Ahmed360 has shown a new Nokia N8 sample video which I've uploaded to YouTube. This video gives us a realistic representation of the quality that we can expect from the Nokia N8, whereas the sample video uploaded by Nokia was filmed in excellent conditions using professional gear.
Coming from someone who has used an Omnia HD and Vivaz, the HD video looks comparable (maybe a bit better) to what is currently available on the market today -- is that a good or a bad thing?
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Nokia N8 during normal use
Above is a video by Asian website vgooo.com, showing the user interface of the Nokia N8 during normal use. The video also shows the new handwriting recognition input screen for Symbian^3. In general, the phone looks pretty fast when moving through menus. However, I'm a bit disappointed with how long it takes this prototype N8 to save an image after capture. Thanks to Camb078 for reuploading the video to Youtube.
Nokia N8 Boots With Free RAM Aplenty
Everyone knows about the N97; it was a truly horrible device. Not only did it have a cringe-worthy resistive screen and a processor from back when your grandmother was still a child, it also had a pitiful amount of RAM for running applications in. The N8 changes everything. Again. (hehe)
Both the N8 and Omnia HD had just been rebooted. The N8 had one full page of widgets and two half-filled pages of widgets. Obviously this means that, if you're looking for maximum free RAM on your N8, removing homescreen widgets should give you a sizable boost.
Both the N8 and Omnia HD had just been rebooted. The N8 had one full page of widgets and two half-filled pages of widgets. Obviously this means that, if you're looking for maximum free RAM on your N8, removing homescreen widgets should give you a sizable boost.
Seeing that this PROTOTYPE N8 is able to boot with 132MB free RAM, even with well-utilised widget homescreens active, proves to me that Nokia and the Symbian Foundation have been working hard to ensure that Symbian^3 is highly optimised for day-to-day use. Symbian veterans will point out to you that, in the past, new iterations of Symbian have almost always used more RAM. For example, an N95 8GB running S60v3 has about 95MB of its 128MB RAM free upon boot. On the other hand, a 5800 running S60v5 has only about 50MB of its 128MB RAM available upon boot.
Many people around the Internet are asking if 256MB will really be enough for the N8 to function correctly. My answer to those people is yes... but 512MB wouldn't hurt, Nokia!
Many people around the Internet are asking if 256MB will really be enough for the N8 to function correctly. My answer to those people is yes... but 512MB wouldn't hurt, Nokia!
thanx to FINEST FONE Dot Com
Multitasking: Nokia N8 vs Samsung Omnia HD
Here's a very quick look at the Nokia N8's multitasking interface in comparison to the Omnia HD's.
The Omnia HD runs Symbian S60 5th edition and was announced on the 16th of February 2009, while the N8 runs Symbian^3 and was announced on the 27th of April 2010.
My opinion? I definitely prefer the Omnia HD's multitasking interface, despite the apparent similarities. The N8's multitasking view is a bit too limited. Using the Omnia HD's grid view, six applications can be displayed on one page. To do the same on the N8, the user must scroll through the list of applications.
I wonder why Nokia didn't just copy the N900's multitasking view and adapt it for the N8's lower resolution screen?
The Omnia HD runs Symbian S60 5th edition and was announced on the 16th of February 2009, while the N8 runs Symbian^3 and was announced on the 27th of April 2010.
My opinion? I definitely prefer the Omnia HD's multitasking interface, despite the apparent similarities. The N8's multitasking view is a bit too limited. Using the Omnia HD's grid view, six applications can be displayed on one page. To do the same on the N8, the user must scroll through the list of applications.
I wonder why Nokia didn't just copy the N900's multitasking view and adapt it for the N8's lower resolution screen?
Thanx To Finest Fone
Friday, August 13, 2010
How to: Replace Battery in the Nokia N8
We’ve been told by Nokia that the battery on the Nokia N8 isn’t removable by the user, but early photos show us that it isn’t that hard to do. Fortunately, a service manual from Nokia Care show us exactly how to do it step-by-step without messing things up. This guide is provided just in case your Nokia N8’s battery dies and you want to replace it yourself without the hassle of visiting or shipping the device to a repair center. We hope you never have to do this, but we need to add that we are not responsible for broken devices as a result of following this guide. 1. Unscrew the Torx+ size 4 screw on each side of the Nokia N8 7 full turns. Do not remove the screw completely!
2. Pull out the bottom assembly.
3. Lift and pull out the battery lid.
4. Use the pull-out tape to remove the ORIGINAL battery.
5. Attach the pull-out adhesive to your NEW battery
6. Insert the NEW battery as shown.
7. Place the shown end of the battery lid and then lower down the other end. Note that the battery pull-out tape is left under the battery lid.
