Nokia N8: Nokia’s smartphone comeback?

Nokia N8

A little while ago Nokia announced a few new handsets which it is to introduce soon. The Nokia N8, which I would like to cover today, sees Nokia making what appears to be a fresh start or a ‘leap forward’ in the smart phone world as a lot of features which have let Nokia’s smartphones down in the past, or rather the features they lacked, have been put into the N8.

The Nokia N8 is the first Nokia to run the new Symbian^3 operating system, and the first Nokia to sport a 12 megapixel camera. The N8 comes in a rather stunning ‘angular’ design with a tapered top and tail that looks very different from Nokia’s current array of devices which are mostly based on the 5800. The Nokia N8 avoids the dreaded black slabby look, partly through making the N8 an interesting shape, making it thinner, and partly because there’s no black version available (although there is a dark grey variant to choose from).

Features and Specifications

- Physical keys (Menu key, Power key, Lock key, volume keys, Camera key)
- Finger touch support for text input and UI control
- On-screen alphanumeric keypad and full keyboard
- Dedicated camera and volume keys
- Possibility to use capacitive stylus
- Screen size: 3.5″
- Resolution: 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) OLED
- 16.7 million colours
- Capacitive touch screen
- Orientation sensor (Accelerometer)
- Compass (Magnetometer)
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light detector
- 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash, Face recognition software and Autofocus

Why it could be a comeback

The most prominent feature of the N8, and even in front of that monster of a camera, is the 3.5″ 360 x 640 pixel capacitive OLED touchscreen display. It has to be said though that the display on the N8 isn’t as high resolution as the 800 pixel wide panels found in some high-end rivals, it’s worth bearing in mind that Nokia are pitching the N8 at just £350, so it’s nowhere near as expensive as an HTC Desire though.

Another very nice feature the N8 has is a whopping 16GB of internal memory, which takes off from where the Xpress Music range left off. The Nokia N8 is also a 3.5G device with support for all major UMTS bands. Maximum download speeds on HSDPA are 10.2 Mbps, with maximum upload speeds of 2.0 Mbps. The N8 also supports 802.11 b,g and WiFi, making it one of only a few handsets that supports the faster 802.11n protocol.

So when can I get my mits on one?

The Nokia N8 will, providing that the operating system is ready in time, be available at the end of Q3 2010. Stockists will include retail stores as well as online and third party shops > network wise the N8 will be available on all major networks, or be available (naturally) sim free direct from Nokia itself. Colour wise the N8 will be in Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue and Orange colours < and as with all Nokia’s there should be a huge array of accessories to grab at.