In a word or two
The Nokia N8 is the latest high-end smartphone from Nokia that has the potential to rival the iPhone.
The Design
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The casing of the N8 is made of anodized aluminium and comes in a range of bright and subtle colours. The ends of the phone are slightly rounded and the frame has an unusual, different-to-an-iPhone shape about it. The screen is the only feature on the front, aside from a small button to launch the menu and activate the phone. And on the back is the very stylish Carl Zeiss camera lens – with a scratch-resistant surface like the screen.
The screen itself is 3.5 inches, AMOLED and capacitive. This ensures your Nokia N8 user experience is vibrant, interactive and responsive – there is even support for 3D graphics for bringing your favourite games to life.
Nokia N8 Specifications
If the N8 proves to be as amazing as it looks and seems on paper, the phone will replace the N97 as Nokia’s flagship smartphone. Running on the latest Symbian 3 platform, the phone has 256MB RAM and 16GB internal storage so you can run the apps you want to and store the images you want to. With a microSD card, the memory can be increased to up to 32GB.
However, this is not the most impressive feature of the N8 – that really is its visual qualities. There’s the 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash – as well as the more standard features like face and smile detection. Even though this is a high-end device, a camera this good is striking. And there is film editing software onboard this Nokia so you can chop and change your snaps with ease. The camera’s video can capture HD video for clear footage.
When it comes to watching your images on the Nokia N8, you can do this on the high resolution screen or use the TV-out option via the HDMI connection and hook your phone to your HD TV. Combined with the Dolby Digital Plus for surround sound, the visual and audio capabilities of the N8 are in a league of their own.
To support your music experience, the N8 has a 3.5mm audio connector and plays up to two days’ music playback.
You can also enjoy social networking on the Nokia N8 as communication is streamed to the home screen – in a similar fashion to the MotoBlur function on Motorola phones and the Friend Stream on HTC devices. This allows you to see who’s messaging, tweeting, emailing or texting you in the one place – and we’re pretty certain you’ll be able to reply directly from here too.
Considerations
You can personalise up to 3 home screens on the N8, which is good but when you consider all the apps available from the Ovi Store it may become a squeeze. The HTC Desire has 7 home screens, for example.
Verdict
The Nokia N8 looks and, from what we know, is in a new class of its own when it comes to mobile media ability. With advanced features including a fantastic camera and video, WebTV and a browser with Flash support, this handset is bound to impress.
You can pre-order/ buy this phone from our UK partner, Best Mobile Contracts