8. Press and hold both of the two shown screws in.
9. Place the bottom cover as shown and press it into its place. If the bottom cover does not go in properly, loosen up the side screws a bit.
10. Hold the bottom cover in its place and tighten the torx + size 4 screws on both sides. That’s it!
This guide was derived from the Nokia N8-00 RM-596 Service Manual which you can download and view in full right here.
Thanx to The Nokia Blog Dot Com
N8′s AMOLED Display Comparison: Droid’s 4” vs. Omnia HD’s 3.7” vs. N8′s 3.5”
When I first saw the Nokia N8 as a leaked device I was hoping its display to be AMOLED. That is because since I switched to AMOLED devices, it is just hard to look at a LCD screen again. And well, very luckily, Nokia had decided to put a 3.5” AMOLED capacitive screen on the N8. However, this doesn’t make me completely happy. This year we have seen how smartphone’s screens get bigger and bigger, we now have 4.3” monsters like the HD2 or Droid X. That is a bit exaggerated in my opinion, but I also think that 3.5” is a bit too small for such a device. I have now used devices with all screen sizes, and in my opinion, 4” is the perfect measure. It is not as big as the 4.3” but it doesn’t fall short like the 3.5”. Below is a video comparison of the Droid’s 4” vs. Omnia HD’s 3.7 vs. N8′s 3.5”. Note that the Droid does not have an AMOLED screen and the difference is very noticeable.
Nokia N8: Will 256MB RAM Be Enough for Multitasking?
iPhone users rejoice today as they finally get a taste of multitasking. Nokia users have been doing it for a while now, but with certain limitations. Running too many multiple apps in the background results in “memory full” errors. Previous Nokia N97 and N96 power users are aware of this. Is the Nokia N8’s 256MB RAM memory enough for multitasking?
Nokia N8 out of memory with 6 apps open
I’m bringing this question up after watching a recent video of a pre-release Nokia N8 demonstration at Nokia Connections. 42 seconds into the video, you’ll see the error pop-up, “Memory full. Close some applications and try again.” This was triggered when the Nokia rep was trying to play a video from the gallery. A few seconds after the message, she held the menu button to show the current apps running. They were the browser, application menu, gallery, photo editor, social networking app, and the WiFi wizard.
Before we judge too quickly, we have to keep in mind that the device shown was not running final software. I also did not see this message during my short preview of the Nokia N8.
For comparison, the Nokia N97 had 128MB RAM and the Nokia N900 had 256MB. When the Google Nexus One was released in January, it came out with 512MB. The new iPhone 4, which many tech geeks would argue doesn’t support “real multitasking” has 512MB RAM. The Nokia N8 is expected in the third quarter this year and was stuck with 256MB. Why didn’t Nokia opt for higher RAM?
I sound like I’m nitpicking, but I’m simply concerned. I’m excited about the Nokia N8, but I really… REALLY… hope we don’t see that “memory full” message when the device makes it to the market.
Thanks DialToSave for supporting the blog. Read reviews and compare deals on their site for the Nokia N8 and other mobile phones.Confirmed! N8 Will Come With New, Redesigned Ovi Store
Update: seems like the new Ovi Store is still coded in WRT, lets see how that will work… Well, at least it passed as a Qt app for a couple of days!
I knew the Ovi Store was a fail as soon as I opened it. A catalog, which is basically what Ovi Store is, that is *really* annoying to browse. But it wasn’t only that, the apps that were offered through it were just…ok. Very fortunately, Nokia has realized that the current Ovi Store is complete crap, and it is, how stupid can the search function be in the current Ovi Store, what about Categories or Channels? Just scrolling through the apps is annoying!
Ovi Store for Nokia N8 Confirmed! N8 Will Come With New, Redesigned Ovi Store
All this is about to change. Nokia now has a kick-ass Ovi Store coded in Qt, and it has everything that a right App Catalog has to offer. The whole thing was redesigned, and finally App-Updates are supported! That means that the Store is constantly checking if you have all the latest content, if not, you can update to the new version. The new Ovi Store will come out of the box in the Nokia N8, and hopefully in every single device that Nokia announces from now on. The whole experience is now better, there are easy-to-navigate categories, so exploring the Ovi Store should now be much easier. The speed was also greatly improved since this is not a WRT app, but a powerful Qt app.
I knew the Ovi Store was a fail as soon as I opened it. A catalog, which is basically what Ovi Store is, that is *really* annoying to browse. But it wasn’t only that, the apps that were offered through it were just…ok. Very fortunately, Nokia has realized that the current Ovi Store is complete crap, and it is, how stupid can the search function be in the current Ovi Store, what about Categories or Channels? Just scrolling through the apps is annoying!
