These days, mobile phones are very personal and people use it to do lots of things other than the original purpose it was designed for, making calls. If a device can give you a higher sense of personalization, would you go for it? Well, smart phone faithful’s itching for a high-end smartphone from the stable of the world mobility leader, Nokia, need not wait any longer. The highly anticipated Nokia N8 has finally hit the Nigerian market. Besides, the N8 can be compared to the second coming of Christ, not because it’s necessarily deliverance in a phone, but because it’s taken a long time to get here.
Nokia's reputation as a leader in the smartphone market has come under increasing pressure in recent years, as a string of 'high end' handsets have failed to capture the minds and wallets of the phone-buying public. To address this challenge, Nokia went back to the drawing board and came up with the N8, featuring a new OS (Operating System) and a huge amount of high end tech packed under the hood. It is expected that the device will restore Nokia’s standing as a serious player in the smartphone market.
With the N8, and the new Symbian software, Nokia is bringing a familiar, faster and more intuitive user experience to the world’s most popular smartphone platform. Moreover, the Nokia N8 has received the highest amount of consumer pre-orders in Nokia history and Nokia says it is thrilled that the wide acceptance the device is getting globally. The first of a series of smartphone based on the new Symbian, the N8 is fast and easy to use and supports true multitasking, allowing users to run multiple apps simultaneously and switch between them easily.
Dubbed the world’s best camera phone, the Nokia N8 lets you take the highest quality photos and shoot HD (High Definition) -quality videos in supreme clarity with the 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. You can edit photos and videos on-screen and choose from multiple ways to share them; transfer large files to an external hard drive with USB-on-the-go, or upload photos to social networks like Facebook, Twitter straight from the homescreen. All this is delivered in a robust aluminum body in a range of vibrant colours with a real-glass 3.5” AMOLED display. The Nokia N8 has a black belt in entertainment. Its Web Television (TV) apps from channels like E! Entertainment, National Geographic and CNN and the intuitive music player inject an element of fun into idle moments.
Plug the device to the home entertainment centre to watch HD-quality videos from the big screen with full Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound. The latest version of Ovi Store, available first on the Nokia N8, gives easy access to more apps – from social networking services like Foursquare to games like Need for Speed Shift or productivity apps like Tesco in the United Kingdom (UK). Like other Nokia smartphone, the Nokia N8 comes with free Ovi Maps walk & drive navigation in more than 70 countries worldwide, with no hidden costs. The latest beta release of Ovi Maps is also available for transport in 85 cities around the world, as well as real-time traffic, safety and speed limit warnings.
Here’s what I think about this very amazing device. N8 feels lightweight, yet sturdy in hands. N8 gives superb and attractive looks to its users. The hardware button lets you switch between the home screen and menu screen and when held down, shows you all of your open applications. If you want to purchase a new mobile phone, then N8 is the best deal for you. I am impressed with its slick hardware and superb multimedia features. That’s not to say I am Nokia sales person, peeps, I am just in love with the N8.
Design
If there is one thing different about Nokia N8, it's certainly the way it looks. The smartphone is quite a sight for sore eyes. Nokia used an anodized aluminum alloy that gives the phone a solid look. To make it feel even better, the phone doesn't have a battery cover. That means that you will never be able to pull out the battery unless you shred it to pieces, literally. The generous 3.5-inch touchscreen display takes hold of the entire front part of the device.
Just above the screen there's a secondary video-call camera and an ambient light sensor, while at the bottom there's a small mic. All three standard Symbian keys have been replaced by a single button, which was placed a little to the left. That makes it a little bit awkward to reach when you keep the phone with your right hand, but it's perfectly usable for a left handed person. The top side of the phone features a 3.5mm audio jack port, a HDMI port, as well as the usual power off button. The charging port has been placed on the bottom side of the phone.
Display
Nokia N8 comes with an AMOLED 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen that supports 16 Million colors and 360 x 640-pixels resolution. This is the second Nokia phone to include a capacitive touchscreen, after Nokia X6, which was released on the market at the end of 2009. Even though it's a capacitive display it cannot be compared with Samsung's Super AMOLED displays. The image shows high quality, but I had some troubles when I tried to use it outdoors in sunlight.
The screen is covered by scratch resistant Gorilla glass, which makes it almost unbreakable. Oh, well, not quite, but at least it won't scratch when kept in your pocket with other metallic items. The phone also features built-in accelerometer for display auto-rotation, multi-touch input method, as well as proximity sensor for auto turn-off.
Camera
The 12-megapixel camera of N8 features autofocus, mechanical shutter, Xenon flash, geo-tagging and a pretty standard interface. Nokia has partnered with Carl Zeiss for this one, so you will get Carl Zeiss optics. Other notable features include: 1/1.83-inch sensor size, ND filter, and face detection feature. The camera UI is its only downside, as it seems old and obsolete, but you will be getting the usual settings: White balance, ISO, Colors, Contrast, Sharpness and Scene modes.
One of the main reasons that make Nokia N8 the best camera phone is the embedded 1/1.83-inch sensor, which is bigger than Samsung Pixon's 1/2.5" sensor, previously known as the best camera-phone on the market. Furthermore, another interesting thing is the processing software of the camera, which barely interferes with the pictures. Even though this should be translated in more noisy picture, unresolved detail and/or color degradation.
Communication
Nokia N8 is a quad-band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) handset, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 (10.2 Mbps) compatible, which features GPRS class 33, EDGE class 33. The smartphone is a real “swiss knife” when it comes to connectivity. It has all the possible tools that one would need on the go. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, UPnP technology, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support, HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps offer users enough connectivity options for any budget.
