• Nokia N8 Hands-On Preview

    Nokia N8 Hands-On Preview

    Prasad Naik, Aug 09, 2010 1530 hrs IST

    We go hands-on with Nokia's latest and greatest smartphone.

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As we get closer to the launch date of the highly awaited smartphone from Nokia - the N8 - people are getting more and more excited about it. A lot of people are waiting to get their hands-on one, including people here at Techtree. So Nokia arranged a little hands-on session for a lucky few from the media and the blogging community in Delhi so that they can demonstrate to us all the features in their new phone and let us spend some time with it as well. They were also kind enough to fly us all the way to Delhi for the event. So after spending a couple of hours with the device I have plenty of things to share with you guys. So let us get on with it then.


 


Nokia N8




Before I begin with the preview of the N8, here's a quick rundown of all the important features that the handset has:

  •   12 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss 28mm wide-angle lens, xenon flash, mechanical shutter, variable aperture and 1/1.83" sensor
  •   Anodized aluminum body
  •   3.5", 640 x 360 pixel AMOLED display
  •   16GB built-in memory (further expandable by 16GB through microSD cards)
  •   HDMI-out with 5.1 channel Dolby Digital Plus surround sound audio
  •   USB On-the-Go feature for connecting any portable USB memory device directly to the phone
  •   High definition, 1280 x 720 video recording with dedicated microphone and stereo audio
  •   Quint-band 3G connectivity; Wi-Fi 802.11n; Bluetooth 3.0
  •   Symbian ^3 operating system


That does look like quite a formidable feature list. So now let us get on with the preview of the handset. (Note: The devices we used at the event were all prototypes and hence were not functioning perfectly. This is why we were also not allowed to take any camera samples from the device.)


 

