This week we've seen an increasing amount of speculation that the Nokia N8 has been delayed. This speculation is the latest in a long line of rumours about the N8's availability; something which has seemingly become almost standard for high profile devices. This time round the rumours range from a delay of a few weeks up to around a month and a half. So what's the reality? Has the N8 been delayed?
Coinciding with Nokia World and the current season are a number of promotional videos from Nokia that highlight aspects of Symbian^3 that we haven't seen before on All About Symbian. Ahead of review devices arriving that actually run the new version of the OS and interface, I thought it would be useful to embed some of these videos below, for viewing over your morning coffee. Take the marketing spin with a pinch of salt in each case, but there are useful demonstrations of how the relevant parts of Symbian^3 will work.
Never more than in the last year or so, smartphone enthusiasts have been decrying Symbian and advocating switching to an Android smartphone or Apple iPhone. "Enough is enough" they cry, "I'll be able to do so much more if I switch!". Errr... no. Not really. Having used many Android phones and having been using the iPhone and other iOS devices over the last two years, I've come to the conclusion that the grass really isn't greener on the other side of the fence - it's just a different colour altogether.
We've seen N8 photo samples before, but especially link worthy today is the guy who effectively created the N8 and its camera, Damian Dinning (also of this parish), putting up over 140 of his best N8 9 and 12 megapixel photos as a Flickr set. Some stunning examples in here, all un-retouched, though it's worth noting that Damian's also got pretty good at taking photos - the user element should always be borne in mind!
An interesting closing paragraph from Kevin Tofel’s observations on developing for Symbian OS sums up some of the issues facing Nokia and Stephen Elop over the next few months and years. Tofel was covering the event for GigaOm, and has talked to a number of developers to ask “what’s it like to develop for Symbian?”
Some smart thinking on the part of Nokia at the Nokia Developer Conference, taking place alongside NokiaWorld 2010, with every developer picking up a new Nokia N8 to test and develop their applications. It’s a similar strategy that was used to get last year’s Nokia N900 into the hackers hands, and it should help the availability of new and tweaked/ported software when the N8 gets to public availability in the next few weeks.
In case you didn't watch the two-plus hour live streaming of the Nokia World 2010 keynotes yesterday, don't worry, for you can watch the best bits at your convenience, below, a special edited version from the Nokia Conversations team. In addition to footage of the main speakers, you also get to see lots of the attendees and their devices - bonus points for picking out any familiar faces! The main speakers featured are Niklas Savander, Anssi Vanjoki and Purnima Kochikar.
As part of its Nokia World announcements, Nokia today introduced the Nokia C7-00, a mid-range device, running Symbian^3, in a touch slab form factor. Features include a 8 megapixel EDoF camera with the ability to record HD (720p) video, a 3.5 inch AMOLED screen, 8GB of internal memory, microSD card slot, integrated GPS and comprehensive connectivity options. The C7 will be available in Q4 at a price of €335 before taxes and subsidies.
More devices from Nokia World 2010, as the Nokia C6 (more specifically the C6-01) running Symbian^3 makes an appearance. It’s a touch based device, but unlike the existing C6, it’s lacking a keyboard. What it does have though is Nokia’s latest screen technology (the Clear Black Display), HD 720p video capture, 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, MicroSD support, A-GPS and the usual Ovi Suite, connectivity options and accessories. Availability is down as Q4 210 for 260 Euros, naturally before taxes or network subsidy.
At the Nokia Developer Summit today, Nokia unveiled a number of major improvements in its developer tools, including "significant enhancements to the Nokia Qt (SDK), resulting in a 70 percent reduction in the number of lines of code required when developing for Symbian", improvements to the Ovi Store "including a new look and feel, making it faster and making apps easier to find", plus a "lower barrier of entry and increased monetization opportunities for developers, including free Java and Symbian signing, in-app purchase, improved revenue share, and advanced developer analytics".
At Nokia World 2010 today, Nokia introduced the E7-00, running Symbian^3, a high-end hybrid (touch and QWERTY) device, with a clamshell form factor, that recalls both the N97 and Nokia's popular Communicator series. It is the new flagship for Nokia's enterprise-focused Eseries device category. The standout feature here is the form factor with its four line QWERTY keyboard. Also onboard is an 8 megapixel camera, a 4" 'Clear Black' AMOLED screen, 16GB of internal memory, integrated GPS and comprehensive connectivity options. The E7 will be available in Q4 2010 at a price of €495 before taxes and subsidies. Read on for pics, specs, opinion and some videos.
Nokia World 2010 starts today and the team is on the ground to bring you live coverage from Nokia's premier event. Over the next two days we'll be bringing you the key news, views and information. This news story contains our live coverage, where you can see the latest images and text updates; you can also interact with the team, asking questions and adding your own thoughts. Alternatively you can keep up to date by following our @aas account on Twitter, where we will be posting text updates and images.
Having seen All About Symbian get a serious freshening up this week (design, discussions, structure, etc.), today sees The Phones Show also getting the spring clean treatment... in err....the autumn! As of Phones Show 120, released today, the show is 720p HD - and yes, it's still all filmed on phones. In this case the Samsung i8910, but it's appropriate that show 120 covers my verdict on the top 5 720p-shooting smartphones. You might recognise the no. 1 in the list - and you'll also recognise the E5, the subject of my hands-on video review.
Nokia's UK music service, Ovi Music, is now DRM-free in its pay-per-track store. Nokia started switching its music stores last year; while new country launches moved straight to the DRM-free version, existing countries have been switched over only gradually. Ahead of next week's Nokia World and the launch of the N8, Nokia is moving over most of the remaining countries to the new version of the service, where there are no restrictions on how and when you play any of your music downloads.
Nokia today released two new first party gaming titles through the Ovi Store. Ovi Maps Challenge is a map-based geography trivia game. As you play, you unlock additional levels and collect countries in your passport. Bounce Boing Battle is a two player game, played over Bluetooth between two devices, and offers a twist on the classic Pong style of gameplay. Both games are implemented in Flash Lite and have been developed by Rovio, the same company that created the popular Angry Birds game series, and are available for all of Nokia's touchscreen Symbian phones.
