[SHATNERSTACTIC]

Nokia N8 official! Price, specs and pics! | Nokia Conversations - The official Nokia Blog

* 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash
* 3.5-inch HD capacitive touchscreen
* HDMI connectivity
* 16GB of built-in storage expandable with micro SD
* It will cost €370 and starts shipping in the third quarter of 2010.

"The first device to be powered by the brand new Symbian^3 platform"

Been coming awhile this one. Not something that's likely to tempt me back from Apple though. Looking forward to giving it ago still.

EDIT - videos on this blog - http://www.slashgear.com/nokia-n8-ge...-2010-2783236/

[BT@HOME]

Camera shots First 12-megapixel sample photos shot on Nokia N8 – untouched! | Nokia Conversations - The official Nokia Blog

[vwdubman]

First video taken by this phone. Looks beautiful.

Video

[Usama]

Originally Posted by vwdubman

First video taken by this phone. Looks beautiful.

Video

That video looks amazing I cant believe that it was taken from a phone! Much better quality then many HD camcorders!

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by Usama

That video looks amazing I cant believe that it was taken from a phone! Much better quality then many HD camcorders!

I'm wondering if part of the reason is due to the lens - the N8 has a lens optimised for a specific focal length, whereas a camcorder with a typically large zoom range isn't optimised for any specific point.

If what Nokia have stated is true, the N8 has a larger sensor behind the lens than many (most) compact cameras, which does give it an advantage in so many ways. It'll be interesting to see how it copes with final firmware and usage by people in the real world.

[RobM]

Lens and sensor size has been the limiting factor of mobile camera quality since day one... so if Nokia have finally taken proper steps to use a larger sensor, we may finally have a camera phone worth taking seriously as a camera

[antireal]

This really is a finnaly nice product from nokia...

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I'm due my upgrade fairly soon, and was previously on the fence between the N900, N97 Mini, and Sony Satio. I was leaning towards the N900, but there were too many aspects which I didn't like, but with an impending upgrade coming I didn't really want to be stuck on a 24 month contract with a phone I didn't really like all that much... Then along comes the N8 which seems too good to be true!

The specs are fantastic, and rivals the Satio and trumps the N900 in most areas. I am seriously leaning towards this device, especially as I see it comes in a nice cool blue colour! I've also heard some horror stories about the N900 which only put me off it even more. The N8 appears at first glance to be everything I would want (Xenon flash FTW!), and the only important things still left to confirm (And the decider for me) is what material the phone will be? Will it be yet another cheap plastic gadget? Or will they put in that little extra effort and give it a metal shell? I have my fingers crossed for the latter, but there's that pessimistic part of me which just knows they're going to ruin a perfectly good concept by giving it a **** plastic casing...

Can anyone confirm what the phone is going to be made of?


Any news of when it is going to be made available? I am guessing late October, although if it's slated for June / July then even better! I am also guessing that it won't be as expensive as the N900 and will be on par with maybe the N97 Mini, so hopefully a 24 month contract can be avoided


EDIT:

Ok, i've read the blog and found this: "The chassis is made from a single piece of anodised aluminum" - First question answered!

Also read that it is rumoured to cost €370 - Which I am guessing is roughly £400 - Third question answered If that is indeed true!)

All I need to know now is a release date! Third quarter can mean anywhere between June, July, or August - My contract runs out in middle of June, so I am hoping that it comes out by then or is not too far off so I can at least place a pending order...

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by Gemini-Phoenix

Ok, i've read the blog and found this: "The chassis is made from a single piece of anodised aluminum" - First question answered!

Also read that it is rumoured to cost €370 - Which I am guessing is roughly £400 - Third question answered If that is indeed true!)

All I need to know now is a release date! Third quarter can mean anywhere between June, July, or August - My contract runs out in middle of June, so I am hoping that it comes out by then or is not too far off so I can at least place a pending order...

Nokia have claimed 370 euros. Works out at around £330.

Have you seen the sample stills and videos? It appears to offer image quality easily equal to (or better than) dedicated cameras.

A few of the staff involved in the software/testing have been popping up on forums, and apparently the firmware is considerably better than anything previously released from Symbian.

Fingers crossed .....

Only question (for me) is which colour?

