Nokia N8 review: Director of photography

12 October 2010
We’ve come to take Nokia for granted in the low end or the business class but it seems it has lost the knack for killer phones, run out of royal blood. It’s up to the Nseries to fix it all up. The Nokia N8 may just turn out to be the right cure. With that kind of hardware. Update, 08.02.2012: Symbian Belle update hands-on...

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  • S
  • Selva
  • 2SN
  • 31 Oct 2010

Hi Friends..
Am Selva from TamilNadu,India. I got my Nokia N8(dark grey) on last monday after refering to many reviews as possible. Initially i was little afraid to buy Nokia N8 and planned to buy after 3 months. But when Nokia announced that the Symbian^3 will be continuously updated in future enhancements, i decided to buy it. I bought it for 24,000 INR including tax. A day after i goy my N8 i had a trip to my nera district so i havent used it much. When i returned after 2 day trip, i started to play with my N8. It was working so perfectly and there is no lags at all. For me the problem started when installed Kaspersky Mobile Security(KMS). My sweet N8 started to reboot continuously, so i took it to Nokia care. They cleaned the mobile and gave back to me. From that time to till noe i was enjoying the features and performance of N8. To say it in Simple Words. Nokia N8 is simply Super. GREAT JOB NOKIA.

In between i left a another incedence. When i was taking photo from my N8 i always had very poor quality photo and is worst when compared to 3.2MP camera also. So i again called to Nokia Priority and asked for replacement. But thay asked to come shop. When i reached shop(am fully wet because of rain) i took the moble from plastic cover and gave to Dealer guy. As soon as het got my mobile he removed the camera plastic cover and asked me to take photo. What a suprise... My N8 is shooting the Still very comparable to my Cannon IXUS 130. I saw those photos in HD TV available in Showroom. I was so happy that i have not wasted my money. Moreover dealer guy assured that if there is a problem surely he replace the mobile.Am really happy now And i can proudly say that Nokia N8 is value for money and even more.

Thank u friends. Sorry for my language.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • kKn
    • 30 Oct 2010

    Im in love with the N8! Is the best! Dont care about Android or Iphones!
    Hardware is the way to go!!

      • t
      • tony
      • up7
      • 30 Oct 2010

      guys just brought this phone.everything is fine but my gps is not working.google maps keeps saying seeking gps signal but never says gps active.same story with ovi maps
      .plz hep.

        • H
        • HELLBOY
        • 2SQ
        • 30 Oct 2010

        Lalo, 30 Oct 2010http://thehandheldblog.com/2010/10/04/shootout-nokia-n8-v-c... moreThanks a lot dude its awesome
        i think it will answer all the N8 lovers :)

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • Hkx
          • 30 Oct 2010

          Murad, 30 Oct 2010Thanx Doctor Shahkar & Anonymous...But still now i am r... morehtc hd2 is a very good device but the OS windows 6.5 will no longer get support as windows phone 7 released..so u wont get much support from microsoft as they r concentrating on windows 7 OS..so it useless to buy ..if u like windows 7 u have to wait i guess for 2 months to come in to ur country..

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • Hkx
            • 30 Oct 2010

            Murad, 30 Oct 2010Thanx Doctor Shahkar & Anonymous...But still now i am r... morei suggest u go for htc desire..as they r very good built devices..and runs very smoothly..all android devices have battery problem..i mean they last for a day..if u r fine with.symbian then u should close ur eyes go for n8 as it has a good hardware features like camera,hdmi and USB on the go features..nokia will update the softwares quickly by firmwares..i own galaxy s and i get so much kag beside the good cpu..n everyone knows samsung updates are poor as i am still waiting for froyo update..htc desire runs android and its the best android device with htc sense..i guess htc n galaxy s all will have priced down as they released around 5 months back..where as n8 is already cheap i guess..so go for htc desire if u like android n go for n8 if u like n8 hardware with symbian..finally it comesdown to money..hope u get something to understand from my comment..cheers

              • M
              • Murad
              • Ia7
              • 30 Oct 2010

              Thanx Doctor Shahkar & Anonymous...But still now i am really confeused...what will i do?? Which set i will buy??? i can't understand...Where i get original HTC in bangladesh??? Is HTC HD2 Good??
              Please remove my confused..and give me a good suggetion guys...thank you both u again..

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • Hkx
                • 30 Oct 2010

                [deleted post]dont buy galaxy s as it lags a lot..i own galaxy s and planning to exchange..its has powerful cpu but it just dont work..u need to get lagfix for it..and no froyo update till now..bhild quality also bad..only one thing is bettet ie SAMOLED..u can try out HTC DESIRE if u r not interested in n8 and symbian OS..by the way samsung support is bad compared to nokia and htc..

