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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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • S6p
  • 13 Oct 2010

Anonymous, 13 Oct 2010"people want nice UI's, high res large screens, quick ... more"u want the deffinition of pathetic... someone who would stoop so low as to get personal, name calling BS on something as trivial as a...........mobile phone!!!"

Re-read your own post. Seems like you've stepped right in it.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • S6p
    • 13 Oct 2010

    Alui, 13 Oct 2010"Not so. The correct word is "HAVE", not &qu... moreLike using the phone as a business tool. For editing documents, using it as a storage medium, creating and editing graphs, financial tools on the go.. you name it. With Maemo I can even do some Linux programming.

    Games are fun and all, but some of us don't have as much time to waste. And frankly, games on a computer are much more fun to play anyway. If you have extra hours of your life to spend on Angry Birds, you are either a teenager or then there is something seriously wrong with your time allocation.

    To each his own, but don't put down Symbian because you don't know how to use it properly.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • wf5
      • 13 Oct 2010

      Anonymous, 13 Oct 2010"people want nice UI's, high res large screens, quick ... more"people want nice UI's, high res large screens, quick cpu's, apps and the ability to customize which nokia refuses to budge on"

      Judging from the majority of the comments on N8 forum and N8 news, most people are actually quite happy with this phone. Maybe you are a different kind of "people"? Don't try to present your personal opinion as everyone else's. If you hate Symbian, hate Nokia and this phone makes your pants dirty, you're better off going to Gizmodo or Macrumors. I'm sure you'll feel right at home there. Stop filling these forums with your trash, you are pathetic.

      WOWWWWWWWW... did i touch a nerve or what!?!?!? damn bro u just took it to a whole other level!!!.. truth is a hard thing to swallow i guess... then again im sure you are right at home swallowing huh...
      u know how many commments ive read from dissapointed nokia fans...honestly bro u say the word and i will copy and paste for days.
      did i say every nokia fan feels this way!?!?!?! and your speaking to me as if im anti nokia... ive owned 12-14 phones from all companies from nokia to samgsung to SE to lg.
      back on point though... you calling me pathetic??? hang on... did i ever get personal??? did i diss anybody at any time???
      honestly brother... u want the deffinition of pathetic... someone who would stoop so low as to get personal, name calling BS on something as trivial as a...........mobile phone!!!
      that is pathetic. u know it...
      seriously, how old are you???

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • nNS
        • 13 Oct 2010

        Nice phone, too bad for the non-replaceable battery gimmick.

          • A
          • Alui
          • Am9
          • 13 Oct 2010

          Anonymous, 13 Oct 2010Not so. The correct word is "HAVE", not "ARE... more"Not so. The correct word is "HAVE", not "ARE". We have nuts enough to see beyond the GUI and actually do stuff on our phones besides music/games."

          Like what?

          Mission critical programming, advanced image processing or cloud computing? LOL.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • S6p
            • 13 Oct 2010

            Alui, 13 Oct 2010"Symbian is a more versatile UI compared to android&qu... moreNot so. The correct word is "HAVE", not "ARE". We have nuts enough to see beyond the GUI and actually do stuff on our phones besides music/games. Oh, by the way, you're in a Nokia thread. Another clueless fanboy bashing other fanboys. You think you are an exquisite snowflake because you say Symbian sucks? I wonder..

              • A
              • Alui
              • Am9
              • 13 Oct 2010

              CosaNostra, 13 Oct 2010Symbian is an open source UI. try to google it and apprecia... more"Symbian is a more versatile UI compared to android"

              In what way? I used all my life Symbian phones (and I still use a Nokia X6) before SGS on Android 2.1, and I strongly disagree. What's your experince with Android 2.1 or 2.2 if I may ask?

              Seeing some on the comments here, I draw the conclusion that the Nokia fanboys belong in a tree. Because they are NUTS!!!