Ovi Store for Nokia N8 Confirmed! N8 Will Come With New, Redesigned Ovi Store
All this is about to change. Nokia now has a kick-ass Ovi Store coded in Qt, and it has everything that a right App Catalog has to offer. The whole thing was redesigned, and finally App-Updates are supported! That means that the Store is constantly checking if you have all the latest content, if not, you can update to the new version. The new Ovi Store will come out of the box in the Nokia N8, and hopefully in every single device that Nokia announces from now on. The whole experience is now better, there are easy-to-navigate categories, so exploring the Ovi Store should now be much easier. The speed was also greatly improved since this is not a WRT app, but a powerful Qt app.
This are great news! The new Ovi Store, plus the new web browser that the N8 will feature can really make the N8 a winner device. The N8 has already impressive hardware at a great price, now Nokia needs to keep improving the software, and they are doing it very well so far. We are eagerly waiting for the N8!
We recommend you to visit AAS and get the complete report on the new Ovi Store Here/Via: All About Symbian
thanx Nokia Mobile Blog Dot Com
Nokia N8 Original Themes...
Download Here
http://lovemynokia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/symbian%5E3-theme.zip
Thanx to LOVEMY NOKIA
Here’s what the Media thinks of the Nokia N8…
The much anticipated Nokia N8 was handed to many of the World’s largest press publications for review earlier this week.
Following the recent releases of some high profile competitor devices of late, it’s been great to see how some of the world’s most high profile journalists think the Nokia N8 will stack up against the rest.
To give you a taste of what the experts are saying, we’ve put together a brief round up on some first impressions of the device’s key features – starting with a comment on the Nokia N8’s camera.
There’s been plenty of hype about the 12MP snapper… so does it deliver? Vladislav Savov at Engadget says:
There’s no getting around it, this phone is indeed a terrific performer when it comes to video, and a 30-second clip we recorded took no longer than a couple of seconds to process and return us to a position where we were ready to film again.
The camera is similarly snappy (we had to do it), with Nokia claiming a half-second delay between shots. Our unscientific experience seemed to corroborate the claim. That says a lot about the processing power encased within the N8, but Nokia also notes that this handset has the biggest sensor that’s yet been integrated in a phone.
Another crucial feature to the Nokia N8 is its HDMI capability. Why is this so important? Andrew Orlowski at The Register hits the nail on the head, so we’ll leave it to him to explain:
It’s a cameraphone first, second and third, and features an HDMI port and Dolby Digital Plus surround stereo. This is a subtle but overlooked point – Nokia envisages people hooking the N8 up to the family flat panel TV as often as they hook it up to the PC. Given that new TVs have HDMI ports to spare, this is no longer Jetsons territory.
We’ve had a fair few comments on the Nseries Blog and on Twitter @Nseries asking why the Nokia N8 won’t be out until Q3. We’ve always explained that this is to ensure that the device has the best possible user experience once it hits shelves. Flora Graham at CNET UK backs this decision:
Nokia is taking its sweet time with the N8, which we think is a great idea — this is a good-looking phone with plenty of potential, and it needs a smooth, easy user interface to polish it off. Expect to find the N8 is shops sometime in the autumn.
Another exciting facet of the Nokia N8 is its brand new Symbian^3 UI – which we think is a significant step forward from its predecessor. It should be noted that the version of Symbian^3 presented to the Media was still unfinished, and it will a more polished version that hits the shelves in Q3. However, the guys at Pocket Lint are impressed with the debut:
Another nice touch with Symbian^3 is the visual multitasking panel that appears when you hold down the homescreen button. This feature allows you to see a decent sized snapshot of all the apps that you have open on your device. Browsing is nice, especially so because it handles Flash with no problems.
So hopefully that’s given you a taste of what to expect from the Nokia N8. All in all, we’ve been delighted with how it has been received so far. What’s even more exciting is the prospect of everyone else getting the device in their hands… so bring on Q3!
In the meantime, let us know your first impressions of the Nokia N8? Tell us what you think in the comments or on Twitter @Nseries.
Following the recent releases of some high profile competitor devices of late, it’s been great to see how some of the world’s most high profile journalists think the Nokia N8 will stack up against the rest.
To give you a taste of what the experts are saying, we’ve put together a brief round up on some first impressions of the device’s key features – starting with a comment on the Nokia N8’s camera.
There’s been plenty of hype about the 12MP snapper… so does it deliver? Vladislav Savov at Engadget says:
There’s no getting around it, this phone is indeed a terrific performer when it comes to video, and a 30-second clip we recorded took no longer than a couple of seconds to process and return us to a position where we were ready to film again.
