as view finder, and camera settings laid on top)
• Optical zooming during video
• HD video
• Tap-autofocus (if touch screen)
• Automatic macro
• Dual LED for video. Though I’ve found it much more useful as a torch – and they make for really good torches.
• Smoother video zooming.
• Faster sequence “burst” modes.
• Slim body. Nothing too anorexic, but nothing fat like the N93.
• Autofocus during video
• Macro mode during Video
• DLNA

HD video

As Meraj Chhaya notes, it’s possibly that we may hear official announcements later this year, or early 2010.

Is it going to be a separate imaging flagship again (i.e. N86), leaving a space for an alternative successor to the current Nokia flagship, the N97, or will we finally see Nokia returning to their convergence ideals and bring us the ultimate in mobile phone hardware with a handset really deserving of the flagship title?

Will it still be Symbian? Will it even still be part of Nseries?

phonereport via MobileBurn

Tags: 12 megapixels, 12mp, 2010, Nokia, optical zoom, Rumors, Rumours, Xenon Flash

Category: Nokia, Rumours, Suggestions, Symbian