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Discussion Board
(50) Comments
Dr.Roshan
,MUMBAI, on Dec 10, 2010 01:07 AM
Nokia dont know nothing about "touch-screen".. i brought 5530 Xpress for Rs.16Gs and it was total waste of hard earned money! Within 3 months my handset was nearly ready for trash-can as dealer was offering me Rs.500 for "recycling" it !! Could u believe it !!! Nokia sucks!!!
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amit arora
,pathankot,punjab, on Oct 16, 2010 01:17 AM
which battery is gud for a mobile,a mobile with a battery of 1200mAh or with 2000mAh,in terms of talktime.
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nitin
,nasik, on Oct 03, 2010 01:32 PM
Its very obivious that nokia is pioneer in multitasking and its file management is also better than anyother. Samsung and Apple are just giving large sige and stylish icon but comfort with nokia is better than both. It has got fm transmitter , it has got superb camera(you will realise differernce when you will take photos or just behave like numb and keep showing off you phone to others and have less qualities), it has got nice audio quality(though apple is master in that), . We can create new folder and keep application in them, have many option with internal submenu.
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vins
,banglore, on Sep 21, 2010 04:05 PM
This mobile have the same look as LG GT540 which is a android phone...
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KARTIKEYA CHIE
,MUMBAI, on Aug 08, 2010 09:16 PM
well worlds giant leader has to accept that there is nothing new in n8 in fact the latest and perhaps the best model of the company is actua;;y an outdated one. its few non-avoidable short-comings 1) a slow 680 mhz processor wjere samsungs is already have a 1ghz 2) 256 mb ram quite good to sound but is far behind than others having 512mb ram which is really a necessity in a good multitasking smartphone 3) battery is not removable, that means if your phone just freezes out nothing to do,actually you can remove it by a screwdriver but this would void your warranty 4)screen resolution is outdated even n900 has a better resolution which was released about a year ago 5)no document editor ,which is a must in a samrtphone 6) 12mp camera looks good but satio already got it a year before at last ,if nokia has to get up in smartphones they really need to get out of this shortcomings,mind it this is an expert advice! other things are good !
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Shrieky
,Mumbai, on Sep 15, 2010 03:30 PM
First of all the n8 is not supposed to be a ultimate phone. it a multimedia phone. About the processor being slow. Check out on desktop pc's. Software code written optimized on a hardware runs faster than bad code. Hey android needs a faster processor it runs on a virtual java environment. Ghz mean nothing, usability and battery life is more important. Ram having 256Mb is slightly dissappointing but for a phone at its level its actually fine. Add the fact that the OS can easily perform virtual memory calculation, this disadvantage should be negated. On the nokia world the mobile soltions head showed the phone running 25 apps in multitasking Battery not removable i feel is a really bad point. But i heard from places that a hard reset can be done by pressing the power button for 8 secopds, dont know how much that is true. the battery life is supposed to be better so Document editor is for bussiness phone and its there on the e7, this is not a bussiness phone and yes 12megapixel may have come but the quality of the n8 optics is unrivalled. When your commenting on a phone please research about it first. Or just dont buy the phone if you dont like it
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sai
,hyderabad, on Sep 14, 2010 06:56 PM
really it's awesome,when will come to india.
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John
,MYsore, on Sep 06, 2010 01:08 PM
The N8 packs a lot of features for its price..,Which i believe is around 22k..,But its never gonna overtake Biggies like iphone 4 or the HTC phones...,
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Yash Didwania
,Kolkata, on Sep 05, 2010 12:34 PM
when is it comin 2 india
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Madhavan
,Mumbai, on Aug 18, 2010 11:13 AM
Its awesome. .
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its_live
,delhi, on Aug 29, 2010 12:01 AM
1. Hardware is the best i have seen so far. 2. What about software ?? Icons are static... they are not live. Home screen looks garbage.. not organized. In short OS sucks. Windows Phone 7 with same hardware would be the BEST PHONE EVER !!
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parakram
,udaipur , on Aug 16, 2010 12:06 AM
nokia touch screen phone sucks. PPL dont ever go for nokia touch screen, i used nokia 5800, and it was waste of my hard earn money
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pranav the teen
,Thane, on Aug 09, 2010 11:52 AM
just 256mb ram,slow 600mhz processor n symbian????????????????????? nokia has no chance wid dis 1 unless sum idiotic nokia loyalists go fr it
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iFraud
,bangalore, on Aug 09, 2010 01:16 PM
slow? this thing records and plays 720p hd, and btw your specs are wrong it uses 680mhz arm11 with broadcom gpu.
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pranav the teen
,Thane, on Aug 09, 2010 01:44 PM
well....720p video playing is no big deal...evry oder hi-end smartfone has it be it d iphone 4,galaxy s,evo 4g,etc....nokia is hoping 2 sell dis fone only on its camera power...agreed it has a fantastic camera but well...no 1 wud buy a fone simply for its camera....symbian sucks...i had an n73 n 5800....both wer terribly slow....gotta get d IPHONE 4 soon
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Anuj
,Delhi, on Aug 10, 2010 01:03 PM