The USB On-the-go feature is extremely useful, especially if you're an active person who likes to travel a lot. Basically, you will be able to attach an USB stick to the phone, or even connect another compatible smartphone directly to the N8 through an USB cable. There's no list of the compatible phones, but most Nokia phone will work, while others like Motorola Milestone won't. I was surprised to be able to connect a Samsung Galaxy S device to the Nokia N8 through the micro USB cable.
The integrated browser is the same that you can get in the older N97, but got small improvements and bug fixes. It has now full Flash Lite 4.0 support, kinetic scrolling and pinch to zoom. Other features included in the browser: auto fill-in, RSS reader, download manager, password manager, pop-up blocker. The device features a GPS receiver, which works in conjunction with Ovi Maps 3.0 Touch.
Processor and Memory
Nokia N8 is powered by and ARM11 family processor running at speeds of up to 680 MHz, and also includes a 3D Graphics HW accelerator. The device works pretty smooth, without having the usual hiccups and lags when the web browser was running in the background. The smartphone also features 16GB internal memory, as well as 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. The memory can be expanded up to 32GB, thanks to the hot-swappable card slot.
Multimedia
The smartphone features a newly designed good looking music player, which is now including a Cover-flow album art feature. The rest of the settings are also there, such as: pre-installed equalizer modes (Bass booster, Classical, Jazz, Pop and Rock), Balance, Loudness and Stereo widening. Sound quality is simply exceptional, so N8 can be used as a music phone with no problems at all.
The device features Radio FM with RDS function, as well as a FM transmitter. Reception is very good, and sound is above average. The Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP support enables you to listen to music wirelessly. The included video player comes with DivX and XviD codecs, but it won't display subtitles.
This is one of the new things that you get with the device. Add to that the HDMI port and you get yourself a real portable multimedia studio. I only got one “System error” message after running about 5-6 short trailer movie, but I would put it on the fact that my unit was a test sample. All in all, Nokia N8 includes stellar multimedia features, so customers have one more reason to try it out besides the excellent camera.
Menu and Software
The N8 is the first Nokia smartphone released that runs Symbian ^3 operating system. If you're expecting innovations or amazing new things, then you will be very disappointed. Lack of time or ideas made Nokia engineers continue the Symbian project, which turned in the end in Symbian ^3, which is still far from its main competitors, Android and iOS.
At first glance, one can notice the main homescreen, which is now stretched on three panes. Users will now be able to use any of the three homescreens to add widgets, shortcuts, contacts, or favorite websites. The interface is now a little bit faster during browsing and more responsive. The latter is due to the removal of the “touch-to-select-touch-again-to-open” approach, that was specific to all Nokia touchscreen phones. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that are not user-friendly or intuitive, but I should probably overlook it as this is Nokia's first try on Symbian ^3.
The same block-like layout for the homescreen had been implemented, so if you want to add contacts, widgets and other stuff, you can only do it in the form of block. You can change between them or remove them with ease, by tapping and holding on any of them. Kinetic scrolling is also present, so you'll be able to scroll much faster. Clicking near the battery icon, on the upper right corner of the homescreen will give you quick access to the clock, alarms, while by clicking on the connection icon you'll be able to get to connectivity settings.
Battery
The 1,200 mAh Li-Ion (BL-4D) battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 390 hours in standby (400 for 3G) and of about 12 hours and 30 minutes in talk time mode (5 hours and 30 minutes for 3G).The manufacturer also states that the smartphone's battery should last about 50 hours of continuous music playback. Unfortunately, I noticed big gaps between the real numbers and the official ones.
The phone's battery is draining fast when the phone is used mildly, and I had to charge it 3-4 times per week. I hope this will be corrected in a future update, because the device is suffering from the same low-battery life issue like Nokia N97. Add to that the fact that the smartphone includes a non-replaceable battery, which means there's no way you can buy another one.
Hardware
The Nokia N8 feels great in your hand. It’s mostly made from anodized aluminum which comes in vibrant colors. The chrome accents around the camera lens, camera button, and volume controls get the thumbs up too. There are no wiggly parts and the buttons all feel solid. As expected, the hardware design is top-notch. The build quality is excellent, too. The screen is made of gorilla glass which is damage and scratch resistant. I tried scratching the display with my keys using a lot of force and did not notice any effect. The Nokia N8 isn’t the thinnest phone in the world, but it sits comfortably in the pocket. It measures 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm and weighs 135g.
Internals
Inside the Nokia N8 is an ARM 11 microprocessor clocked at 680 MHz with 256MB RAM. All the latest Symbian^3 devices such as the C7, E7, and C6-01 have the same CPU and RAM. This is an increase from previous Nokia devices, but not as high as the numbers featured in the latest devices from other manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, or Motorola. Some would argue that Symbian has better memory and CPU management compared to other smartphone OS out there and I have to agree. I haven’t seen any memory full messages, but I wouldn’t exactly say the Nokia N8 as a speedy device. It zips through menus, photos, and apps, but the app that’s not very fast is an important one: the web browser.
The Camera
The Nokia N8 is a photographer’s dream phone. The images it produces are awesome and it’s really quick to share what you capture. The cameras on Nokia Nseries devices have always been ahead of the competition, but the Nokia N8 really shines. Nokia combined the largest sensor ever put into a mobile for incredible detail with Carl Zeiss optics and a hands-off attitude with imaging software to produce really natural photos.
Speakers
Call quality is loud and clear on all the calls I’ve placed and received. Listening to music, the speakers are reasonably loud and have nothing to complain about. The location of the loudspeaker is at the back of the phone. That seems to be the favorite spot for new devices even from other manufacturers.
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