Story highlights
Nokia unveils smartphone featuring powerful 41 Megapixel camera
Device among gadgets unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
Other new phones include Huawei device touted as "world's fastest"
Mobile phone giant Nokia on Monday unveiled a phone with a powerful 41 Megapixel camera as it attempts to reposition itself back at the forefront of the mobile market.
The phone is among a dazzling array of new gadgets unveiled so far at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, an annual event that showcases the industry’s latest innovations.
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Among them is a Chinese phone that claims to be the world’s fastest and another that carries an in-built projector.
The unrivaled camera capabilities of Nokia’s 808 PureView, which runs the company’s Symbian operating system, caused ripples of surprise among Congress delegates who predicted few surprises thanks to pre-event leaks and rumors.
The 41 Megapixels put the phone in the same league – in terms of photo resolution – as professional cameras costing thousands of dollars.
Reportedly priced at €450 ($600), the device is due to be released in May, with the camera technology likely to be carried over to other Nokia phones.
Nokia, which in recent years has seen its dominance of the global mobile market eroded by manufacturers such as Apple and BlackBerry, also launched a lower-cost version of its flagship Lumia phone range. The Nokia 610, priced at €189, runs on the mobile version of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system.
On Sunday, Chinese mobile maker Huawei made headlines with what it claims is the world’s fastest smartphone.
The Ascend D quad features much-vaunted quad core technology – twice the processing power of most new devices – and runs Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of the Google-linked Android operating system.
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It is expected to be released in China in coming months, but no dates for a roll out beyond Asia have been announced.
Other hot gadget announcements include phones by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC. Its One X, One S and One V devices feature 4.3 inch screens made of toughened Gorilla glass and eight Megapixel cameras.
Another surprise – chiefly because the technology has proved unpopular in the past – came in the shape of the Samsung Galaxy Beam, a phone featuring a built-in projector.
The Android-powered device allows users to beam 50-inch wide video and photo images onto walls. Industry reviewers said the gadget appeared to work well during demonstrations in a darkened room. The as yet unpriced Galaxy Beam is expected to be in shops in the next few months.
Barry Neild contributed to this story from London.