[theshabster]

Originally Posted by RobM

Lens and sensor size has been the limiting factor of mobile camera quality since day one... so if Nokia have finally taken proper steps to use a larger sensor, we may finally have a camera phone worth taking seriously as a camera

In my opinion Sony Ericsson's Satio was a good effort - I've been using it as a dedicated PAS camera for over 6 months, & although it has it's flaws, it's probably the best camera (for taking stills) currently available as an integrated device within a mobile phone.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by theshabster

In my opinion Sony Ericsson's Satio was a good effort - I've been using it as a dedicated PAS camera for over 6 months, & although it has it's flaws, it's probably the best camera (for taking stills) currently available as an integrated device within a mobile phone.

There have been a few that have been good efforts over the years.

I still count the pictures I took with the W810 (and its plugin flash - well positioned away from the lens, so no redeye problems) were absolutely stunning - nicely focused, beautiful (cool) colour balance. I hoped/expected the K800 to be a better camera than its 2mp predecessor, but it wasn't - it was useless whenever the flash was used.

N73 did a good job on focus, and produced sharper images than the Casio EX-Z600 I had at the time. Obviously it was useless indoors, no flash.

The sensor in the N8 is supposedly a lot larger than that in the Satio, so it should (in theory) be able to produce much sharper/less noisy images.

[theshabster]

I was referring to the most recent phones available over the past 12-18 months dude, as I thought comparing older phones wouldn't be a fair comparison. Saying that though, my old N95 took some quality pictures for its time.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by theshabster

I was referring to the most recent phones available over the past 12-18 months dude, as I thought comparing older phones wouldn't be a fair comparison. Saying that though, my old N95 took some quality pictures for its time.

True, true .....

The N86 was a confusing effort, apparently good basic optics (like the N95), but let down by a useless flash (like the N95).

I keep on hearing mixed opinions on the Satio - overall its apparently good, but there's enough negatives to question the camera. I should ask the ex wifes daughter to send me some sample pics, she's had a Satio since they came out. If her facebook pics are taken on it, then its dire .....

[RobM]

This is the problem though, however good camera phones are they are always good for a phone...

If you took side-by-side photos on a camera phone and then on a dedicated PAS camera of reasonable quality, the camera phone will be shown as lacking in terms of quality, accuracy, colour reproduction, focus, DoF etc

Hopefully the N8 will change that somewhat and be good... full stop.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by RobM

This is the problem though, however good camera phones are they are always good for a phone...

If you took side-by-side photos on a camera phone and then on a dedicated PAS camera of reasonable quality, the camera phone will be shown as lacking in terms of quality, accuracy, colour reproduction, focus, DoF etc

Hopefully the N8 will change that somewhat and be good... full stop.

In general thats the case .... but the problem with phone cameras is generally exaggerated by low light performance, and lack of a strong or well metered flash. They're generally not that bad outdoors or in a well lit environment.

[RobM]

I do agree, I've got some really nice shots out of the iPhone in good light and my current phone, a Blackberry 9700, takes some decent photos in good light. I still take my PAS when I'm off out and about though

The only time I've not done this is when I had a Sharp 901 and the Nokia N82, which gave good enough quality. I'd still take my camera if I wanted to make sure I came back without photos that disappoint.

What I hope is Nokia release this and it really does live up to expectations, then other manufactures follow suit with similar technology and quality.

[theshabster]

Originally Posted by clonmult

True, true .....

If her facebook pics are taken on it, then its dire .....

I use the Facebook upload feature quite regularly with my Satio, & what you have to bear in mind is that the quality is reduced by either the phone or Facebook (or possibly both) - I presume that this is to allow quicker uploading, or it could simply be Facebook reducing/compressing image quality/size to save space on their servers.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by theshabster

I use the Facebook upload feature quite regularly with my Satio, & what you have to bear in mind is that the quality is reduced by either the phone or Facebook (or possibly both) - I presume that this is to allow quicker uploading, or it could simply be Facebook reducing/compressing image quality/size to save space on their servers.

Take a look at some of my very random snaps & judge for yourself, but note that the raw quality is better than what ends up on Facebook:

Mobile Uploads | Facebook

Its just a decrease in resolution, not necessarily a reduction in quality.

I've seen enough pics to realise that the Satio is a very capable device, but I'm worried by the quality of pics my step daughter has uploaded .... but she was never the sharpest tool in the shed

[theshabster]

Originally Posted by clonmult

Its just a decrease in resolution, not necessarily a reduction in quality.

