Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK) Keeps Focusing on Better Smartphone Tech

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), while it had been left in the dust in the mobile handset arena over the last couple of years, has not stopped its work on camera technology. It has been clear over the years that as smartphones evolved and became more valuable to consumers as a computing device and a social instrument, the ability to take quality photos and videos was likely to be one of the great  missions of the various tech companies – if there is a chance to eliminate the need for a smartphone and a digital camera, then it’s something worth pursuing.

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) has been at the forefront of smartphone camera technology, and it is continuing to find ways to innovate. While some are marveling at the 13-megapixel camera on the newly released Samsung Galaxy S4 and the rumored 12-MP camera that is supposedly on the upcoming iPhone 5S, Nokia has been out in front on camera – but hasn’t gotten much notice about it until recently.

When Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) introduced its 808 model phone a while back, it launched its revolutionary, mammoth 41-megapixel PureView camera sensor, and recently there has been buzz as to whether Nokia would advance that technology onto a new flagship phone or a rumored megaPhone (our term, since we don’t like the word “phablet”) that is whispered to be released later this year.

Already, however, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) seems to be continuing to move in an innovative direction with smartphone camera tech, with the integrating of image stabilization in the Lumia 920 handset, and now it is looking into technology that would allow the user to focus an image after a photo is taken.

The initial concept is called Lytro, and Nokia is reportedly investing in a California tech start-up called Pelican Imaging which has a compact Lytro-type technology called Array, which may be perfectly designed for smartphone cameras.

Lytro is a camera that gathers all available light in a scene so that a user could focus the image properly after it has been taken. However, this technology has been too “bulky” for use in smartphones so far, but apparently Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) sees potential in Array to provide this type of tech into compact smartphones perhaps in the next year to 18 months.

What are your thoughts? Is the camera becoming an important feature in smartphones? Do you consider the camera as a factor in your choice of smartphone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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