chandru basu is one of them :p go and study abt android first....i hardly use phone cam compared to my digicam...and yeah i have owned N82 earlier hardly clicked pics from it on regular basis
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jeetu
,bombay, on Aug 11, 2010 04:06 AM
your..name..says..it..all...u.have.no.idea.abt.fones.....symbian.os.is.the.lightest.os....256mb..ram...with.gpu..the..fone.is.very.fast...go.see.the.videos..i.own.a.mobile.shop.have.used.all.kind.of.fones..nthing.is.easy.fast.and.practical.like.symbian.os.with.lot.of.apps...N8..the.best.fone.with.the.best.features.in.a.Fone...
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luqy
,bradford-uk, on Aug 11, 2010 08:33 AM
idiotic nokia loyalists?.......insult the phone all you like but other people may like it and we would prefer you not call us idiotic. fair doos that the phone has software that should have been released a year ago, an ugly OS, and a slower than average processor, but no ones asking you to buy it, so why start hitting on the people that want to buy it. oh and i thing youde have to be quite an apple fanboy to buy an iphone 4, which only presents a higher res screen, 5mp camera thats just pathetic with a poor single led, a grip(or rather a spot) that kills reception, poor multitasking,changeable wallpepers(wow amazing), and a £550 price tag. no thanks, i think ill keep my arm n leg, n buy a nokia n8 because im the idiot and you the genius buying the brilliantly magical iphone,........well atleast you get a case with yours, and steve jobs to tell you all phones are faulty, deal with it.
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Zero Rich
,Hyderabad, on Aug 12, 2010 08:19 PM
Haha... nice one @Luqy! Now this teeny weeny wont comment!
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jot3000
,manchester, on Aug 12, 2010 02:07 AM
Ok folks'I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on N8,don't really know what all the fuss is about regarding android,had a x10 for a week but sent it back,screen was a joy and web browser was excellent,that aside was mostly nonplussed, have had a n96 for last 18 months,good camera, good camcorder,good music player,usable web browser.I just want more of the same but better!I have never used nokia touch screen device,is this the problem everyone has with symbian?Will i be gutted with nokia touchscreen??
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DROiD
,PATAL, on Aug 12, 2010 12:11 AM
simply a kitty/kiddy phone with 1998 celeron proccy and toilet gUi^3. When's Nokia gonna've a custom mobile like lappys from DeLL.
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sri
,gtn, on Aug 11, 2010 02:06 PM
after using n97 for five months i dont want to buy any nokia phone for ever when n97 released every one boasted the specs and accidently i went to buy n97 from the day 1 it has shown effects on me constant hangings rebootings are common and the scrolling utterly crap the side volume bar lost color now phone screen has lots and lots of scratches and in ovi there is only some 7000 apps where apple boasts with 300000 and google boasts with 100000 apps and one more thing that nokia will move to sym ^4 in near future and new model is coming in next year and iam sure this N8 ONLY A INTERIM device with INTERIM SYM^3 so beware
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Piyush
,surat, on Aug 11, 2010 11:29 AM
Mr. Prasad Naik please let me know from which camera you have shoot nokia n8 video. i like your camera quality..
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Prasad Naik
,Mumbai, on Aug 11, 2010 12:40 PM
It was an Olympus SP-800UZ.
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kLouD
,Chandigarh, on Aug 11, 2010 08:05 AM
and yeah what about MeeGo.... Will it be possible to install it on the N8... i.e. after it is launched by Nokia...!! :o
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Karthikeyan
,Bangalore, on Aug 08, 2010 10:29 PM
Techtree website is not openning properly in my 2Gz Vista machine, how the hell it will open in Nokia N8! You should have opened some other websites.
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kLouD
,Chandigarh, on Aug 11, 2010 07:54 AM
man... my brother's E63, dad's E75 and even mine Nokia 6080 is able open this site as well as many others [ well mine can't access any networking site thought :( ] n ur sys ain't.... thats serious...!! :D :D
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kLouD
,Chandigarh, on Aug 11, 2010 07:49 AM
also as far as iPhone is... i think it is an upscale iPod with which u can play games pretty easily and has an option for calling thats all... so i wont regard that as a ground-breaking technology... though i liked the game playing experience of the phone and the UI but still it is a blown up iPod. moreover where apps for iPhone are concerned i read somewhere that most of the apps available are useless and only 20% of the remaining can be regarded as useful. + the death-grip problem on the iPhone 4 was a major turn off... x-(
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kLouD
,Chandigarh, on Aug 11, 2010 07:44 AM
i hope the phone is good... i am planning to buy one this month or the next. the only thing that bothers me is that it has irreplaceable battery as well as the battery is a 1200 mAh unit... something that is gonna b disappointing as it is 20% less performer that those available in most of the phones N8 is competing with. Any how lets wait n c the reviews when the phone is released.
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prasooncc
,Kochi, on Aug 09, 2010 02:25 PM
I do not understand why Symbian is called outdated.If it is said so,based on the first release,then Linux based on Unix should be the most outdated one,Windows and others a far second.Don toe the line of american tech bloggers who knows next to nothing about Symbian.
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ChandruBS