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • S6p
                • 13 Oct 2010

                Anonymous, 13 Oct 2010"Thanks for the review, GSMArena. I've made a decision... more"people want nice UI's, high res large screens, quick cpu's, apps and the ability to customize which nokia refuses to budge on"

                Judging from the majority of the comments on N8 forum and N8 news, most people are actually quite happy with this phone. Maybe you are a different kind of "people"? Don't try to present your personal opinion as everyone else's. If you hate Symbian, hate Nokia and this phone makes your pants dirty, you're better off going to Gizmodo or Macrumors. I'm sure you'll feel right at home there. Stop filling these forums with your trash, you are pathetic.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • PRW
                  • 13 Oct 2010

                  user, 13 Oct 2010so whats new? GSMARENA says the n8 camera is the new king, ... moreHmmm I smell some kind of jealously here.
                  Just accept that ur beloved Pixon can't defeat N8 bloody camera.

                    • u
                    • user
                    • nm9
                    • 13 Oct 2010

                    so whats new? GSMARENA says the n8 camera is the new king, my eyes and other website are saying the pixon12 still give a good fight and stay on top.

                    They both has good camera and its a matter of taste.
                    choose what u like.

                      • C
                      • CosaNostra
                      • t7E
                      • 13 Oct 2010

                      A.S, 13 Oct 2010When Nokia? WHEN? U want to khow that we are tired of this ... moreSymbian is an open source UI. try to google it and appreciate the wonders of Symbian. Symbian is a more versatile UI compared to android [though both of them are open source] and iOS. its pretty obvious you know less about symbian.

                        • P
                        • Parth
                        • 2Z1
                        • 13 Oct 2010

                        Feeling so proud to own a nokia phone! N8 is now the ulitmate camera 'phone'!!!

                          • A
                          • Alui
                          • Am9
                          • 13 Oct 2010

                          Mark, 13 Oct 2010Alui, your arguments would be more convincing if you knew w... more"Alui, your arguments would be more convincing if you knew what you were talking about. Every Nokia smartphone I've owned has been able to be switched to loudspeaker. The homescreen also unlocks to let you do this."

                          Let me tell you, I cannot put incoming calls on the speaker with one touch on my X6 is the screen is locked(I use this as a safety feature on all my phones), like you can on SGS

                          "- worse hardware?!!! no reply needed here:)"

                          Well, yes, there is. The SGS is made of plastic and feels cheap in my opinion. The N8 is made of aluminium which is stronger and feels nicer."

                          FYI "hardware" refer to the internal component of a device (processor, RAM, GPU, Screen) not the cover. Look in a dictionary!

                          "-an inferior camera - maybe, but the question is : what is sufficient? "

                          Whatever I deem it to be. The N8 is noticably better than the SGS or, indeed, any other phone in this repsect and seems to be the first phone which is a realistic replacement for a dedicated point and shoot camera."

                          ...and as the review says on video shooting iPhone 4 is better. SGS can shoot HD videos at 30fps. Anyway, camera is not the most essential feature of a phone for me.

                          "-worse battery life? maybe, but again SGS battery lasts enough to see a full movie and some more). Four hours of full use I say is enough for a day."

                          Four hours out of 24? Surely you jest."

                          Play whit a phone 4 hours a day and let me know how your neck feels. Mine hearts.

                          "-connectivity options?!!! Check the feature page of the SGS you'll see usb, blu-tooth, DLNA, TV out. Yes, you cannot connect directly to an USB flash card of a colleague, but I did not see one of that in years. What's wrong with the e-mail, blu-tooth, usb?"

                          Err... you can do all that on the N8. And more. That's the point."

                          Yes, but that MORE is not irreplaceable. If N8 had a detachable floppy disk unit, I'm sure the N8 fanboys would have said that is a feature worth to die for.


                          Forgive me but you're starting to sound like an SGS advertorial. I would politely ask that you do a bit more research before posting stuff that simply isn't true for the sake of your own reputation if nothing else.

                          Maybe I'm a SGS fanboy. Strange, because I did not become a iPhone fanboy, so that means something. How about I'm very very satisfied with the SGS, and very disappointed with Nokia and Symbian. Before SGS I had only top of the range at the moment, Symbian phones (Nokia, SE, Samsung).

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • P%B
                            • 13 Oct 2010

                            "Thanks for the review, GSMArena. I've made a decision based on the reviews so far, and finally including this one, that I am not buying the N8.

                            Symbian has a long long way to go, and the inability to play HD videos more than 2GB is just one of the bigger stumblings that I thought they wouldn't have a problem with. (The interface issues obviously number 1 reason.) The weaker flash seems to hurt it as well so I might just stick to my N82 for camera purposes while I use an Android for everything else.

