Nokia investing in Pelican to bring Lytro-like effect to Lumia series

Nokia is poised to invest in Pelican Imaging, in order to continue its tradition of smartphones with powerful cameras.

Nokia has been on a downfall ever since Apple introduced the iPhone back in 2007. However, there are a lot of consumers who continue to purchase the Finland-based company’s products, thanks to the devices’ powerful cameras, which rise above the competition.

Nokia has big plans for its Lumia smartphone series. The company will invest in Pelican Imaging, a company which allows photographers to refocus images after taking them.

Nokia planning to invest in Pelican Imaging, in order to offer Lytro-like refocus to Lumia buyers

Nokia has recently announced that it sold 5.6 million Windows Phone-powered Lumia handsets during the first quarter of 2013. This number is up from 4.4 million units sold in Q4 2012. The most popular Lumia smartphone is the Lumia 920, a higher-end model with a 8.7-megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization, and PureView technology.

Since consumers are starting to dig improved cameras, Nokia is planning to build on this fact and secure an investment in Pelican Imaging.

The startup company has made the internet rounds since its emergence in 2008. However, it has revealed that it is working on a Lytro-style image sensor, that allows photographers to refocus their shots after taking them.

Nokia believes that Pelican “has mastered this technology”

Nokia Growth Partners’ Bo Ilsoe says that it is very complicated to achieve Lytro-like effects with the help of such a small sensor, but Pelican is the one which “has mastered this technology”.

NGP currently has $600 at its disposal. It can invest up to $15 million in a single company, though the average investment amount revolves around $7 million. Pelican is the perfect company, as it has already attracted a lot of attention and it has demonstrated its capabilities, Ilsoe believes.

As the smartphone war marches on, better cameras are called in

Sources say that Pelican’s technology will bring more consumers to the Lumia series of Windows Phone smartphones. There are several applications which can refocus your images on Windows Phone. One of them is actually called Refocus and it can be purchased at the Windows Phone store for $0.99.

It is worth noting that the Refocus app does not get close to what Pelican Imaging is promising and this is why Nokia is planning to invest in this technology, which should lure away more Android and iPhone buyers.

Nokia is also rumored to bring the 41-megapixel image sensor found in the Symbian-powered 808 PureView, but little proof of the EOS has surfaced so far.