Buy Nokia N8

NOKIA N8

Verdict: A well-rounded multimedia device with an awesome camera.

Specifications:

Rs 26,259

www.nokia.co.in

Dimensions (WxHxD): 59.1x113.5x12.9 mm; Weight: 135 g; CPU: ARM 11, 680 MHz; Storage: 16 GB; Display: 3.5 in, AMOLED capacitive, 360x640 pixels; Camera: 12 MP

Contact :Nokia India

Phone: 0124-30303838

EMAIL: NA

 

Nokia’s N-Series is back with a bang. The N8 is finally here and comes with a promise of revitalizing Nokia’s high-end segment with its funky new age look and updated OS, but at Rs 26,000, will it deliver on the promises Nokia has made?

The N8 sports a sleek and elegant yet funky looking anodized aluminum alloy shell that’s available in a wide range of color options. It’s comfortable to hold and convenient to use and carry around. The singular menu/home button below the 3.5-inch (360x640) OLED capacitive touchscreen tucked safely away behind a scratch proof Gorilla Glass, may seem a little iPhone-ish, but is nevertheless conveniently placed for quick access. A light sensor and front facing camera are located just above the display. It also comes with dual microphones for added voice clarity via active noise cancellation technology.

A dedicated camera button is on the same side as the display lock slider switch and the volume/zoom keys, while hot swap slots for the SIM and microSD cards are located on the opposite sides just above the micro USB port. The N8 can be charged either via the USB port or the standard Nokia pin charger socket. The Power button, Mini HDMI port (adapter cable provided) and 3.5 mm handsfree socket are located at the top. The N8 comes with 16 GB of internal memory, so there’s plenty of space for all your media.

The only protrusion that tends to make the otherwise sleek handset just a tad bulky is the 12-megapixel camera at the rear. The Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash are raised a bit, but that doesn’t really get in the way. There’s no removable battery compartment, and while the Apple iPhone has successfully proven that it’s not necessary, should your device hang, a hard reboot by removing the battery is not an option here.

This is the first Nokia device to come with Symbian "3 OS, which Is pretty much the same OS with a few added tweaks like multiple desktops and customizable widgets. Some of the other tweaks include tap-and-hold functionality that brings up settings, and an option to simply tap and access missed call/message/Wi-Fi and other icons, making it so much more convenient than going through the menus.

With its ARM 11, 680 MHz processor and 3D Graphics HW accelerator, multitasking is a breeze. We had over 15 apps open simultaneously and had no issues with speed. The accelerometer worked like a charm, but multi-touch could have been a little smoother. Copy-pasting data could also have been a little easier. The only issue with the new OS is that it’s boring. It’s almost the same as the N97 or the X6. The icons are the same and so is the layout.

 

The N8 is designed to cater to users who have been clamoring for more media functionality. We’d like to say that it lived up to all the hype, but it actually fell just a little short. The music player’s interface has been tweaked a bit to suit the new age album art and cover flow style, but the core player is essentially the same. It comes with stereo widening and a loudness option as well as a few EQ presets. However, there’s no option to customize the presets or create your own like you’d find in a standard Symbian smartphone. Audio quality was exceptional, but at a rather low decibel level. The radio worked quite well, providing decent reception almost everywhere. There’s a also an audio recorder that has a pretty good range.

On the plus side, the N8 comes with DivX and XviD video support. Just drag and drop for instant playback. Better still, thanks to the handset’s HDMI out and Dolby Digital Plus audio, 720p video playback on a big screen was amazing. Like the music player though, it has one flaw; it doesn’t bookmark the videos where you left off. You can keep it paused in the background while you do other things, but if you use the ‘Back’ option, you’ll have to start all over.

As one would expect from a high-end phone, the N8 comes with all the standard connectivity options like Wi-Fi, GPS (with Ovi Maps pre-installed), 3G, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, and USB 2.0. The new USB-on-the-Go feature allows you to connect a pen drive to the handset and view its contents, be it video, music or documents. The native browser is still pretty much the same and in some ways that’s good. With full Flash support, you’ll get a desktop-like browsing experience. The set up process for email hasn’t changed much either, and it isn’t a time consuming task even for Exchange accounts.

The implementation of social network integration with the phone book was a little disappointing, because you can’t sync with your Google account to download your contacts. You’ll have to individually link contacts to their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts; there’s no automated way to do this. The Social Network App is just for Facebook and Twitter and could easily have been a little better laid out. There’s also no option to upload images to sites like Picasa or Flickr directly from the image itself.

All the basic apps that you’d find in a standard Nokia smartphone with the Symbian OS are present, including a Quick Office document viewer and a PDF viewer. Voice commands and text-to-speech functionality are also part of the handset’s features. The N8 also has an FM transmitter, a YouTube application, and a universal search function. The sensor settings allow you to silence the alarm or incoming calls by simply flipping the handset over.

 

The N8’s biggest asset is its 12-megapixel camera. The only problem here is that there aren’t enough features. The only new setting is face detection, but this is still is one of the best camera phones we’ve tested. Images quality is just superb with the level of detail retained to quite an extent.  Macro images also look really good with vibrant colors when taken with enough light. Low light conditions also produce fairly good pictures, but they tend to be a little dull.

What’s also really remarkable is the camera’s quick start-up and processing time. The 720p videos also looked really good. Overall, the camera definitely met our expectations.

On a full the charge, the 1200 mAh battery ran for a good two days even after taking scores of pictures, videos, listening to music and using the Internet via Wi-Fi. Talk time averaged in at over 5 hours. Another very significant feather in the N8’s cap.

With a price tag of Rs 26,259, the N8 is a great choice if you’re looking for a well-rounded multimedia device with a kick-ass camera. It does have its quirks, with a few small but significant options having been left out, but on the whole, it offers a wide range of services and features that gives it a little bit of an edge over the competition. Nokia fans will not be disappointed, and if you’re not a fan, the camera will almost certainly make you one. Our only hope is that Nokia will fix the few bugs we’ve pointed out. In any case, the positives far outweigh the negatives, so we’d say go for it.