All About Symbian - Symbian, Nokia and S60 unwrapped.
Nokia N8 - content creation and consumption on Symbian^3
Published by Rafe Blandford at 10:05 UTC, April 27th 2010
Nokia today introduced their first Symbian^3 device, the Nokia N8. It is a web aware, content creation and consumption smartphone flagship in a monoblock touch form factor. It features a 12 megapixel camera with Xenon flash and the ability to record 720p (HD) videos, a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen with support for multi-touch gestures, 16 GB of mass memory, microSD card slot, HDMI out, FM transmitter, integrated GPS and comprehensive connectivity options (3G, Bluetooth, microUSB and b/g/n WiFi).
The phone will ship with a full range of Ovi services (Maps, Music, Messaging and Store) and marks the debut of Web TV and Social Networking integration service. With Symbian^3 comes a number of changes both to the platform and the UI. Among the highlights are support for multi-page homescreen, re-written graphics architecture, a renewed music experience with cover flow and easier access to albums, visual task switcher, streamlined menu structure with Direct UI single tap paradigm and performance improvements across a broad range of areas.
The Nokia N8 will be available in Q3 2010 at a cost of €370 before taxes and subsidies.
The N8 marks a number of important firsts for Nokia: it is their first Symbian^3 device (latest version of the Symbian platform), their first 12 megapixel camera, their first HD video recording phone and their first phone using the new (third generation) hardware architecture (re-introducing a graphics co-processor).
A key promise of the Nokia N8 is HD video consumption and creation. The camera shoots 720p video at 25 frames per second, which can then be played back on the device (down-sized) or via the HDMI out port (using the supplied cable). Nokia is also introducing the Web TV service, which delivers content-on-demand from local and global TV favourites (e.g. CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic; with additional 'channels' via Ovi Store). This content can also be played back via the HDMI out functionality, which includes support for Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound. Together this ensures both high quality video and audio play back.
For what is clearly a high end specification it also breaks new ground on price. At €370 / £320 / $499 it will be significantly under cutting many devices with similar or higher specifications; consider that the Nokia N97 had a launch price of €550.
Key hardware features
- 113.5 x 59.12 x 12.9 in dimensions, 135g in weight; monoblock touch form-factor, with predominantly metal materials with some plastics (edges).
- 3.5 inch, OLED, capacitive screen; 640x 360 pixels resolution
- 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash; video recording at 720p resolution (1280×720) and 25 frames per second. Camera aperture of F2.8, focal length 5.4. Twin microphones for recording stereo audio in video
- Integrated A-GPS with location support for GPS, A-GPS, WLAN and Cell-ID.
- HDMI out (via Nokia Adapter Cable for HDMI CA-156), including support for Dolby Surround sound
- 3.5 mm Nokia AV connector for audio in/out and TV-out
- FM transmitter and FM Radio (with RDS)
- microUSB (USB 2.0) for file transfers, charging and USB On-the-Go (allows device to act as USB host e.g. plug USB memory sticks into it)
- BL-4D (1200mAh) Li-Ion battery, possibly non-removeable by user (awaiting confirmation)
- WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 (exact bands depend on market variant)
- WiFi; WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0
- 135MB of internal memory, 16GB mass memory and microSD card slot (supports sizes upto 32 GB)
- 256 MB RAM; 512 MB ROM
- Processor listed on Forum Nokia as ARM 11 @ 680 Mhz with 3D Graphics HW Accelerator with OpenGL-ES 2.0 support (i.e. graphics co-processor).
- Initially available in five colours: Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue and Orange
- Capacitive stylus for select markets (e.g. China to allow handwriting recognition).
- In box contents: Nokia N8 mobile computer, Nokia Battery BL-4D, Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-179, Nokia Stereo Headset WH-701, Nokia Compact Travel Charger AC-15, Nokia Adapter Cable for HDMI CA-156, Nokia Adapter Cable for USB OTG CA-157, Nokia Stylus SU-36 (selected markets only), Quick start guide
Key software features
- Runs Symbian^3
- Multi-page homescreen with fully customisable widgets (three pages, six widgets per page).
- Renewed music experience with cover flow albums
- Visual task switcher (see contents of application from the task switcher)
- Streamlined menu structure with fewer prompts (e.g. no connectivity prompts)
- Single tap 'Direct UI' paradigm (a change from the double tap Symbian^1)
- Symbian^3 contains very significant underlying changes including features such as writeable demand paging, which will greatly improve RAM memory usage.
