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[I]Is Nokia right to use their PureView camera technology brand when the new Lumia 920 and 820 smartphones have little in common with the Nokia 808 PureView?[/I]

As you probably already know, Nokia is fighting for survival and much hinges on today's launch of [URL="http://dpnow.com/8874.html"]two new smartphones[/URL], the first handsets to feature the smartphone version of Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system.

On the outside, the new flagship handset, the Lumia 920, looks a lot like the older Lumia 800. Under the skin there are many improvements; the screen is larger at 4.5 inches, and it's also a high quality WXGA (1280x768) IPS LCD, plus there is a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, wireless induction charging capability, and a largest-yet capacity 2000mAh battery. But to be frank, for example rival handsets from HTC and Samsung alreay have quad-core processors and equally impressive screens. So what's the killer feature? Some might say it's Windows 8 - although that's not yet a proven winner.

Nokia itself suggests it's their new camera technology inside the Lumia 920. Lumia call it PureView but hardly any of the impressive tech we love from the [URL="http://dpnow.com/forum2/blog.php?b=302"]808 PureView[/URL] handset released earlier this year can be found in the new Nokia Lumia 920. Instead of an amazing 41 megapixel 1/1.2 inch sensor and Nokia's genuinely innovative pixel-binning variable resolution and digital zoom system, the Lumia 920 has a much more conventional 8.7 megapixel BSI (back side illuminated) CMOS sensor. Not only is this cheaper but, critically, much more compact. The 808 PureView had a great camera but only at some expense in the form of handset bulk. The sensor itself is a 1/3rd inch device, which is just 1/5th the surface area of the 808 PureView sensor. The lens view remains the same as a 26mm wide angle in 16:9 format or 28mm in 4:3 format.

As there is no clever pixel-binning digital zoom and image quality management, just what earns the PureView badge in the Lumia 920? Well, there is an f/2.0 5 element Carl-Zeiss lens; the 808 PureView had an f/2.4 lens, and the whole lens, not just a single element, moves to compensate for low light shake. This sounds to me like a sensor-shift image stabilisation system except that instead of moving the sensor the whole lens moves. This is different to optical IS where a single lens element is wiggled. Gone is the 808's Xenon flash, but Nokia say its new short pulse LED flash is just as good. Nokia also points to an improved image processor, too.

What Nokia's message boils down to is that the Lumia 920 will be a great smartphone for low light photography. Will that be enough? We'll just have to wait and see. First reaction wasn't very cheery as reports indicate Nokia's share price in its home country of Finland slumped by 15% after the new products were unveiled. Perhaps Finnish investors are fearing what Apple will launch this time next week?