                  • D
                  • Doctor Shahkar
                  • IaH
                  • 30 Oct 2010

                  [deleted post]Go with Samsung Galaxy S .
                  You will be getting the updated firmware as well as SGS is simply outstanding with Android 2.2 and growing App Store . The user experience of Android is much much better than Nokia . Scrolling flicking zooming browsing , Softwares , games are better than Nokia N8 .
                  But if u are a person who like Very hi quality pics , then go with Nokia N8 .
                  It All depends on what You Want .
                  Super Amoled Screen of SGS is Brilliant , the Best you can get on any Mobile today as well as its Hummingbird Processor is the Most Powerful and fast in Mobile todate .
                  Nokia N8 camera is superior to SGS camera , but dont get the impresson that SGS camera is Bad or of low quality , it is also a very hi quality cam but just not good enough to surpass Nokia N8 . Cheers

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • vwq
                    • 30 Oct 2010

                    [deleted post]galaxy s operting system is updated than n8 so go for samsung galaxy s

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 3IJ
                      • 28 Oct 2010

                      thank you nokia for n8 its the best phone ever

                        • t
                        • tosb
                        • 3Hu
                        • 28 Oct 2010

                        I wonder why whenever the N8 is being reviewed you find people wishing it had an android os or some other os. It's like buying a Mercedes Benz and wishing it had a BMW engine in it. If you want an android phone, then don't buy symbian... simple. There are still many happy symbian users out there.
                        And what's all this nonsense about not having enough apps. How many millions of apps do you need to satisfy you. Nokia Ovi may not have as many apps but there are certainly enough apps to satisfy even the most demanding user.
                        Buying a smartphone is very subjective. Find the phone that best suits you and buy it. There's no perfect phone out there. It's all about taste and choice.

                          • q
                          • q8phantom
                          • iAp
                          • 28 Oct 2010

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRH3WdI4KOo

                          This is the new updated browser for N8 and new home screen swiping system coming soon next firmware!!

                            • C
                            • Clint
                            • fq4
                            • 28 Oct 2010

                            Oops, cut off half my post....


                            Video recording at 30fps : If you really feel this is necessary then a hack has already been released, together with one for virtually RAW image output.


                            Shame, soon you are all going to be forced to bow down before the N8 as you will have nothing more to criticise!! ha ha

                              • C
                              • Clint
                              • fq4
                              • 28 Oct 2010

                              Oh dear, the poor haters... the things they claimed all over in criticising this phone are dwindling by the day.

                              Browser : Nokia has stated that an updated version will be released shortly. http://nokiasaga.com/nokia-n8s-new-browser-and-improved-homescreen-swiping-demoed

                              Social integration : Version 2.1 of Nokia Social has ALREADY been released and allows photos to be shared directly from the camera/photo album to twitter and facebook. Also major changes to the appearance. http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/12227_Nokia

                                • T
                                • Tiger
                                • m5E
                                • 28 Oct 2010

                                quick update folks

                                the review states that the battery is not on par with other smartphones - Sorry but i gotta disagree.

                                For me the battery is one of the best of any smartphone I've had (no problems at all with battery life on the N8)

                                Also about the camera interface? again -what is the problem with it - its a interface something you get used to and once u do its fine...
                                other than that i agree with everything else in the review.

                                p.s the keyboard is really bad... :-( so thinking of getting rid of the phone actually

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • Er2
                                  • 28 Oct 2010

                                  [deleted post]True about what you say....that's why more people leave the almighty brand for other brands, because they don't (know if you want) what's good about the phones from the almighty brand anymore. Various statistics have shown the almighty brand is losing market share, especially mid-high end smartphone markets. (and so called "smart" phones asles of this company may be inflated due to the fact it counts even S40 phones are smartphones, where most S40 users don't know what "smartphone" really is and simply use them like any other feature phones)

                                  One thing the almighty brand N8 can never catchup with Apple is the status and recognition....most people can recognize a phone being Apple, whether being 2, 3, 3G, or 4. But N8? Is that a E7? Sorry, most non-experts can't easily tell.

                                  And what the hack is going on with the model numbers of this company? It used to be "relatively" clear: 1 series being basics, 2 series being "sort of" mid-class, 3-series being young ones, 4 series being never appeared (for unknown reasons), 5 series being rugged (but then later become express music with the death of 3 series?), 6 series being so called "business" (but personally I can't tell much different from 2 series), 7 series being "fashion", 8 series being high end fashion, 9 series being high end business.

                                  But now? We have C??-??, C?, E? N? What are the differences? Why keyboard version of N8 becomes E7?

                                    • T
                                    • TSH
                                    • Qdg
                                    • 28 Oct 2010

                                    AndyD, 27 Oct 2010This is not true- I got mine delivered last Thursday (21st ... more"the best phone out there is the one that is best for you - not me, or your mate, or any faceless user (myself included) on a comment page or web forum.."

                                    Truth.
                                    I'm a hardware nerd, so N8 suits me. If I were a software nerd, I'd definitely get a droid of some kind. If I were in it for the shiny, I'd be going iPhone. And if I just wanted a phone I'd still have my old 6300.

                                      • M
                                      • Mark
                                      • 0pd
                                      • 27 Oct 2010

                                      @TQCI (I'll call you that since it's your IP and you haven't managed to put a real name in).

                                      I don't care about the iPhone 4. It's boring and simplistic which, given your appalling command of English, is probably for the best. I'm here because I like the N8 and it offers the best package for me.

                                      If you like your phone so much then why are you here in a topic about the N8 instead of enjoying it? Buyer's regret maybe? It seems the lady doth protest too much LOL!