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Lumia 1020 goes on sale in SA

Marin'e Jacobs
By Marin'e Jacobs
Johannesburg, 07 Nov 2013
The Lumia 1020 retails for a suggested price of R9 499 and is available in yellow, white and black.
The Lumia 1020 retails for a suggested price of R9 499 and is available in yellow, white and black.

Smartphone maker Nokia's new self-described flagship device, the Lumia 1020, has gone on sale in SA today.

Consumers got a sneak peek of the Lumia 1020 when Nokia showcased its Lumia 925 and 625 in September, but the official unveiling of the Lumia 1020 took place in Johannesburg today.

Nokia has invested heavily in the Lumia 1020's imaging capabilities, promising it is "unlike any smartphone on the market today". The phone boasts a second-generation 41MP sensor, optical image stabilisation and Zeiss optics with six physical lenses. Using Nokia PureView technology, the device generates professional quality pictures by using algorithms to take a large photo and convert it to a 5MP sharing-size photo.

Nokia is so confident about its new device's imaging capabilities, it asked National Geographic photographer Stephen Alvarez to swap his camera for the Lumia 1020 on a trip to the Grand Canyon. Alvarez says the phone "performed like a DSLR under every condition, from low-light to moving airplanes".

The phone offers a number of photo-editing features as well, allowing the user to adjust ISO, shutter speed and high-resolution zoom. Users can create moving images using Cinemagraph, where they, in essence, have a still image and then choose which part of the picture they want to have movement on. Additionally, the Lumia 1020 captures videos with stereo sound, thanks to Nokia Rich Recording, which handles sound pressure levels six times louder than conventional smartphone microphones.

Patrick Henchie, Nokia head of product for South and East Africa, says the Lumia 1020 is one of Nokia's most innovative products yet. When asked which market Nokia is targeting with the new handset, Henchie noted that while three years ago he would've said photography enthusiasts, he now believes the Lumia 1020 is the perfect option for all smartphone users, especially because the photo-sharing trend continues to grow.

Henchie says while the Lumia 1020 has amazing imaging capabilities, it does not skimp on the other features users seek in a smartphone. It comes with Windows Phone 8 - updates to be announced in the future - as well as built-in Microsoft Office. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, 32GB mass memory, 2GB RAM, is LTE-enabled and offers wireless charging.


Henchie says the Lumia 1020 is already available from Vodacom for R399 per month on contract, and will soon be available from MTN. The suggested cash retail price is R9 499 and it is available in yellow, white and black.

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