The camera is similarly snappy (we had to do it), with Nokia claiming a half-second delay between shots. Our unscientific experience seemed to corroborate the claim. That says a lot about the processing power encased within the N8, but Nokia also notes that this handset has the biggest sensor that’s yet been integrated in a phone.
Another crucial feature to the Nokia N8 is its HDMI capability. Why is this so important? Andrew Orlowski at The Register hits the nail on the head, so we’ll leave it to him to explain:
It’s a cameraphone first, second and third, and features an HDMI port and Dolby Digital Plus surround stereo. This is a subtle but overlooked point – Nokia envisages people hooking the N8 up to the family flat panel TV as often as they hook it up to the PC. Given that new TVs have HDMI ports to spare, this is no longer Jetsons territory.
We’ve had a fair few comments on the Nseries Blog and on Twitter @Nseries asking why the Nokia N8 won’t be out until Q3. We’ve always explained that this is to ensure that the device has the best possible user experience once it hits shelves. Flora Graham at CNET UK backs this decision:
Nokia is taking its sweet time with the N8, which we think is a great idea — this is a good-looking phone with plenty of potential, and it needs a smooth, easy user interface to polish it off. Expect to find the N8 is shops sometime in the autumn.
Another exciting facet of the Nokia N8 is its brand new Symbian^3 UI – which we think is a significant step forward from its predecessor. It should be noted that the version of Symbian^3 presented to the Media was still unfinished, and it will a more polished version that hits the shelves in Q3. However, the guys at Pocket Lint are impressed with the debut:
Another nice touch with Symbian^3 is the visual multitasking panel that appears when you hold down the homescreen button. This feature allows you to see a decent sized snapshot of all the apps that you have open on your device. Browsing is nice, especially so because it handles Flash with no problems.
So hopefully that’s given you a taste of what to expect from the Nokia N8. All in all, we’ve been delighted with how it has been received so far. What’s even more exciting is the prospect of everyone else getting the device in their hands… so bring on Q3!
In the meantime, let us know your first impressions of the Nokia N8? Tell us what you think in the comments or on Twitter @Nseries.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Photos: Nokia N8 vs N97
Photos: Nokia N8 vs N97
Here’s some recent photos (taken on Monday) comparing the Nokia N8 and the Nokia N97.
Here’s some recent photos (taken on Monday) comparing the Nokia N8 and the Nokia N97.
Thanx to My Nokia Blog
Monday, August 9, 2010
Nokia N8 Running Android? It’s a Nok Off!
Nokia may have announced that it has no plans to launch an Android based version of the Nokia N8 but that hasn’t stopped a rather flakey and shakey Android Nokia N8 Nok-Off from making an appearance. It sure has the looks of the Nokia N8, and even some of the tech-spec, but would you really want to pay good money for it? Read on to find out more about the Nokia N8 Android Nok-off smartphone..
The Nokia N8 Nok-Off is called the iZiNN CJ-3 comes with a 3.5-inch touchscreen with 80 x 480-pixel display and while the camera is only a 5-Megapixel CCD, not the stunning 12-Megapixel camera to be found on the original Nokia N8, you will find a HDMI port on the device.
We all know that China loves to make clones of all the leading smartphones out there so we’re not surprised to find a Nokia N8 clone doing the rounds. However, what it a little more surprising is the use of the Android 2.1 OS platform – something Nokia itself has said it won’t be offering.
Check out the REAL Nokia N8
The iZiNN CJ-3 is said to be going on sale in China later this month, price unknown at the point, but we can’t really see it going head-to-head with the Nokia N8 as it will lack the build quality and all round assurances that come with a genuine Nokia smartphone.
If you’re tempted by the shonkey-donkey approach to smartphones then the iZiNN CJ-3 will no doubt be cheap enough to buy as a novelty gift but we’re not holding out too much on it making the journey back to Blighty in one piece.
What do you reckon, would you be tempted by a Nokia N8 clone or is it the real deal or no deal at all? Let us know what you think in the Comments below.
Thanx Nok Nok Tv
The Nokia N8 Nok-Off is called the iZiNN CJ-3 comes with a 3.5-inch touchscreen with 80 x 480-pixel display and while the camera is only a 5-Megapixel CCD, not the stunning 12-Megapixel camera to be found on the original Nokia N8, you will find a HDMI port on the device.
We all know that China loves to make clones of all the leading smartphones out there so we’re not surprised to find a Nokia N8 clone doing the rounds. However, what it a little more surprising is the use of the Android 2.1 OS platform – something Nokia itself has said it won’t be offering.
