Nokia Reportedly Lining Up ‘True’ PureView Windows Phone For Launch This Year — Codenamed EOS

The Nokia 808 PureView was arguably the best phone to be unboxed at last year’s Mobile World Congress tradeshow. Except it wasn’t, because the handset was running the legacy Symbian OS. The PureView’s whopping 41 megapixel camera did certainly capture the imagination, along with Nokia’s clever pixel-oversampling technique which meant the phone could squeeze out exceptionally clear and crisp photos. People got excited, and people asked when PureView was coming to Nokia’s Lumia line of Windows Phone handsets.

So far, though, PureView proper hasn’t hit Windows Phone. Nokia did add the PureView brand to the Lumia 920 — justifying this on the grounds that it had included camera stabilising springs to cut down on hand-shake induced blur. But the huge sensor powering the 808 PureView was nowhere to be seen. However, that could be set to change this year. According to the Verge, which cites sources familiar with Nokia’s plans for 2013, the company is planning a “true PureView Windows Phone” — currently codenamed EOS — which will have a “similar sensor” to the one used in the 808 PureView.

But, according to the Verge’s sources, the EOS handset will be ranged as a high-end Lumia this year, and will be clad in aluminium — rather than polycarbonate, Nokia’s current material of choice for its high end Lumia phones. The Verge has previously reported that Nokia plans to shift from plastic to lightweight aluminium for one of its forthcoming high end Lumia phones. But it’s now suggesting EOS will apparently be one of three aluminium handsets in Nokia’s forthcoming Lumia line-up, along with the previously rumoured Lumia 920 replacement (codenamed Catwalk) — and a third, unnamed mid-range device expected to land in early summer.

The EOS device will be ranged by AT&T, according to the Verge’s sources, and will apparently have a new look — rocking “squared edges” on its aluminium body. Of course, Nokia declined to comment on the rumoured device when we asked. A spokesman told us: “Nokia does not comment on rumours and speculation.”

One issue with this rumour is that the PureView sensor is very large — making the 808 handset quite heavy, with a noticeable bulge at the top end. Nokia has been criticised for the weight of its flagship Lumias — something that won’t be helped if it’s going to add the full kit and caboodle powering the PureView. Still, with a second flagship — the Catwalk — reportedly in the works, Nokia could offer Windows Phone fans a choice between a slender, lightweight high end Lumia, or a larger heavier handset which boasts unparalleled camera performance.