Nokia N8 gets lots of stick in early reviews, we wonder why

03 October, 2010
The Nokia N8 started shipping this week and reviews of the Finnish company's latest flagship are spreading like wildfire. Checking out the first batch of those we noticed a certain trend, which we cannot...

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  • r
  • rebel
  • 3Tw
  • 04 Oct 2010

low screen resolution on symbians is big handicap.it never can compare to vga ,wvga and higher res.screens .the other important thing is that symbian with 12mp camera is out over a year & it's a shame for ''leader''

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • upf
    • 04 Oct 2010

    Symbian 3 seems to be OK for me and N8 just perfect. I want functional OS and I have already used to with Symbian so usability is not a question. I will always choose something more functional and feature rich than just eye candy.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • kUW
      • 04 Oct 2010

      John, 04 Oct 2010I'm not using any phone longer than 1-2 years, so it really... moreAgree with u. But its not a matter of 1-2yrs, rather jus 6-7 months before s^4 breaks loose. And changing a phone in such small span of time is not a piece of cake!

        • J
        • John
        • nXQ
        • 04 Oct 2010

        Anonymous, 04 Oct 2010Okay, jus want to draw attention towards s^4. What if it pr... moreI'm not using any phone longer than 1-2 years, so it really does not matter if the OS is upgradable or not after that period. S^3 seem to be quite ok in my opinion!

          • A
          • Anony
          • 0pT
          • 04 Oct 2010

          [deleted post]I think the iPhone 4 is only better than the N8 in certain areas. Remember, the N8 is cheaper than the iPhone 4. Like the other guy said, for the cheaper price of the N8, it does offer some advantages over the iPhone 4.

          The N8 has:
          - AMOLED CBD (lower resolution than the iPhone 4's, no doubt but reviews agree that its has better colors and brightness)
          - Penta-band 3G that not only supports AT&T's but T-mobile's as well.
          - USB OTG
          - 12 MP with a much larger sensor (1/1.8") plus a Xenon Flash
          - HDMI
          - Video Call over both 3G and WiFi (and also at the OS level)
          - Free Ovi Navigation for a lifetime in over 70 countries

          The iPhone 4 is a great phone, but I don't think it's better than the N8 in every single way. For myself, I rather have an N8 over the iPhone 4.

            • A
            • Alan
            • nXQ
            • 04 Oct 2010

            Some of the reviews are clearly biased. I'm glad that GSMArena really is trying to evaluate N8 and not like Gizmodo and Engadget just try to criticize it. Well done GSMArena!

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • kUW
              • 04 Oct 2010

              Okay, jus want to draw attention towards s^4. What if it proves to b GROUNDBREAKING (less likely tho), will n8 get a new facelift with a s^4 upgrade. What i can pick out from all the bla-bla about n900 is that, the poor fellow is SURELY getting a meego upgrade in another 3-4 years (lol).

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 0pT
                • 04 Oct 2010

                [deleted post]Did you read the rules?
                "No bashing - deliberately and repeatedly bashing the same brand"

                The fact is you stated your opinion as fact. Please be civil and mature. Spamming Nokia boards will only get more sympathy votes and purchases for Nokia.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 3LU
                  • 04 Oct 2010

                  Anonymous, 04 Oct 2010"flawlessly". Sounds like u have got hands-on exp... morei've seen videos of the phone in action and i know nokia will release an update soon for any problem

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • wdA
                    • 04 Oct 2010

                    [deleted post]BTW, when I said the most powerful GPU, I mean for a GPU on a cellular phone.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • KSi
                      • 04 Oct 2010

                      we are in a highly charged era we are also being hyper critical. the point is how does the end user really feel about it.nokia 5800 is an example to show that reviews do not really matter as long as they respond to consumer actual needs.nokia n8 will surely demonstrate this.europe sadly doesn't hype products like the american media or people do. time will ultimately do justice to this sorry debate of unfair comparisions

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • kUW
                        • 04 Oct 2010

                        Anonymous, 04 Oct 2010symbian works on n8 flawlessly, android is just too demanding..."flawlessly". Sounds like u have got hands-on experience with n8. Is it so? Or jus an adjective out of expectation? What i have heard is that s^3 is still far from being polished n has those minor bugs here n there with open apps exitting anytime they feel merry about it?