- Flash Lite 4; with compatibility of Flash 10 for video codec and format support
- Ships with Ovi Maps (free car and pedestrian navigation in 70 countries and free premium travel guides), Nokia Messaging (both email and instant messaging), Ovi Music (music store) and Ovi Store (content store).
We'll be updating this and other stories through out the day.
Nokia's launch video
More videos can be found on Nokia's YouTube channel and on Nokia Conversations.
News Discussion
Unregistered
Or what the Idou/Satio should have been. ;/
Unregistered
Unregistered
Well a big HURRAH to this is all I can say. Lots of new good stuff, and a tacit admission that LEDs simply do NOT cut it for a high end camera phone (hello iPhone 4G/HD and your pinhole LED flash!). I think this is a great looking device spec wise, and frankly the one I've been waiting for - a worthy successor to the N82.
I also think the spec is highly competitive. While we are bound to see some poor souls whinging about this, that, or the other (come on whingers - I'm sure you can find something to moan about! ;-) ), this handset easily matches up to, and indeed beats the latest Androids and the next iPhone - especially considering a Symbian OS which is much better and more efficient in processor usage and battery conservation.
It is interesting to note that the next iPhone will, out of all it's touted advantages, only have one advantage that has not been matched by Nokia in this particular handset, and that's the rumoured pixel resolution, which is really not that important, 640 X 320 is very respectable and good enough I think. Software wise, the UI now clearly exceeds the iPhone, and easily matches Androids for anyone considering those. And the price is unmatched.
Good work Nokia, and I'm sure there will be others. And it's also encouraging that Nokia have held back the release to make some further improvements to the handset rather than releasing it in 'beta' form and making people wait for necessary firmware upgrades.
I look forward to reviews of the *finished* product (because there is no point to any review that does not cover the thing I will actually be spending money on).
I also think the spec is highly competitive. While we are bound to see some poor souls whinging about this, that, or the other (come on whingers - I'm sure you can find something to moan about! ;-) ), this handset easily matches up to, and indeed beats the latest Androids and the next iPhone - especially considering a Symbian OS which is much better and more efficient in processor usage and battery conservation.
It is interesting to note that the next iPhone will, out of all it's touted advantages, only have one advantage that has not been matched by Nokia in this particular handset, and that's the rumoured pixel resolution, which is really not that important, 640 X 320 is very respectable and good enough I think. Software wise, the UI now clearly exceeds the iPhone, and easily matches Androids for anyone considering those. And the price is unmatched.
Good work Nokia, and I'm sure there will be others. And it's also encouraging that Nokia have held back the release to make some further improvements to the handset rather than releasing it in 'beta' form and making people wait for necessary firmware upgrades.
I look forward to reviews of the *finished* product (because there is no point to any review that does not cover the thing I will actually be spending money on).
Dazzy
Orange one is just cool and the price is reasonable could get this one.
Dardano
It's a freakin nice offer at this price! 12MP w/Xenon cam, record in HD, free Nav, web TV, 16GB internal plus external card slot, 3 homescreens w/ tons of widgets, the design is finally good.. damn!!!
Nokia is finally pulling it together on the design department! They will sell this phone just purely on design, adding all those extra features is just killing the competition.
Hope it's not slow, it shouldn't be with 256MB of RAM. I have seen the green one with QWERTY in some blogs a couple months ago and it pretty much resembled this phone just with a slide out qwerty, I think once thats out Nokia will hold it's own quite well against the competition until Symbian^4 rolls out.
Nokia is finally pulling it together on the design department! They will sell this phone just purely on design, adding all those extra features is just killing the competition.
Hope it's not slow, it shouldn't be with 256MB of RAM. I have seen the green one with QWERTY in some blogs a couple months ago and it pretty much resembled this phone just with a slide out qwerty, I think once thats out Nokia will hold it's own quite well against the competition until Symbian^4 rolls out.
Unregistered
This device is going to kick the living shit out of the Apple and HTC, if Nokia delivers on the promise and price as announced!
bp101
1200mAh non-removable battery doesn't sound too promising
Dazzy
Dont forget Symbian has always been better at battery management than any other OS and Symbian3 has also more improvements with regards to power consumption.
bp101
I hope so, but multiple screens of widgets all connecting over 3G is never going to be battery friendly.
yade
This is the device I have been looking for, I was almost there with the i8910 but this one is it.