                            Unfortunately Nokia is showing no signs of accelerating their OS development or even moving into Meego anytime soon. Even if they come out with a Meego in a year, imagine what iOS and Android looks like then? Imagine their App stores as well. Sadly, time to move on for me."

                            "Meego is Nokia's only saving grace for touchscreen devices. They should leave Symbian to non-touch. Sad to say, but only the camera was N8's selling point and not enough reason to lure me getting this phone. Next...."


                            2 user comments left here....this is what nokia needs to read!!!!
                            18mths ago this phone would have killed it, everyone wanted to have the best camera phone possible.. camera quality on 5mp shooters and higher for the majority is more than acceptable as technology improves

                            people want nice UI's, high res large screens, quick cpu's, apps and the ability to customize which nokia refuses to budge on. the whole camera race has come and gone... maybe nokia will learn with this one..
                            maybe

                              • N
                              • Naveed
                              • uWy
                              • 13 Oct 2010

                              This Review leads to the Sad Feelings. But Nokia Always gives a Solid and Usable device. So Nokia N8 is there. If U Still feel that Samsung Wave 8500 is good to buy then keep in mind that u r going to buy a Toy which will keep u Happy with its tricks but Nokia N8 has More Usability than Wave.

                              Now its up to U that you want a Toy or relatively More functional & Solid Device (Nokia N8)

                                • z
                                • zide
                                • nqG
                                • 13 Oct 2010

                                I would really like to see a N8 VS Satio comparison mates! Please make one with the Satio's last firmware.

                                Thanks!

                                  • A
                                  • A.S
                                  • g5N
                                  • 13 Oct 2010

                                  When Nokia? WHEN? U want to khow that we are tired of this UI... We've been using for a long time... we want a new UI... OK symbian is oK But UI is really boring...

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • P%B
                                    • 13 Oct 2010

                                    "We’ve given up looking for the ultimate smartphone, haven’t we? The Nokia N8 most certainly isn’t in contention there. And Symbian ^3 is not the best touchscreen experience you can get – although what’s fair is fair – it’s an improvement over S60 5th. And the Ovi store isn’t the best app market, but the guys behind it try really hard.
                                    Symbian sucks on touchscreen"


                                    will be passing on the n8 for sure

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • P%B
                                      • 13 Oct 2010

                                      ok im dissapionted... another let down for us nokia fans
                                      basically its nokia's equivalent to the samsung pixon12.....which was bought out like 18mths ago.
                                      if your onlyyyyyyyyyy concern is owning the best camera phone ok fair enough... otherwise soooo many better phones to choose from

                                        • M
                                        • Mark
                                        • 98}
                                        • 13 Oct 2010

                                        Alui, your arguments would be more convincing if you knew what you were talking about. Every Nokia smartphone I've owned has been able to be switched to loudspeaker. The homescreen also unlocks to let you do this.

                                        "- worse hardware?!!! no reply needed here:)"

                                        Well, yes, there is. The SGS is made of plastic and feels cheap in my opinion. The N8 is made of aluminium which is stronger and feels nicer.

                                        "-an inferior camera - maybe, but the question is : what is sufficient? "

                                        Whatever I deem it to be. The N8 is noticably better than the SGS or, indeed, any other phone in this repsect and seems to be the first phone which is a realistic replacement for a dedicated point and shoot camera.

                                        "-worse battery life? maybe, but again SGS battery lasts enough to see a full movie and some more). Four hours of full use I say is enough for a day."

                                        Four hours out of 24? Surely you jest.

                                        "-worse call quality? it's a phone, not a hi-fi audio system. Too bad you cannot put an incoming call on speaker on a Nokia like on the SGS."

                                        We've covered this one already.

                                        "-connectivity options?!!! Check the feature page of the SGS you'll see usb, blu-tooth, DLNA, TV out. Yes, you cannot connect directly to an USB flash card of a colleague, but I did not see one of that in years. What's wrong with the e-mail, blu-tooth, usb?"

                                        Err... you can do all that on the N8. And more. That's the point.

                                        Forgive me but you're starting to sound like an SGS advertorial. I would politely ask that you do a bit more research before posting stuff that simply isn't true for the sake of your own reputation if nothing else.