By Prince Osuagwu

Nokia perhaps never anticipated what a massive number of phone freaks would besiege its accredited sales outlets recently when it announced on its Facebook page that it will be selling the 41 megapixel camera packed 808 Pureview at N41,000 to the first 41 people to be at one of 5 selected stores at 10:41am on the 11th of August.

The Pureview is expected to go for about N120,000 or more and so the announcement that the device would be sold at this super low price for 41 minutes only dragged the crowd.

At one of the locations, a SLOT shop located at Ikeja shopping mall for instance, the number of people who had gathered as early as 7.00 am on the day, made a pure view of the shop impossible. Yet all these people had only come for the cheap PureView.

The craze for smart phones among Nigerian youths was in display. Pushes and shoves, struggling and fighting and one could still wonder if Nokia has actually lost the number one smartphone spot to Samsung as reported recently.

Slot sales attendants who had already taken names of prospective buyers, in turns, were forced by the crowd to jettison it as claims and allegations of manipulation rented the air. At the end of the day, the original terms and conditions were set aside as many more people than the advertised 41 people bought the phone at an extended time than the stipulated 41 minutes. The only condition that stood was that Nokia still sold the device at exactly N41,000.

GlamTek reliably gathered that some people even kept vigil at the centre just to be among the 41 people to buy the new device. Some who spoke to us attributed it to their love to Nokia products while others said it was to enjoy such a huge benefit of owning a quality smartphone at such a cheap price.

Nokia had a few days to the promo, launched in Nigeria, the revolutionary device to push the frontiers of mobile device functionality to a new level. The Nokia 808 PureView has a never-before-seen 41 mega pixel lens. For phone freaks, its an exciting new experience when it comes to digital photography on a mobile phone.

No wonder, at launch, Celebrity photographer, KelechiAmadi-Obi described the device as ‘a photographer’s delight’. In a photo presentation delivered by him at the launch event, he stated that the Nokia 808 PureView is a combination of a high quality optic with incredible Image censor coupled with professional image control in your pocket. He also showcased an array of amazing photographs taken by the Nokia 808.

Speaking at the launch event, the General Manager, Nokia-West Africa, Mr Chris Brown said the Nokia 808 boast of the highest resolution sensor of any mobile phone camera in the history of mobile devices. He said, ‘the device has the highest resolution sensor of any current camera of any highly specialized media format equipment.’ He added that although the camera has a powerful imaging experience, consumers can also look forward to other exciting features which would give them a well-rounded user experience with the phone.