Check out the REAL Nokia N8
The iZiNN CJ-3 is said to be going on sale in China later this month, price unknown at the point, but we can’t really see it going head-to-head with the Nokia N8 as it will lack the build quality and all round assurances that come with a genuine Nokia smartphone.
If you’re tempted by the shonkey-donkey approach to smartphones then the iZiNN CJ-3 will no doubt be cheap enough to buy as a novelty gift but we’re not holding out too much on it making the journey back to Blighty in one piece.
What do you reckon, would you be tempted by a Nokia N8 clone or is it the real deal or no deal at all? Let us know what you think in the Comments below.
Thanx Nok Nok Tv
Nokia N8 to Launch 26th August in UK?
The Nokia N8 is set to launch in Q3 of this year but guessing the actual launch date has turned into something of a game, with the latest date being cited as the 26th August for customers here in the UK. How, do we know? Well one retailer has claimed the date as having stock of the Nokia N8 and even slapped a pre-order price on its site. Read on to find out how much the Nokia N8 is set to cost when/if it launches on the 26th August.
The Nokia N8 is set to be the first Symbian^3 smartphone to launch. It’ll feature a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen, fantastic new interface and even a 12-Megapixel CCD camera with HD video support, making it the most powerful handset on the planet.
Check out the N8 on Facebook
It’s also set to launch on the 26th August if the post on retail site MobileFun is to be believed. The guys over there have slapped a pre-order price of £419.95 (inc. VAT) for the Nokia N8. Now, with still no official word from Nokia on when its new flagship device is set to launch we’ll need to wait a little longer.
However, it is looking like the Nokia N8 will be with us in time to record what’s going on at Nokia World 2010, which will be taking place in the second week of September.
Thanx NOKNOKTV
The Nokia N8 is set to be the first Symbian^3 smartphone to launch. It’ll feature a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen, fantastic new interface and even a 12-Megapixel CCD camera with HD video support, making it the most powerful handset on the planet.
Check out the N8 on Facebook
It’s also set to launch on the 26th August if the post on retail site MobileFun is to be believed. The guys over there have slapped a pre-order price of £419.95 (inc. VAT) for the Nokia N8. Now, with still no official word from Nokia on when its new flagship device is set to launch we’ll need to wait a little longer.
However, it is looking like the Nokia N8 will be with us in time to record what’s going on at Nokia World 2010, which will be taking place in the second week of September.
Thanx NOKNOKTV
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Nokia N8 Picture Slideshow from the N8 Developer Launch event in London
These are some great new pictures from the Nokia N8 Developer Launch event at London that feature some of the few improvements that happened over time in the Symbian^3 OS for Nokia N8. The Contacts Card has a new designs and can now be viewed in landscape mode. There is support for multiple calendars that get differentiated by different colors. Nokia N8 has a smart dialer now which works in the same way as in the E-Series devices. As you, type in the number, all the matching contacts get listed.
Nokia N8 also features a much improved Nokia Messaging application. There is a Google Search Box included in the browser application that appears right below the URL box. The toolbar (as in S60v5) appearing on the left in the landscape mode does not appear appear any more. Thus, we see a lot of improvements as of now and may see many more by the time the phone releases
Nokia N8 vs HTC Desire, iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy
The Nokia N8 is the latest flagship Nseries, flying the flag for Nokia’s fancy smartphone army. The question is — does it have anything that makes us want to buy one over a top Android like the HTC Desire, or Apple’s iPhone 4?
OS face-off
The Nokia N8 features an all-new version of the Symbian operating system — Symbian^3. This takes the long-term Nokia staple OS and brings it closer to rivals like Android by giving you more customisation options. Widgets and home screens are in, making the Nokia N8 more flexible than the iPhone 4 in simple personalisation terms.
Early reports on the Symbian^3 OS aren’t entirely complimentary though. Mobile-review’s Eldar Murtazin, who got his hands on an early, leaked version of the OS, says that in spite of improvements over the newest Symbian S60 OS, Symbian^3 just isn’t as good as Android. Symbian^4 is hot on Symbian^4’s heels too, suggesting that Nokia knows Symbian^3 isn’t quite as bombastic as originally intended.
In summary — Symbian^3 is better than S60, but not up there with the latest editions of Android and iOS
Camera crunch
Choosing the Nokia N8 over an iPhone 4 or top-end Android involves making a few smartphone sacrifices, but they’ll be worth it if you’re after an excellent camera phone. The Nokia N8 uses a fantastic 12-megapixel sensor that’s larger than seen before on a mobile.
