Nokia N8 Symbian^3 Smartphone With 12 Megapixel Carl Zeiss Camera

Nokia has officially announced its first smartphone that is powered by the latest Symbian^3 OS, the Nokia N8. N8 is packed with new features, especially the 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash and the ability to view HD videos. It is also a very social-networking centred as it allows you to connect to various social media/network on the go.

Key features of Nokia N8

• 12 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera with Xenon flash, auto focus and 720p HD video recording
• 3.5-inch capacitive nHD (640×360 pixels resolution) OLED touchscreen display
• Three customizable home screens personalise your Nokia N8 with applications and widgets
• Easy access to Web TV services for watching programs, news and entertainment from CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic on the go
• Built-in A-GPS with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive voice-guided navigation in over 70 countries worldwide
• Connect to home theater system via HDMI for enjoying HD video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound
• Instant access to popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter with one touch of one handy app
• All-new Symbian^3 platform with support for gestures like multi touch, flick scrolling and pinch-zoom
• Faster and more responsive user interface thanks to enhanced 2D and 3D graphics
• Bluetooth version 2.1 + EDR and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity
• 16GB internal memory storage, expandable up to 48GB thanks to microSD expansion slot
• Available in 5 variants of colour – Silver white, Dark grey, Orange, Blue and Green
• Talk time: Up to 720 minutes ; Standby time: 390 hours ; Music playback time: 50 hours

Pricing

This phone will be available around July or August depending on countries. The announced price is €370, which is about RM1560, but i do think the price would be higher in Malaysia.

My Views

The main issue I have with this phone (and like most Nokia smartphones) is the lack of support or development for their OS. They just introduced N900 with Maemo, and now N8 with Symbian^3. Such changes actually doesn’t quite benefits the users because they would be lesser apps or support available. Apple has done a good job with its iPhone not only because of the phone external features but its OS, which is constantly being upgraded. This allows them to have hundred thousands of apps available. And yeah, NOKIA need to improve on its user interface!! Learn from HTC or Apple please!