I am staggered by the price, that is what makes it even more amazing!
I am staggered by the price, that is what makes it even more amazing!
Unregistered
This is suddenly so much better looking than the pics that came out earlier. Almost everythg I've hoped for is here, including xenon/led combo. And with that processor and ram, the nightmares with S^1 will hopefully be a thing of the past. And that €370 price is just sooo in yer face! Suck on that u whingers. And this is just the start.
iFanboy
Bravo Nokia :-). A really good specced device! It took you long enough but now I can see why, this phone looks seriously promising! And I'm glad as competition is a GOOD thing and will drive the other handset makers to keep on innovating :-)
My only critiscism however is they haven't innovated at all tbh, everything on the handset has been done before (Better? Who knows) and some features down right stolen *Cough* Coverflow *Cough*. But that's honestly the only thing I can complain about, and for a Nokia handset, that's astonishing :-)
My only critiscism however is they haven't innovated at all tbh, everything on the handset has been done before (Better? Who knows) and some features down right stolen *Cough* Coverflow *Cough*. But that's honestly the only thing I can complain about, and for a Nokia handset, that's astonishing :-)
Unregistered
I look forward to American tech blogs now desperately trying to justify the latest Androids and the next iPhone in light of this device. Hopefully they will be man enough to admit an amazing handset when they see it, and not desperately try and nit-pick just because it's not iPhone or Android - i.e. US homegrown technology.
You wanted competition Apple and Google? You got competition. Lots and lots of it :)
You wanted competition Apple and Google? You got competition. Lots and lots of it :)
Unregistered
Great phone.
As for phone manufacturers stealing features from others, going to boil from my black kettle first.
As for phone manufacturers stealing features from others, going to boil from my black kettle first.
stuclark
So we're getting a non-removable battery and potentially a *slow* processor with *only* 256 MB RAM.
...sounds to me like we could be hearing a lot of iPhone style arguments going on in the near future.
The other problem Nokia are going to have is that the interface on Symbian^3 looks almost identical to that on Symbian^1, and that unfortunately now has a very bad reputation in the market place. When pitced to a normob against Android or iPhone (or Bada) Symbian^3 still looks clunky :(
...sounds to me like we could be hearing a lot of iPhone style arguments going on in the near future.
The other problem Nokia are going to have is that the interface on Symbian^3 looks almost identical to that on Symbian^1, and that unfortunately now has a very bad reputation in the market place. When pitced to a normob against Android or iPhone (or Bada) Symbian^3 still looks clunky :(
Hardeep1singh
Finally, a worthy successor to the N82!
This phone should've been here in 2008 but I take it that Nokia lost its way and made some huge mistakes, happy to see them back on track now. :icon14:
This phone should've been here in 2008 but I take it that Nokia lost its way and made some huge mistakes, happy to see them back on track now. :icon14:
Unregistered
> and some features down right stolen *Cough* Coverflow *Cough*
I fully support Nokia where they have copied from Apple - and noting that Apple for example ripped off multitouch from other earlier places. I want a handset with the best features, I don't care if they showed up somewhere else first. Nokia innovated enough for the past 20+ years in mobiles to have nothing to prove on that front.
Both Apple and Google have fully copied from Nokia previously, especially in less obvious areas - Apple are being sued royally by Nokia in the US courts right now because they used GSM tech and other mobile innards directly invented by Nokia and which all other manufacturers pay Nokia a license fee for but which Apple somehow thought they were special and didn't have to...
And remember, if multitouch, coverflow weren't on this handset, you'd all be saying 'Whinge whinge I'm getting an iPhone instead because it has multitouch and coverflow etc etc." :)
I fully support Nokia where they have copied from Apple - and noting that Apple for example ripped off multitouch from other earlier places. I want a handset with the best features, I don't care if they showed up somewhere else first. Nokia innovated enough for the past 20+ years in mobiles to have nothing to prove on that front.
Both Apple and Google have fully copied from Nokia previously, especially in less obvious areas - Apple are being sued royally by Nokia in the US courts right now because they used GSM tech and other mobile innards directly invented by Nokia and which all other manufacturers pay Nokia a license fee for but which Apple somehow thought they were special and didn't have to...
