Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK): Print 3D from Our Smartphones by 2014?

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) has been known for years as being on the cutting edge when it comes to mobile phone camera technology. It seems that whenever a smartphone comes out with something that seems like the next great innovation in mobile cameras, Nokia blazed the trail long before. But in recent years, not many people noticed Nokia’s pioneering ways because the handset maker had lost cachet and relevance as smartphones exploded in popularity and the competition in the market became more varied and intense.

But as Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) has gained some media coverage and a little bit of momentum in the consumer market with its Lumia line of handsets running the Windows Phone 8 operating system by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the company’s cutting-edge camera technology has started to come to the fore. Nokia gained some notoriety last year when it introduced its 808 handset that featured a mammoth 41-megapixel PureView camera sensor with a Carl Zeiss lens.

As Nokia has transitioned from its Symbian platform to Windows Phone, there has been some speculation as to whether Nokia would transition the 41MP PureView onto the Windows platform to create an ultimate cameraphone. What is resulting so far is the tale of the Lumia EOS, which some expect or predict will feature the large camera and could be introduced as early as the company’s press event in July.

But would that be the ultimate in cameraphones, or is there something more? It’s just something to consider, but Pelican Imaging is reportedly working on technology that would allow a smartphone user to take a photo and have the ability to print the image in 3D. This new concept involves 16 lenses, we’re told, and would be set up in a Lytro-like array and the user would have the ability to focus the image after taking the shot in case the focus isn’t quite right before the shutter button is pushed. Apparently then, the Pelican technology would make a 3D image of the object in the photo, and then supposedly a smartphone could be docked onto a 3D printer and the image could be printed.

Rumor has it that this technology could be launched as early as next year, and Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is reportedly the first one in line to integrate the tech into its smartphones. Could you imagine a 41-megapixel camera image coming out as a perfect 3D object just off your smartphone? What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments section below.

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