Almost a year ago, I compared the N8's camera to that of the Samsung Galaxy S II, but the newly arrived Galaxy S III is claimed to have a better camera, with more advanced image processing, and I couldn't help but wonder - does this new 'III" get closer to the 2010 N8 than its predecessor did? After all, two years of sensor and algorithm improvements - could they compensate for not having as large a sensor as the N8?
I think I shocked a few people when I declared, back in January, that the feature at the top of my shopping list when choosing a smartphone was a loud speaker. I did justify this, mind you, before quoting a few phones from all platforms in some sort of best-worst order. What I'd like to do here is go further, keeping the list to just the Symbian world, this being AAS. Which Symbian phone will be at the top of the tree?
You may remember that, exactly six months ago, I wrote 'Nokia C7 vs N8: Female vs Male: Madonna vs Kurt Cobain?', facing arguably the two top Symbian handsets against each other and pointing out that they had very different personalities. The same is true of the N8 versus the Nokia 701, arguably the C7's direct successor. We've covered the 701 before, in review part 1 and review part 2, but since then the device has received a big Feature Pack update, including a processor speed bump, so why not take a sideways look at the N8 and updated 701, blow by blow?
The subject of the future for current Symbian users has been debated a lot over the last year or so. "I've got to try living with the times", I thought, so I switched my main SIM into the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, 4.6" screen, dual core processor and full on Android 4. I'd dabbled with Android a lot in the past, of course, but this was an intensive week's test. I wasn't even allowed to pick up a Symbian phone, other than for review purposes. And you know what, my SIM card's now back in the N8 and I think I'm faster, lighter and more productive on my mobile feet as a result - here's my fairly personal list of things I missed after my week with Ice Cream Sandwich...
The period 2001 to 2011 should be celebrated, it's the decade when the humble 'mobile phone' become more, so much more. And it's worth noting Nokia's part in this transformation, with five things listed here that the company absolutely nailed in the fight to give us more and more powerful phones. But I also can't let such a retrospective go by without a similar attempt to identify the five biggest mistakes that Nokia made, leading to its somewhat troubled existence in the smartphone world of 2012.
Nokia's 808 PureView, with its 41 megapixel camera and large 1/1.2" sensor, has generated a lot of excitement and interest. Earlier this week I visited Carl Zeiss AG's Headquarters in Oberkochen, Southern Germany, to learn more both about the technology inside Nokia's new imaging flagship and get a first hands-on with a near-retail device.
In my recent 'N8 to 808' feature, I postulated that the natural upgrade from an N8 would be to a 4.3"-screened smartphone at most, but there was a definite opinion that the new Samsung Galaxy S III is still an attractive option for current N8 owners, despite the size. Having spent some time with the SGS3 at the launch event, I wanted to compare specs and features between this and the 'shoe-in N8 upgrade', the 808. Personally, I fancy owning both...(!)
The 'my phone (or smartphone platform) is better than yours' debates across the tech world rage on, somewhat amusingly. Yes, I know that megabucks are involved, that sales of successful products now reach into the many tens of millions, that each launch is bigger and better funded than the last. But I also can't help notice that we've only been seeing gradual improvements for the last five years and that, in truth, I could happily use almost any top-end device from that entire period to accomplish all the things I need a smartphone to do.
With the world of Symbian seemingly shrinking around us, in terms of 'sales marketshare' at least, because of lack of presence in shops around the world, and with mainstream application development only including Symbian rarely, the question of 'where, if anywhere, should I go, after my N8?' is certainly a valid one. What are the pros and cons of other platforms and other devices? Apple iPhone 4S? Nokia N9? HTC One S? Or perhaps the 808 PureView is the one to go for and the rest of the world be damned?
I've done other top lists here, based on functionality and innovation, but never one based on pure cosmetics and elegance. And, with that in mind, we discover in my latest Top 10 a few unsung heroes of the Symbian world. You see, the raw power and functionality usually championed on this site often comes with something of a price in terms of compromises to appearance - the devices on offer here include some which are fairly unusable out in the world but which look a treat...!