I've seen enough pics to realise that the Satio is a very capable device, but I'm worried by the quality of pics my step daughter has uploaded .... but she was never the sharpest tool in the shed

That's the word I was looking for, resolution - It's been a long day at the office!

Your step daughter almost can't go wrong with the camera, as I use mine on automatic settings 75% of the time. However, you did mention that they were "dire", so I was just trying to show a sample of what it can take with very little (if no) tweaking).

As far as other features are concerned, the Satio is a fairly capable device, although Symbian S60 does feel a little outdated, especially when comparing it to the Android OS & HTC's Sense interface.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by theshabster

As far as other features are concerned, the Satio is a fairly capable device, although Symbian S60 does feel a little outdated, especially when comparing it to the Android OS & HTC's Sense interface.

Typical Symbian then - the basic features are as good as anything out there. But as the UI isn't all fancy, its described as being outdated. I prefer to call it functional.

I can't stand the look and feel of the standard XP/Vista/Win 7 interfaces, and have always dropped them back to the old Win2K look - at the end of the day the fancy transitions and lush UI designs don't really help you do anything.

Its one of the reasons why I like the 5230 - its basic, but does absolutely everything that I currently want - web (Opera), mapping (Ovi), camera (on occasions, its not that bad for video), calls, texting ....

[theshabster]

Originally Posted by clonmult

Typical Symbian then - the basic features are as good as anything out there. But as the UI isn't all fancy, its described as being outdated. I prefer to call it functional.

I can't stand the look and feel of the standard XP/Vista/Win 7 interfaces, and have always dropped them back to the old Win2K look - at the end of the day the fancy transitions and lush UI designs don't really help you do anything.

Its one of the reasons why I like the 5230 - its basic, but does absolutely everything that I currently want - web (Opera), mapping (Ovi), camera (on occasions, its not that bad for video), calls, texting ....

I guess I'm greedy & expect more from technology these days ... I'd like functionality AND a fancy GUI

[Gemini-Phoenix]

According to the website below, the release date and price have been confirmed:

Nokia N8 Release Date & Price – Nokia N8 SIM Free « Mobile Phones & Deals UK

UK release date: 24th August 2010
Sim-free price: £320

Had hoped that it was going to be a June / July release, but seems they're just scraping their promise of a Q3 release by only a few days.

This information is only for the default black coloured device though, so the wait for the other colours is going to be a bit longer. Hopefully i'll be able to negotiate a contractual deal in the two months prior to release so that my new contract will start as the old one finishes, rather than having to wait three months to start a new contract, as that would be three months added when I really don't need it.

I'm also hoping that because it's a relatively cheap phone, it'll have the option of 12 month contract, rather than the 18 and 24 cited for the Nokia N900! Fingers crossed!


Still seems too good to be true... Specs, price, design... If this isn't an iPhone beater then I don't know what else will knock it from its perch, although I think a lot of early iPhone adopters are now looking towards a higher spec'ed alternative (N8 / N900 / HTC etc), so hopefully this will be the ace in Nokia's hand!

[SHATNERSTACTIC]

Engadget have picked up some benchmark figures for the N8's processor and it looks promising :

Nokia N8 benchmarked against N97, makes it look old and busted -- Engadget

[BT@HOME]

Originally Posted by Gemini-Phoenix

According to the website below, the release date and price have been confirmed:

Nokia N8 Release Date & Price – Nokia N8 SIM Free « Mobile Phones & Deals UK

UK release date: 24th August 2010
Sim-free price: £320

Had hoped that it was going to be a June / July release, but seems they're just scraping their promise of a Q3 release by only a few days.

That release date info originally came from Amazon germany website ... and it now looks like everyone is picking the same date to put on their website too.

Regarding Q3 release I think you need to know that Q3 is July/August/September

[Wad2002]

I jumpe don the nokia band wagon taking out the N96 nearly 2 years back.

I have to say, I am not that impressed with the symbian OS inregards to limit of functionalilty and bugss. On top of that certifcates via installations is a nightmare.

Just played around with the iphone 3g and is more to my liking. Its so much faster and smoother than nokias and symbian.

My contract is up in the next 3 months. I think i might leave nokia this time.

