Nokia N8 With 1700/2100 AWS

[tzsm98]

The user guide for the upcoming Nokia N8 (https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=1272327&native_or_pdf=pdf)is now available on the FCC site.

"About the battery
Your device has an internal,
nonremovable, rechargeable battery. Use
only Nokia approved chargers designated
for this device. You can also use a
compatible USB data cable to charge your
device.
Do not attempt to remove the battery
from the device. Take the device to the
nearest authorised service facility for
replacement of the battery.
Authorised retail points may also offer a
battery replacement service."

I know I've read some folks thought Nokia needed to learn to be more like Apple but this is not what they meant!

Battery issue aside this seems to be a killer device. Huge camera, HD video HDMI out, GPS, it seems to have the works. It'll be interesting to see which carriers, if any, pick this up. It will do any Band of 3G found in the US.
http://nds3.nokia.com/pressphotos/public/global/devices/n8/Nokia_N8_01_lowres.jpg
Nokia Provides this introduction to the N8 on the Launch site (http://events.nokia.com/NokiaN8/)



Nokia introduces the Nokia N8, our latest smartphone that intuitively connects to the people, places and services that matter most. The Nokia N8 enables people to create compelling content, connect to their favourite social networks and enjoy the latest on-demand Web TV programs and Ovi Store apps.

The Nokia N8 introduces a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash and a large sensor that rivals those found in compact digital cameras. People can also make HD-quality videos and edit them with an intuitive built-in editing suite.

The Nokia N8 offers a true home theater experience with HD quality film and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. You can plug the device to your home theatre system with an HDMI cable.

The Nokia N8 enables access to local and global Web TV services that deliver TV programs, news and entertainment from channels such as CNN, National Geographic, E! Entertainment and Paramount directly on the homescreen.

People can update their status, share location and photos, and view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen. Calendar events from social networks can also be transferred to the device calendar.

The Nokia N8 comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation, taking you where you want to be and showing you what want to see in over 70 countries worldwide.

The Nokia N8 has 16GB of in-built storage space, expandable up to 48GB with a Micro SD card. Large files can be easily transferred to a memory stick with the USB On-the-Go.

With this announcement, Nokia is offering developers a new platform to innovate on. The Nokia N8 comes integrated with Qt, a software development environment that simplifies the development and makes it possible to build applications once and deploy across Symbian and other software platforms. Nokia has also made the simple to use Nokia Qt SDK available, in its initial beta, to enable developers to start realizing the potential of Qt.

The Nokia N8 will be available in select markets during the third quarter of 2010.

The Nokia N8 marks the global device debut of the new Symbian^3 software, featuring several major advancements:

* Usability enhancements across the user interface, including single tap, multi-touch and support for gestures such as “pinch-to-zoom.”
* Three personalizable homescreens on the Nokia N8, easily maneuvered through by a simple flick.
* Faster and more responsive user interface with new 2D and 3D graphics architecture that takes full advantage of hardware acceleration
* More efficient memory management allows more applications to run in parallel for a faster, more complete and efficient multi-tasking experience.

They provide these specifications:


Planned Market Introduction:
3Q 2010

Category:
NSeries, Smartphones

Available colors
Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue, Orange

Operating times

* Talk time (GSM/WCDMA) – 12/5 h 50 min
* Standby (GSM/WCDMA) – 390/400 h
* Video record – 3 h 20 min
* Music playback – 50 h
* Video playback – 7 h
* Video playback with HDMI – 6 h
* Web TV – 3 h 20 min

Technical Profile:

* System: WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
* OS: Symbian^3
* Form Factor: Touch screen monoblock
* Dimensions: 113.5 x 59.12 x 12.9 mm (L x W x H)
* Weight: 135g
* Display: 3.5 inch widescreen (640 x 360 pixels) capacitive touch
* Battery: 1200mAh BL-4D
* Media Storage/Memory: 16GB mass memory + micro SD card slot, 135MB internal memory, support up to 32GB memory cards. RAM256 ROM512
* Video Playback: Video recording, Performance: encoding 25fps, decoding 30fps, File Formats: H.264, MPEG-4, VC-1, H.263, Real Video 10, ON2 VP6, Flash video
* Music Playback: FM radio, FM transmitter, MP3 player, Supported codecs: MP3,AAC,eAAC, eAAC+,WMA,AMR-WB, DRM support, DRM: OMA DRM 2.0
* Main Camera:
o Lens: Carl Zeiss optics
o Image capture: 12 megapixels
o Video capture: HD 720p
o Aperture: F2.8
o Focal length: 5.4
o Flash: Xenon flash
* Connectivity:
* HDMI adapter CA-157
* WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n
* BT2.1 with support for stereo headsets
* Positioning with GPS, A-GPS, WLAN and Cell-ID
* Micro-USB 2.0 high speed for file transfers and charging
* USB On-the-Go
* Nokia AV connector 3.5 mm for audio input/output and TV out

[tzsm98]

Nokia has announced on the nokiausa.com (http://www.nokiausa.com/) website that Dark Grey is shipping next week and all colors are shipping beginning 10/08/2010.

This device has HSDPA Cat9, maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps. So, this will keep me happy for a while!