It’s larger even than the sensor used in many digital compact cameras, and should secure the Nokia N8 the title of “best mobile phone camera ever”. The iPhone 4 surprised us by packing an excellent snapper, but with an LED flash and only five megapixels to its name (even if it makes great use of them), it can’t compete with the Nokia N8.
Further down the competence scale is the Samsung Galaxy S. It can record 720p HD video and uses touch focusing, but image quality isn’t as strong as either the Nokia N8 or iPhone 4, and without a flash it’ll only be of usem in decent sunlight. Down at the bottom of the barrel is the HTC Desire.
It’s another 5-megapixel camera, but image quality is just OK at the resolution and there’s no HD video recording. There is an LED flash though, making it ready for some party photography.
In summary — The Nokia N8’s camera sounds simply fantastic, blowing these rivals out of the water, even the iPhone 4
Apps
The Nokia N8 can rock apps made with the QT dev kit — which is the force behind the Nokia N900’s apps. Although the Nokia N8 uses an all-new operating system, its app scene won’t have to start completely from scratch. Nokia N900 apps will just have to go through a quick porting process to be up and running on the Nokia N8.
The Nokia N8’s app scene may be heading towards a healthy start, but it’s unlikely to ever have anywhere near as many apps as iPhone 4 or Android phones like the HTC Desire. There are more than 30,000 Android apps available from the Android Market and more than 200,000 from the iPhone App Store.
Sheer numbers aren’t enough to provide a good app experience — the quality of the app store itself means a lot too. The iPhone App Store is just too packed to make app discovery a doddle, but navigating its virtual shelves is painless, with desktop navigation via iTunes helping out too.
Android’s Market is less friendly, with poor structure making discovering apps even trickier than on the App Store. It needs work.
However, the Ovi Store, which is where the Nokia N8 will have to grab most of its apps from, is the least advanced of the three. It caters for dozens of handsets across a handful of platforms but doesn’t offer the same centralised experience as the Android Market and App Store — although a link to Ovi will almost certainly feature in the Nokia N8 as standard.
The Nokia N8 will want to roll with the big boys, but on the apps front, that’s a very tall order.
In summary — The head start Android and iPhone have on the Nokia N8 make sure it’s not the best choice for appaholics
The skinny
The Nokia N8’s in a difficult spot. It’s a high-end handset that’s held back by the software under its hood. Symbian^3 isn’t bad, but it doesn’t fare well in a comparison with iOS and Android, which have after all been updated, tweaked and changed regularly for 2-3 years now.
Symbian’s been around for a lot longer, but its path has been less focused, letting it slip quietly behind rivals. What the Nokia N8 has over every other smartphone on the market is a truly impressive camera. The only thing it’s missing is the optical zoom — if Nokia one day finds a way to drop one into a mobile without creating a chunky beast, we’ll be first in the queue to put our old compact cameras up on eBay.
Want apps? Go for Android or iPhone. Want a simpler phone that’ll play your vids and music, and do a fab job of making its own vids and snaps? Give the Nokia N8 some serious consideration.
OS face-off
The Nokia N8 features an all-new version of the Symbian operating system — Symbian^3. This takes the long-term Nokia staple OS and brings it closer to rivals like Android by giving you more customisation options. Widgets and home screens are in, making the Nokia N8 more flexible than the iPhone 4 in simple personalisation terms.
Early reports on the Symbian^3 OS aren’t entirely complimentary though. Mobile-review’s Eldar Murtazin, who got his hands on an early, leaked version of the OS, says that in spite of improvements over the newest Symbian S60 OS, Symbian^3 just isn’t as good as Android. Symbian^4 is hot on Symbian^4’s heels too, suggesting that Nokia knows Symbian^3 isn’t quite as bombastic as originally intended.
In summary — Symbian^3 is better than S60, but not up there with the latest editions of Android and iOS
Camera crunch
Choosing the Nokia N8 over an iPhone 4 or top-end Android involves making a few smartphone sacrifices, but they’ll be worth it if you’re after an excellent camera phone. The Nokia N8 uses a fantastic 12-megapixel sensor that’s larger than seen before on a mobile.
It’s larger even than the sensor used in many digital compact cameras, and should secure the Nokia N8 the title of “best mobile phone camera ever”. The iPhone 4 surprised us by packing an excellent snapper, but with an LED flash and only five megapixels to its name (even if it makes great use of them), it can’t compete with the Nokia N8.
Further down the competence scale is the Samsung Galaxy S. It can record 720p HD video and uses touch focusing, but image quality isn’t as strong as either the Nokia N8 or iPhone 4, and without a flash it’ll only be of usem in decent sunlight. Down at the bottom of the barrel is the HTC Desire.
