Nokia N8
( Review )

Nokia N8 is Nokia’s latest answer to the current high end smart phones in the industry. N8 comes with many improvements such as the Symbian 3 OS which cannot be ignored. However, the 12 mega pixel camera with Xenon flash steals the show.   Interface   The Symbian 3 interface shows a lot of improvement as compared to Symbian 1. The homepage has 3 alternative panes to choose from which can be filled up with as many widgets as one desires. The panes can be switched with a swipe of the finger. Widgets manipulation can be achieved by going to the options and pressing down. The main menu is pretty familiar and can be seen as a list or a grid depending on the user’s preference. Heavy multi tasking can also be supported and the only noticeable lags are when trying to shut down programs simultaneously. Symbian 3 although may not be quite there with Android, but is certainly much better than its predecessor.

Phonebook

The Phonebook is excellent and also provides social network integration. The phonebook displays whether the contact is from phone memory or SIM memory. Favorite contacts can be moved on the top and every contact can get its own ring tone, picture or video. The addresses can even be fed using maps. The best feature however is the integration of contacts with Facebook or Twitter which means one can see the profile or status of the contact with a click on the contact.

Messaging

Nokia N8 provides all sorts of messaging options that one might need and much more. One can use the T9 keypad or the QWERTY keyboard as per preference. The keyboard however has little spacing and hence makes typing rather uncomfortable and leaves room for many errors. Messages can be viewed in a normal inbox or threaded conversations and can be seen in order of dates, senders or any other priorities that the user might have. Gmail account can also be set up simply by feeding the user ID and password.

Music Player

N8 has a new improved music player with much better interface. There is also automatic sorting by artist, album or even genre. The player supports numerous formats and can be minimized to play in the background. The audio quality from the headphones is very impressive and so is the loudspeaker. The phone does not disappoint here.

FM

The FM radio supports automatic scanning for frequencies. The interface is simple and very user friendly. Also the phone automatically displays the station name available in particular location and many other cool effects. So, if you’re traveling, the phone automatically finds the station available and displays it.

Camera

The N8 boasts of a 12 mega pixel camera on the back which can sweep you off your feet. The camera with a Carl Zeiss lens comes with a powerful xenon flash and a 28 mm wide angle lens. The camera works extremely well in low lit areas. There are shortcuts next to the viewfinder for flash, camcorder/still mode and customized settings, but most of the settings require another menu from the customized settings. One can also adjust wide balance, colour tone, exposure ISO, contrast and sharpness. Bonuses like face detection and geo tagging are also available. The pictures have excellent resolution, details and the exact colors. All these qualities make the camera a deal winner for this phone.

Video recording

The makers wanted the camcorder to be on par with the still camera. It can capture 720p (1280 X 720 pixels ) videos at 25 frames per second, which is pretty good. The 3x digital zoom is impressive as the resolution of the phone at full zoom is also pretty much the same. The video camera also takes care of noise reduction.

Connectivity

N8 provides us with all kinds of connectivity options including GPRS, EDGE and 3G with HSPA. The USB comes with a standard micro USB port which not only transfers data, but can also charge the phone. Bluetooth connectivity is adequate and comes with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support while the Wi-Fi antenna has support for wireless. Also, to complete the picture is the micro HDMI port that can output up to 720p video and audio. The cable is provided in the package.

Web browser

N8 has decent browsing now that they have flash compatibility and zoom options. The pinch and zoom although is a step in the right direction, lags behind in accuracy. However, the FlashLite 4 supports Flash videos pretty well. However, the You tube videos sometimes do not fit the screen , although this problem has been combated on web pages using double ended arrows. Google search is ready to use and history can be viewed in the form of a separate thumbnail. Of course, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are well catered for. Hence, the web browsing is adequate, but lags behind a little as compared to other smart phones in its league.

Ovi Stores and Ovi maps

Ovi stores have been updated to store a few more applications that users might need or find interesting. The interface has also been given a face lift to make it seem more user friendly. Ovi Stores have a few thousand apps which are divided into categories of applications, games, audio and video content or by collection.

The Ovi maps are a big attraction especially seeing that Ovi maps navigation is free for all their smart phones now. They provide you with three different view modes including satellite and terrain maps. It also provides a route planer or a selector and is also perfect for pedestrian navigation.

Features at a glance

Disadvantages

• Symbian 3 not on par with Android

• Inconvenient camera interface

• Non replaceable battery

Advantages

• 12 mega pixel camera is amongst the best in the market

• Micro USB port with USB on-the -go support

• Excellent video recording and a micro HDMI port for 720p TV out functionality

• Smart and voice dialing

• DivX and XviD video support

• Impressive audio reproduction quality

Nokia N8 is a good choice if photography and video recording is important to you, along with decent web browsing and an impressive music player and FM radio.