Nokia's 41 MP giant launched in India; Sony unveils Xperia Miro and Tipo

It's the best of times for smartphone lovers as leading players Nokia and Sony Mobile have come up with some interesting offerings. There is a difference, though. While Nokia has launched its camera giant in India, Sony has stuck to low-end products, which are still sporting some wow factors. Here's a quick look at them.

Nokia 808 PureView

Nokia first unveiled this device at the Mobile World Congress in February this year and has finally launched its most-awaited product of the year in India. The smartphone called Nokia 808 PureView  comes with a gigantic (and quite unheard of) 41 mega pixel (MP) camera.

The official price is Rs 33,899; but you can purchase it for Rs 32,499 at Saholic.com and for Rs 32,000 at Buytheprice.com (Flipkart, take note).

This handset features a 4 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (360×640 pixel resolution) display and runs on the Nokia Belle operating system (a big let-down). It is powered by a 1.3 GHz ARM 11 processor, has 512 MB of RAM and the internal memory is 16 GB, which can be expanded up to 32 GB with the help of a microSD card..

It also comes with a 41 MP autofocus rear camera (Carl Zeiss optics) with Xenon flash and the new PureView Pro imaging technology that can record full HD videos (1080p) at 30 frames per second (fps). Plus, there is a front-facing VGA camera for video-calling that can also record videos.

On the connectivity front, the device comes with Bluetooth v3.0, Wi-Fi and 3G, and also features a micro USB 2.0 port. Additionally, you will find Near Field Communication (NFC), A-GPS support and Stereo FM radio with RDS.

The handset measures 123.9mm x 60.2mm x 13.9mm and weighs 169 gm. The device has a 1,400 mAh battery that will provide 11 hours of talk time and 465 hours of stand-by time (at least the company claims so). PureView will be available in black, white and red colours.

Sony Xperia Miro and Tipo

Sony Mobile has also announced two new Xperia smartphones, Xperia Miro and Xperia Tipo, in the mid-priced mobile phone segment and both run on the Android operating system (OS). While Miro comes with deep Facebook integration and Sony's xLOUD audio technology, Tipo is the ideal device for people looking to buy a smartphone for the first time. The company will also launch a dual-SIM version of Tipo called Xperia Tipodual.

Tipo

This one has a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen (320×480 pixel resolution) display and runs on the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS. It is powered by an 800 MHz Qualcomm processor, has 512 MB of RAM and the internal memory amounts to 2.9 GB.

Tipo features a 3.15 MP rear camera that can record VGA videos but no front-facing camera. On the connectivity front, the device has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G, and also has a micro USB 2.0 port. Plus, there is A-GPS support and a Stereo FM radio with RDS.

The device measures 103mm x 57mm x 13mm and weighs 99.4 gm. It has a 1,500 mAh battery and the company claims that it will provide 5 hours of talk time and 470 hours of stand-by time. Tipo will be available in classic black, classic white, deep red and navy blue. The smartphone also comes with a dedicated set-up guide for first-time smartphone users.

Miro

This handset has a slightly bigger (3.5 inch) LCD capacitive touchscreen (320×480 pixel resolution) display and runs on the same Android OS as Tipo. It is powered by an 800 MHz Cortex-A9 processor, has 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory (expandable up to 32 GB with a microSD card).

Sony has provided a better camera in Miro. It has a 5 MP autofocus rear camera that can also record VGA videos and a front-facing camera for video-calling (a feature missing in Tipo). The connectivity options are the same as Tipo. The device measures 113mm x 59.4mm x 9.9mm, and weighs 110 gm. It has a 1,500 mAh battery and will be available in black, black/pink, white/silver and white/gold.

Miro also comes with Facebook integration through contacts, photo gallery and the music player, and users are alerted to new incoming messages and social updates with colourful illuminations. The smartphone also has Music Unlimited from Sony Entertainment Network pre-installed in it.

"Xperia Miro and Xperia Tipo are for consumers looking for experiences and functionality traditionally associated with high-end Android smartphones. While Xperia Miro is for those who want an integrated social media and music experience, Xperia Tipo is for consumers who are migrating from a feature phone to a smartphone," said Calum MacDougall, director, Xperia Marketing, at Sony Mobile Communications.

The smartphones will be launched globally in Q3 2012 and going by their specifications, both should in the under-Rs 15,000 price range.