And remember, if multitouch, coverflow weren't on this handset, you'd all be saying 'Whinge whinge I'm getting an iPhone instead because it has multitouch and coverflow etc etc." :)
Tenkom
have they done anything about the horrible touchscreen keyboard implementation that currently plagues s60 5th edition?
It is the single biggest problem with the ui atm imo.
Go on nokia. just do it like winmo,android and iphone. i.e not covering the entire screen.
It is the single biggest problem with the ui atm imo.
Go on nokia. just do it like winmo,android and iphone. i.e not covering the entire screen.
Unregistered
This apparently runs on the BL-4D battery. What makes you think it isn't user replaceable?
DamianDinning
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by iFanboy
Bravo Nokia :-). My only critiscism however is they haven't innovated at all tbh,
|
12mp with largest ever imaging sensor in a mobile
720p video with stereo audio recording
28mm wideangle Carl Zeiss optics
Xenon flash
HDMI
16GB on board + uSD slot
50 + hours music playback
OLED display
enacsed in glass and metal
the list goes on... all in a single product
Is that not innovation??
Unregistered
Looks great on paper (except that UI from 2007).
Now, from someone who has used one:
http://www.mobile-review.com/article...rulki-64.shtml
(Apologies in advance for the shocking translation)
"In the aspect of the interface can only say one thing. All changes Symbian ^ 3 describes jackstraws earlier . I can only express my thoughts. In short - do not like. No development that we see in Android, iPhone OS, other systems, the same Bada from Samsung. Exactly the same as it was before with the same sauce, but with little change in functionality. Brushed, washed, but not polished. They made cosmetic customization, which should appeal to users. And she does not like. The feeling is that Nokia had settled in fairyland, in which users buy products company tons. However, it is not. And Nokia N8 as the flagship looks not just pale, it is something vague. Advertising to attract attention, will sell and sell. To scare Nokia brand even more people. The sense that the ranks of Nokia scouts ran into another vendor who conduct sabotage. Purposefully destroying the brand Nokia. Step by step. Otherwise it is impossible to explain what is happening."
So yes, if you're Nokia you can try to polish a turd.
Now, from someone who has used one:
http://www.mobile-review.com/article...rulki-64.shtml
(Apologies in advance for the shocking translation)
"In the aspect of the interface can only say one thing. All changes Symbian ^ 3 describes jackstraws earlier . I can only express my thoughts. In short - do not like. No development that we see in Android, iPhone OS, other systems, the same Bada from Samsung. Exactly the same as it was before with the same sauce, but with little change in functionality. Brushed, washed, but not polished. They made cosmetic customization, which should appeal to users. And she does not like. The feeling is that Nokia had settled in fairyland, in which users buy products company tons. However, it is not. And Nokia N8 as the flagship looks not just pale, it is something vague. Advertising to attract attention, will sell and sell. To scare Nokia brand even more people. The sense that the ranks of Nokia scouts ran into another vendor who conduct sabotage. Purposefully destroying the brand Nokia. Step by step. Otherwise it is impossible to explain what is happening."
So yes, if you're Nokia you can try to polish a turd.
Dazzy
And the same guy said the N900 was crap too so what does that tell us?
bp101
"This apparently runs on the BL-4D battery. What makes you think it isn't user replaceable? "
The words 'non-removable' in the original post (now partly changed).
The words 'non-removable' in the original post (now partly changed).
Unregistered
The most important aspect of this N8 is.... it has the <b>RIGHT price</b>
N97 were great, but not for that price.
N8 with US$499 will surely rule the world
Great job nokia
This is GREAT!!!
N97 were great, but not for that price.
N8 with US$499 will surely rule the world
Great job nokia
This is GREAT!!!
Mr Mark
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Now, from someone who has used one:
http://www.mobile-review.com/article...rulki-64.shtml |
That said, Symbian^3 get rid of my two biggest gripes - single/double tap UI inconsistency and network connection confirmation messages. If it tidies up the menu system even better. It's also a fair bet that, as with their recent popular phones, Nokia will continue to improve the firmware as time goes by.
The biggest wow here is the price point - £320 for a phone of that specification is just crazy. Unless Nokia have really buggered up the UI - and, no, that's not the same as not introducing something radical - this looks like a hit.
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