,Bagalore, on Aug 10, 2010 08:31 AM
Good point man... Sym^3 i think is as good as Samsungs Bada OS.. which got rave reviews.. ppl are simply biased against Sym^3. My frens have iphone 3gs/ iphone4 and android2.1 ( htc hero etc) .. i used them.. it is really a pain to use them.. the multitaskin support provided by Sym^3 is unmatched.. Symbian was the pioneer of multitasking .. and it will remain!! Galaxy doesnt have a flash, not even an led flash.. poor samsung guys! same with those 30k+ htc fones.. pathetic camera and music quality!! Loved the fm transmitter feature. Nokai n8 is a fone with every damn feature. it can do anything tat all other fones do.. just cant wait for this fone. ad killer pricing.. bruited tat its only 22-24k
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jeetu
,bombay, on Aug 09, 2010 08:45 PM
Guys dis fone is not even out yet how can u all say its laggy and slow....go se the videos..its fast and not buggy...i have used N 97 for a year,,,after version 20 and now on ver 22 i have had no problem...and now dying to own N8 the mobile power house...N8 the best fone as of now...samsung can never come close....galaxy with no flash...no fm transmitter..bad sales service...no software updates....Nokia gives us the features we really use....the N 95 did more than iphone cld ever do...new iphone released with all problems...network and display problems...nokia improves thier fone often...Nokia rocks....N8 the best fone as of now.....
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VICTOR
,PHILIPPINES, on Aug 09, 2010 11:09 AM
As you said you tested a prototype, what are the expected difference and changes to the hardware and software for the actual phones to be sold?
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Prasad Naik
,Mumbai, on Aug 09, 2010 11:29 AM
The hardware is supposed to be exactly the same. The software would be more stable and all the features such as multi-touch support and accelerometer, which were a bit wonky during our hands-on should work properly. The camera performance is also expected to improve.
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Saket Iyer
,Rasayani, on Aug 09, 2010 10:52 AM
Is there a hard reset button? Or do we have to wait for the battery to drain out everytime the phone hangs?
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VICTOR
,Philippines, on Aug 09, 2010 11:04 AM
Just press the Power button for 8 seconds and the phone will restart if it ever hangs. This is according to the Nokia N8 manual that was out months ago.
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Gautam
,Jalgaon, on Aug 08, 2010 09:15 PM
I m tired to see same ikons and same fonts again. Come one nokia, no one can distinguish between s^3 and 5th edition, at first instance. Atleast Change Font styleeeeeeee
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Abhijeet gyal
,Chitradurga, on Aug 08, 2010 03:37 PM
I think the N8's alchellies heel wud be the BL-4D battery that it uses. Its just a 1200 mAh powerpack, with this i wud be ssurprised if the hanset manages to last more than 12-15 hrs after every recharge; and N8 spare battery cannot be used as a standby. I think atleast a 1500 or ideally a 1800/2000 mAh battery should have been used. I am saying this coz i am currently usung a N97 Mini which uses the same battery. I use two batteries just for talking and a few snaps + a few miniutes of internet, it uses the same bl-4d battery.
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Prasad Naik
,Mumbai, on Aug 08, 2010 07:43 PM
I think if you figure in the fact that the N8 has an AMOLED display then I think the lower capacity battery won't be much of an issue.
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A.RAKESH REDDYH
,HYDERABAD, on Aug 08, 2010 01:35 PM
wt's the difference bwteen n8 when compared with other high end models
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A.RAKESH REDDY
,HYDERABAD, on Aug 08, 2010 01:30 PM
what would be the price
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sujoy
,Nagpur, on Aug 07, 2010 11:24 PM
N8 does not look premium with those lipstick colors...y dont nokia just give some chrome metallic color or aluminum alloy body...And best feature is USB tethering and Camera....remaining all r there even in Omnia HD which came 1.5 years ago
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pranav
,Thane, on Aug 07, 2010 10:10 PM
dont wish 2 hurt d sentiments of nokia loyalists(as i was a big 1 too) but nokia ,here,is just trying 2 make d fone sell based on its awzzum camera....oder features still playing catch-up wid iOS n android
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dude
,kochi, on Aug 07, 2010 06:01 PM
Hey guys, where's Hardware Part 2? or was it just a typo?
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Prasad Naik
,Mumbai, on Aug 07, 2010 09:35 PM
Oops! Sorry, that was just a typo. There is no Page 4 for Hardware.
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David
,Toronto, on Aug 07, 2010 08:39 PM
Thank you for the review! I found it balanced... i wonder if it'll be possible to install Meego on N8 once that OS comes to NokiA>
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dude
,kochi, on Aug 07, 2010 09:14 PM
Now that's interesting Dave. Meego, huh? I'd sure love to see it on the N8. It'd be easier to do it on the N900, though.
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anu
,blore, on Aug 07, 2010 08:02 PM
thanks i hav taken a n900..superb fone ..now having memory of 40GB :) so fast than symbian..i will goo for meego only instead of symbian
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modifii
,dmn, on Aug 07, 2010 06:53 PM
Good work Prasad, very honest review. I totally agree with your views on N8 & Nokia.
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Ashmeet singh
,delhi, on Aug 07, 2010 04:58 PM
when it will available in delhi
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