Since the dawn of time (1993), Symbian devices/smartphones have had various three or four-fingered salutes to kill things and, importantly, to bring them back from the dead should the unimaginable happen. The keys required to 'hard reset' a S60 phone have varied over the years because of differences in form factors and button availability, but it seems one of Forum Nokia's writers has discovered the magic combination for the Nokia N8 and other Symbian^3 phones, see below.
Now that didn’t take as long as the N8! Nokia’s Conversations Blog is reporting that the Nokia C7, announced last month at Nokia World, is now shipping to customers. Making it the second Symbian^3 device to hit retail, the C7 matches the majority of specs of the N8, missing out the HDMI port, 12 megapixel camera, and of course has a reduced price tag.
Definitely not recommended for anyone reading this, but fascinating reading nevertheless is iFixit's teardown of the Nokia N8, with numerous valuable insights into how the N8 was made, including titbits like the AMOLED display not being fused to the outside glass so that, in theory, you don't have to replace both if you break the latter. Details of the various chips inside are also of interest, though I'd warn again - do not try this at home. Leave N8 dismantling to your local Nokia Care Point!
Forgive the blatant plug, but this is one Phones Show programme that you might want to catch. Inside show 122 there's my video review of the Nokia N8 - trying to summarise this device in 1500 spoken words over 10 screen minutes wasn't easy - you can judge my efforts below, as the show is embedded for your convenience. There's also a mini review of the Motorola Flipout, a diminutive but capable qwerty smartphone.
Never mind the current crop of misleading 'N8 vs ???' camera comparisons that have popped up on the web over the weekend - to do camera phone tests properly you need patience, a good eye and some knowledge of the art. While waiting for part 2 of our own review of the Nokia N8, which will indeed look in gory detail at its camera, check out Vaibhav Sharma's excellent look at a specific use case - taking the N8 out and leaving a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera at home for general purpose daylight photography.
So Nokia made the September 'window' after all. As widely reported around the web this morning, Nokia has put out a press release confirming that the N8 has now started to ship, from both Finland and China. "Customers who have placed a pre-order for the N8 in Nokia Online Shops and Nokia retail stores" will get them first. Market availability will of course vary by country and by operator. Look out for part 1 of my multi-part review of the full retail Nokia N8 this weekend on All About Symbian - this device deserves the full review treatment and Rafe and I are not going to hold back.
Hat tip to CJ, who spotted online this brand new 4 minute video run through of all that's tasty about the imminent N8, seemingly shot for the UK market specifically. It's pretty well-informed, despite the overt marketing tone, and well worth turning up your speakers and watching. The video is embedded below. As a bonus, I've also embedded the video mini-documentary about Nokia creating the world's largest cinema screen - for showing a film being played off the N8....
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?
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!
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.
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 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.