[angelinalove]

Nokia N8 the most beautiful and elegant mobile i have ever seen from Nokia, the style and look are really amazing and 12 mp camera will be really superb.

[tzsm98]

Nokia N8 the most beautiful and elegant mobile i have ever seen from Nokia, the style and look are really amazing and 12 mp camera will be really superb.
Mine is supposed to arrive this week. It will be a change from the N900. I'll post a review when I've used it enough to write a reasonable review.

[tzsm98]

Here is the review I promised

The N8 is head and shoulders over the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in almost every way. I use this as the benchmark device rather than the N97 as neither the 5800 nor the N8 have a physical keyboard. This is such a basic difference in equipment that comparing it to the N97 does not seem to make sense.

Physicality - The N8 is a metal device except for the end caps. It lacks a battery cover in the traditional sense which makes the body very stiff. I never liked a lot of flex in my phone bodies so this is good thing. It is surprisingly light without feeling surprising flimsy or cheap. It does not feel flimsy or cheap in the least. It fits comfortably in the hand. The buttons that are there, and there are not many, work with a nice feedback and silently, unless you've activated the keypress sounds. A lot has been made of the camera bump on the reverse. To me it is a convenient place to rest the finger while using the device as a phone or web device. Mine spends the bulk of the time in the Nokia case that actually minimizes the physical and visual impact of this feature. So, for me "what is all the fuss about?" is my reaction to it.

User Interface - Symbian on the N8 is not your grandfather's Symbian as seen on the 6290 or other earlier versions or even the S60 v5 for touch on the 5800. This does what you ask it to do with quite a bit of speed and without having to guess. The interface is a lot more consistent from task to task, screen to screen than had previously been the case. For example, almost all option menus on the device, if not all, have a choice of showing the open applications. Stuff is where you'd expect to find it. No need to go looking all over the interface for a setting. They are where they belong. Part of getting used to the new interface is getting used to the capacitive screen. 5800, N900, N97 and 5230, the Nokia touch devices I've had all were resistive touch. Very precise and fingernail friendly. Forget all that with the N8. It is finger friendly but not finger nail friendly. It is as precise as you can be with a finger tip. This is precise enough in the UI. It is not precise enough on many web sites.

Camera - I can not say enough good stuff about the reduced noise and reasonable sharpening levels of this camera! This takes better images than my 12 megapixel Nikon point and shoot. They are inherently less noisy and with fewer artifacts. The camera interface will look familiar to anyone who has snap a picture with a Symbian phone before. There are plenty of presets and the ability to manually set many of the parameters. It is not Fcamera like for the Maemo5 running N900 but there is a lot of latitude for the serious photographer. Video is HD. I'd love to tell you it was perfect but that would be a lie. There can be a small bit of stuttering in the video. What really rocks is the ability to do in camera, oops, on phone, editing of video. Add titles, transitions, move clips around, shorten clips, add music it is all there. You'll never miss the lens cover that isn't there.

Connectivity - Used to be you could mention Bluetooth, version 3 in this case, and a USB port and you'd be done for the day in describing connectivity options. The N8 makes you earn your reviewer pay. HDMI implemented through a mini-HDMI port exports your screen to your widescreen HDTV. It isn't just movies you can watch on your TV. You can play Angry Birds on your TV using the N8 as the interface. Composite TV out is another option. there is a visible difference in the quality between HDMI and composite. HDMI looks like BlueRay, composite looks like VHS. Wi-fi, n speed if you please, is another connectivity option. Hook up to your own wireless network at speeds that you used to only enjoy on your regular computer. It is very quick and painless to get it all going once you've mastered entry on the capacitive screen.

Network - This is the first phone I've had where I can swap my AT&T SIM into the device and not have to worry about 3G not being there. This received both T-Mobile and AT&T 3G signals dependant upon which SIM you've inserted. You have the option of locking in GSM, 3G or dual mode.

Call Quality - WOW! that about sums it up. Never dropped a call. Voice is clear and sounds great.

Browser - This is a weak point on this device. I can't do my on-line banking with this phone. I was surprised by this as I can do it on the browser on my Nuron. The browser is one of the bits that is supposed to get overhauled in the first quarter of 2011. I'm hoping.

Messaging - MMS, SMS, e-mail are all there and easy to use. Nothing earth shattering here.

Media - Well implemented music player, video player, Internet radio. FM broadcast of your music. Equalizer is there and works. The media player has been in pretty good shape in Symbian for a while so it is no shock that this works well. Coverflow selection of music is fun and fast.

Homescreens - Three homescreens to customize and load up with shortcuts, bookmarks and widgets. You can use theme wallpapers or select your favorite shots. Scrolling among the screens is a quick swipe.

Overall Performance
Overall the performance of the N8 is very fast. You press a button and it happens. Lag, no altogether gone, is missing in action most of the time. You can have a boatload of widgets and applications open at the same time and this will cause some lag. Remember to close what you are not using and you'll usually be okay.

N8 - My Secondary Phone
Despite all that it can do and do well the N8 is my secondary device. My primary phone is the N900. After using it for eleven months I've gotten used to carrying a phone call making computer. If the N8 browser could do my banking this would have been a much closer race for primacy. Once the browser upgrade is rolled out next year I may make the switch.