It’s another 5-megapixel camera, but image quality is just OK at the resolution and there’s no HD video recording. There is an LED flash though, making it ready for some party photography.
In summary — The Nokia N8’s camera sounds simply fantastic, blowing these rivals out of the water, even the iPhone 4
Apps
The Nokia N8 can rock apps made with the QT dev kit — which is the force behind the Nokia N900’s apps. Although the Nokia N8 uses an all-new operating system, its app scene won’t have to start completely from scratch. Nokia N900 apps will just have to go through a quick porting process to be up and running on the Nokia N8.
The Nokia N8’s app scene may be heading towards a healthy start, but it’s unlikely to ever have anywhere near as many apps as iPhone 4 or Android phones like the HTC Desire. There are more than 30,000 Android apps available from the Android Market and more than 200,000 from the iPhone App Store.
Sheer numbers aren’t enough to provide a good app experience — the quality of the app store itself means a lot too. The iPhone App Store is just too packed to make app discovery a doddle, but navigating its virtual shelves is painless, with desktop navigation via iTunes helping out too.
Android’s Market is less friendly, with poor structure making discovering apps even trickier than on the App Store. It needs work.
However, the Ovi Store, which is where the Nokia N8 will have to grab most of its apps from, is the least advanced of the three. It caters for dozens of handsets across a handful of platforms but doesn’t offer the same centralised experience as the Android Market and App Store — although a link to Ovi will almost certainly feature in the Nokia N8 as standard.
The Nokia N8 will want to roll with the big boys, but on the apps front, that’s a very tall order.
In summary — The head start Android and iPhone have on the Nokia N8 make sure it’s not the best choice for appaholics
The skinny
The Nokia N8’s in a difficult spot. It’s a high-end handset that’s held back by the software under its hood. Symbian^3 isn’t bad, but it doesn’t fare well in a comparison with iOS and Android, which have after all been updated, tweaked and changed regularly for 2-3 years now.
Symbian’s been around for a lot longer, but its path has been less focused, letting it slip quietly behind rivals. What the Nokia N8 has over every other smartphone on the market is a truly impressive camera. The only thing it’s missing is the optical zoom — if Nokia one day finds a way to drop one into a mobile without creating a chunky beast, we’ll be first in the queue to put our old compact cameras up on eBay.
Want apps? Go for Android or iPhone. Want a simpler phone that’ll play your vids and music, and do a fab job of making its own vids and snaps? Give the Nokia N8 some serious consideration.
Nokia N8 official! Price, specs and pics!
Nokia N8 official! Price, specs and pics!
By Rhiain on 27 April 2010
GLOBAL – The Nokia N8 today officially emerges into the daylight, stepping out of the shadows equipped with a host of smartphone talents. The first device to be powered by the brand new Symbian^3 platform, the Nokia N8 will launch with a new breed of camera that promises to capture photos and video to rival dedicated point and shoot cameras. Read on to explore Nokia N8’s full list of talents.
The biggest feature on the Nokia N8 is its 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash. It features a substantially larger sensor than any ever used in any other Nokia device – even bigger than many found in dedicated cameras. Recently, we caught up with Nokia’s resident camera guru, Damian Dinning, to get the full lowdown on what went into fine-tuning the N8’s camera and video capture skills – you’ll be able to read the full fact-packed story right here on Conversations this week, so stay tuned.
Check out the first sample images from the Nokia N8
The Nokia N8 also introduces the ability to record high definition videos and edit them with a smart built-in editing suite on the device. Playback quality is just as important, and the 3.5-inch HD capacitive touchscreen is the ideal window for assessing your flicks and footage. There’s also a HDMI connector allowing you to hook the smartphone to your HD TV and share your media with friends and family in superb quality. We wanted to find out more about the benefits of HDMI in the Nokia N8 so we spoke to Paul Wheeler, a software program manager at Nokia, to get the full story – again, be sure to keep an eye out for our full story this later this week.
Check out the first HD video sample from the Nokia N8
The Nokia N8 also doubles as a portable entertainment centre. Watch HD quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and hook into a dedicated Web TV application for access to news and entertainment on the move.
It’s not just its 12-megapixel camera and HD video skills with HDMI support that set the Nokia N8 apart from the crowd. Packing more memory than most, the Nokia N8 has 16GB of built-in storage and is expandable up to 48GB with a micro SD card.
Joining the social messaging fold with the likes of the latest Eseries and Cseries devices, the N8 enters the fray with live Twitter and Facebook updates direct to your homescreen. Comment, read and send messages, update your status and share your location and photos with one touch.