                          • k
                          • karl
                          • phm
                          • 04 Oct 2010

                          Gsmarena team is correct, whenever engadget review a nokia product, they dont put an equal review. Like for example in nokia world, engadget dont really put an effort in covering the event, while with apple they did. However, i agree with gsmarena, i really love this site and i trust them, since 2007-10 i folloe this website, from my n81 to n97mini, which they made a fair review with this both device. I guess engadget, in in favor of apple not nokia. While gizmodo, i dont think they are in favor of apple. pLease trust me guys, gsmarena team has a fair review above all.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 3LU
                            • 04 Oct 2010

                            Anonymous, 04 Oct 2010The N8 is Nokia's new flagship model. For the price premium... moresymbian works on n8 flawlessly, android is just too demanding...

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 3Y7
                              • 04 Oct 2010

                              The N8 is Nokia's new flagship model. For the price premium they charge you can just as easily opt for any manufacturers top end model.

                              In stark contrast to the competitions Hummingbird, Snapdragon or A4 range of CPUs the N8 is still running the old and anemic ARM11 (ARM1136JF-S) processor. Then there's the N8's measly 256MB system RAM in comparison to the competitions 512-768MB RAM

                              Sure it might be able to run Symbian OS fine but what happens if someone were to try and port Android on the phone? Just how cheap the N8 hardware is relative to its exorbitant price is a massive put off.

                                • f
                                • francis fajardo
                                • LGu
                                • 04 Oct 2010

                                www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtJ4y77nVKI&feature=player_embedded

                                  • l
                                  • loveerockz
                                  • utB
                                  • 04 Oct 2010

                                  jimmynokia, 04 Oct 2010after sifting through the fastest thread ive ever seen here... morei totally agree that no one should comment or make out any decision until trying the device on his own but unfortunately here in India the device is not yet available and there is no news as to when it will be. for last couple of months we have been hearing that it will be available in few days bit the dates have been shifting again and again . this puts a very bad picture of Nokia . no wonder people have shifted their focus to phones like samsung wave .i have been a true nokia fan for a decade or so but even i was forced to buy a wave cos there seems no idea as to when n8 will really be available. and trust me i am not a bit disappointed to have wave.it is really great piece of electronic and unless n8 comes out at a very very competitive price i am sure nokia will not be able to regain it's ground. pls nokia wake up and bring n8 soon and keep in mind the price factor if you have to compete with waves or galaxies or iphones.we still love nokia nad hope they will give us a reason to continue doing so.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • LGu
                                    • 04 Oct 2010

                                    what r this guys saying. its obvious a conspiration no matter how many page r doing it. there r a lot of videos lying. and u can see it that they r lying. of cours its a conspiration. i can offer to a ten pages money or cels or ipod or my products first to that pages.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • SdN
                                      • 04 Oct 2010

                                      Anonymous, 04 Oct 2010the best smartPHONE with the best features for the money yo... moreiphone 4. It is 500 pounds and n8 is 430 pounds.
                                      Retina display
                                      250,000 apps
                                      512mb RAM against 256 of nokia
                                      slick UI
                                      1ghz processor against 680MHz
                                      nicer deisgn
                                      better video recording becuz of tap to focus
                                      low light vid recording bcuz of led flash light
                                      bigger battery means longer life, i get 2 days out of iph4
                                      better games
                                      edgier GPU on iph4
                                      better music player
                                      better browser as s^3 direct u out of full page just to enter address
                                      gyroscope for shotting games on iph4
                                      facetime software in addition to skype vid call (iph omit 3g calling as it is not smooth, it will enable for 4g)
                                      higher lcd bightness under sunlight
                                      voice command for music, navigation
                                      free uk and ireland nav
                                      etc etc etc
                                      n8 is good in still camera and hdmi output!!

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • kx7
                                        • 04 Oct 2010

                                        I appreciate what you're saying here, guys. Really, I do. As journalists, I respect your integrity. Sadly, when so many people say the N8 is a let down, I stop thinking it is a conspiracy and just realize that the different reviewers were obviously expecting more from the device. Likely it isn't a bad device, but it isn't a killer one either. To compete with the iPhones and Droid devices out there, you can't pull shot for shot. You need to be at least a few magnitudes better if you're even going to take away a small portion of their loyal fan base. I think the N8 is a good phone, and arguably one of Nokia's best in recent memory, but... That isn't enough to compete, and I think the early reviews are reflecting that.