Nokia still has big plans for their expanding Lumia line of Windows Phones this year with the next big reveal expected later this summer. That subsequent device is expected to be the ‘EOS’, an internal testing name that seems to refer to the Greek goddess of dawn (and not Canon’s brand of cameras).
The EOS is anticipated as the first 41MP camera Windows Phone, based off of the PureView 808 Symbian device, which was released in early 2012. Ever since that Symbian phone was revealed, a device literally in the making for years, people have wondered when it will transfer over to Nokia’s new darling, Windows Phone.
Starting this past February, reports of a “summer release” began to make the rounds and that now seems to be the case.
What makes EOS so important is that it stands to be the first truly groundbreaking Windows Phone hardware that is miles beyond what other OEMs are doing. Currently the Lumia 92x is garnering high praises from both reviewers and consumers with its high end, unique OIS camera, which is itself revolutionary. But the promise of an oversampled 41MP camera phone with the Lumia hardware and Windows Phone OS is drool worthy.
'Elvis' has entered the AT&T building
We’ve been able to confirm a few tidbits about this upcoming Windows Phone, which we will reveal here for the first time. We’re still going to file this under ‘rumor’ only because this isn’t our first-hand account of the device, but rather comes by way of numerous trusted sources whom we know and who have seen the device.
For one, the phone at AT&T reportedly has the codename ‘Elvis’. No, we have no idea why it is called that, but this is what we are hearing. (Note that is not a public name, but rather used internally for testing reference and to mask the device’s model number.)
Next up, we’ll just give you some bullet point specifications:
- 41 MP camera with Xenon flash
- Nokia Pro Camera
- 32 GB internal
- OLED Screen 768X1280
- WP8 V 8.0.10322.71
- FM radio
- Flip to silence
- Polycarbonate body
- Takes a 35 MP picture and a 5 MP picture at the same time one to save one to share
- Comes in yellow
- No SD card
- About 1 mm thinner than Lumia 920 with a big camera hump
- No visible OS changes
Discussion
Nokia 808 PureView Symbian device from 2012
Notions of a ‘Nokia Pro Camera’ have been circulating around for a few weeks now, and while we don’t claim ownership of that revelation, we can say that it is on board this device. Nokia Pro Camera is expected to be an advanced mode for the PureView, which will allow users a more fine-grain control over the camera’s operations.
The OS version and additional features like FM Radio and flip-to-silence confirm what we already know about the Windows Phone GDR2 OS release and Nokia’s ‘Amber’ firmware, which will bring those features to all current Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices.
The device being thinner of course is very interesting as we understand it has tapered edges to help conceal the camera bulge, which while prominent is not as large as what is on the current 808. Likewise that it comes in yellow, which contradicts some earlier rumors saying there will be no colored devices.
We can also confirm that it looks nothing like the reported phone that was shown last year. Instead, it is an iteration of the Lumia 920 design template.
Seeing as the device is entering early testing at AT&T should tell us a number of things, including its potential reveal/release date. A July time-frame is certainly not out of the question and Nokia themselves during the Lumia 925 event mentioned another "continuation of the Lumia story" later this summer.
We’ll of course keep you posted on any more information that comes forth, but for now, we’d say for those of you on AT&T you should start putting some money aside. For those in the rest of the world, no this won’t be only on AT&T, though details of any carrier exclusivity periods cannot be discerned at this time.