Embracing location based services, the N8 is location-savvy and comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation with support in more than 70 countries worldwide.
Powering the Nokia N8 is the all-new Symbian^3 platform. This latest incarnation introduces major new advances including multi-touch and support for gestures such as pinch-to-zoom. Onboard there’s also three customisable homescreens that can be loaded with applications and widgets and flicked through by a swish of the finger. There’s also improved 2D and 3D graphics for a faster and more responsive UI, greater memory management and a visual task manager.
Of course, the Nokia N8 comes with access to the full range of Ovi services and it’s Nokia’s first smartphone to be integrated with Qt. Got and idea for an app? Qt is a software development environment that makes it a cinch to build apps and deploy across the Symbian and other software platforms.
Not to be outdone by its innards the Nokia N8 is carved from a single piece of anodised aluminium and looks glorious decked in one of five eye-catching colours (we’ll shortly be bringing you an entire article dedicated to the colours). It will cost €370 (before the usual local taxes and subsidies) when it starts shipping in the third quarter of 2010.
Over the coming week we’ll bring you heaps more insight and info surrounding the new Nokia N8, including designer interviews, exclusive videos, and much more. Stay tuned for all our unmissable coverage throughout the week. In the meantime, share your instant reactions and let us know what you want to know about the Nokia N8 by joining the conversation below.
By Rhiain on 27 April 2010
GLOBAL – The Nokia N8 today officially emerges into the daylight, stepping out of the shadows equipped with a host of smartphone talents. The first device to be powered by the brand new Symbian^3 platform, the Nokia N8 will launch with a new breed of camera that promises to capture photos and video to rival dedicated point and shoot cameras. Read on to explore Nokia N8’s full list of talents.
The biggest feature on the Nokia N8 is its 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash. It features a substantially larger sensor than any ever used in any other Nokia device – even bigger than many found in dedicated cameras. Recently, we caught up with Nokia’s resident camera guru, Damian Dinning, to get the full lowdown on what went into fine-tuning the N8’s camera and video capture skills – you’ll be able to read the full fact-packed story right here on Conversations this week, so stay tuned.
Check out the first sample images from the Nokia N8
The Nokia N8 also introduces the ability to record high definition videos and edit them with a smart built-in editing suite on the device. Playback quality is just as important, and the 3.5-inch HD capacitive touchscreen is the ideal window for assessing your flicks and footage. There’s also a HDMI connector allowing you to hook the smartphone to your HD TV and share your media with friends and family in superb quality. We wanted to find out more about the benefits of HDMI in the Nokia N8 so we spoke to Paul Wheeler, a software program manager at Nokia, to get the full story – again, be sure to keep an eye out for our full story this later this week.
Check out the first HD video sample from the Nokia N8
The Nokia N8 also doubles as a portable entertainment centre. Watch HD quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and hook into a dedicated Web TV application for access to news and entertainment on the move.
It’s not just its 12-megapixel camera and HD video skills with HDMI support that set the Nokia N8 apart from the crowd. Packing more memory than most, the Nokia N8 has 16GB of built-in storage and is expandable up to 48GB with a micro SD card.
Joining the social messaging fold with the likes of the latest Eseries and Cseries devices, the N8 enters the fray with live Twitter and Facebook updates direct to your homescreen. Comment, read and send messages, update your status and share your location and photos with one touch.
Embracing location based services, the N8 is location-savvy and comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation with support in more than 70 countries worldwide.
Powering the Nokia N8 is the all-new Symbian^3 platform. This latest incarnation introduces major new advances including multi-touch and support for gestures such as pinch-to-zoom. Onboard there’s also three customisable homescreens that can be loaded with applications and widgets and flicked through by a swish of the finger. There’s also improved 2D and 3D graphics for a faster and more responsive UI, greater memory management and a visual task manager.
Of course, the Nokia N8 comes with access to the full range of Ovi services and it’s Nokia’s first smartphone to be integrated with Qt. Got and idea for an app? Qt is a software development environment that makes it a cinch to build apps and deploy across the Symbian and other software platforms.
Not to be outdone by its innards the Nokia N8 is carved from a single piece of anodised aluminium and looks glorious decked in one of five eye-catching colours (we’ll shortly be bringing you an entire article dedicated to the colours). It will cost €370 (before the usual local taxes and subsidies) when it starts shipping in the third quarter of 2010.
Over the coming week we’ll bring you heaps more insight and info surrounding the new Nokia N8, including designer interviews, exclusive videos, and much more. Stay tuned for all our unmissable coverage throughout the week. In the meantime, share your instant reactions and let us know what you want to know about the Nokia N8 by joining the conversation below.
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