[RobM]

Originally Posted by Gemini-Phoenix

Still seems too good to be true... Specs, price, design... If this isn't an iPhone beater then I don't know what else will knock it from its perch, although I think a lot of early iPhone adopters are now looking towards a higher spec'ed alternative (N8 / N900 / HTC etc), so hopefully this will be the ace in Nokia's hand!

If you're looking at this to be an iPhone Killer, you're in for a disappointment. But if you're looking at it on it's own merits, you'll be delighted I'm sure.

Symbian is not and never will be able to compete with the iPhone OS or Android, nor will Ovi be able to compete with the App Store or Android Market. Even Nokia seem to know this and are focusing on MeeGo for their flagship devices.

Buy it for it's merits and enjoy it, but trust me when I say the endless and fruitless game of trying to buy anything but an iPhone and then immediately comparing it to an iPhone only ever ends badly

[theshabster]

Originally Posted by RobM

the endless and fruitless game of trying to buy anything but an iPhone and then immediately comparing it to an iPhone only ever ends badly

Does the same apply to your Desire Rob?

I'm waiting for mine to be delivered, but limited Vodafone stock is delaying me getting my hands on the device

[RobM]

Originally Posted by theshabster

Does the same apply to your Desire Rob?

Not in the slightest, as I didn't buy it with the iPhone in any part of my decision making. I've had the iPhone 2G, then 3G, then 3GS and then this year I sold that for the Google Nexus One, then the HTC HD2, then Palm Pre, then Motorola Milestone, then Blackberry 9700 and then the HTC Desire. I still have a HD2 also for work purposes.

The iPhone is fantastic and I still maintain it gives the best overall user experience for most users. But I wanted to try the Nexus and I got caught up in the hype, but it left me cold. The HD2 I bought as the hardware is awesome and HTC's Sense UI is really impressive. But Windows Mobile can be a nightmare so I got a Palm Pre which is great, but stupid hardware faults meant I demoted it (I still own it, just don't use it). Then I got the Milestone as the Pre made me realise how nice it is to have a physical keyboard and I really like Android. Then I bought the Blackberry as I'd never owned one and wanted to try it out, but sadly the way it handles Googlemail email made it impossible to keep, despite being an amazing handset. So the fact I love the HTC Sense UI, plus Android, plus Googlemail interaction being important meant the Desire was a sensible choice next.

On top of that, I'm a tech-head and love playing with new tech, which was part of the thinking behind every single change

Also, I test handsets as part of my day job. So even if I don't buy a phone, I frequently get the chance to test handsets over a few days or weeks, or sometimes get my mitts on them for just a short period if they are pre-release.

So whilst I know the point you were trying to make and the poor attempt at being sarcastic I actually think all of the above makes me very well qualified to make statements as I did above. It also allows me to say with some certainty that there aren't that many devices that compete with the iPhone as an overall package. But each platform and each bit of hardware has it's own merits and flaws and this is what you should be judging the phone on.

So if you want a decent mobile phone with a great camera then you're on the right track... I think it will take a while before the imaging quality of this is bettered. But if you're looking for a web-based, multimedia, touchscreen phone with excellent App options and social networking integration... you're fooling yourself by convincing yourself this is the right option.

[theshabster]

Cracking post there dude - It made for some interesting, and (dare I say) slightly amusing reading!

Just to point out that I wasn't being sarcastic in the slightest. It was a simple question as I knew you had recently acquired the Desire, & I was interested in how you felt it compared overall to Apple's iconic offering(s).

Originally Posted by RobM

So if you want a decent mobile phone with a great camera then you're on the right track... I think it will take a while before the imaging quality of this is bettered. But if you're looking for a web-based, multimedia, touchscreen phone with excellent App options and social networking integration... you're fooling yourself by convincing yourself this is the right option.

I presume that the above relates to the N8 and not the Desire? If it relates to the Desire then I'm confused. However, being as good a mod as you are, I'm sure that was your attempt at keeping on topic

[RobM]

That was indeed my attempt at staying OT... as it was meant to be about the N8.

Incidentally, I dropped into conversation at work earlier that I really think we should look at testing the N8 as it could meet some key business requirements (waffle talk, but it works)... fingers crossed

So far all I've got to go on is a few personal opinions from contacts in the mobile industry. Every one so far has said it's a great phone, easy to use and live with and great imaging. But it should have the term 'quite clever phone' rather than 'smartphone' as the Symbian OS hasn't kept pace with it's rivals.