We heard through the grapevine back at CTIA that Nokia's elusive
N8 would be
announced somewhere in the wide world this April, and sure enough, it looks as if the handset has popped up over in one of Russia's
eleven nine time zones. Our pals at
Mobile-Review have worked their magic once more on an up and coming handset, this time landing some serious face time with the planet's first
Symbian^3 phone. Despite Nokia
pushing the official reveal of said OS to Q3 (from Q2 previously), we're getting an early look at what exactly is to come here -- and if this review is any indication, Nokia's
woes are about to become even more woeful. In short, critics panned the new system for being little more than a polished version of what Nokia's already offering, and they clearly noted that nothing here lived up to what Android and iPhone OS currently provide. In fact, they even went so far as to wonder who is inside of Nokia purposefully dragging down the brand; granted, it's hard to say for sure how great (or not, as the case may be) the N8 is without touching it ourselves, but to say it's off to a running start would be misinterpreting things quite severely. Have a look at the source link below for more of the machine translated goodness, and don't forget to ogle a few shots of the phone itself.
[Thanks, Andria]
posted April 25th 2010 6:39PM
That's IT? That's going to be the flagship, high end, premier smart phone for Nokia?
Nokia, 2001 called, and they want their blocky, boring UI back.
@Johnny Tremaine
Harmattan/MeeGo is the high end OS for end of this year. Will be released in same time as WM7.
UI isn't the best, but Symbian is still the most functional OS out there and the hardware i got a say is sweet as how thin it is and they have packed best 12mpx camera , AMOLED, HDMI-out, Xenon, LED. All this packed to aluminium unibody.
Would i want to see Harmattan/MeeGo maybe Android in it. Probally, but this looks like a winner imo.
@Pdexter
I own the Samsung Omnia i8910 and an older Nokia E66, so trust me I know Symbian.
In 2010 though, this is a disappointment. If I go back to Nokia, it'll be with Meego. I'm done with Symbian.
Even Meego is going to be hobbled as they have no developer support. Nobody wants to create apps for them, so the platform already has little chance of catching on.
@Johnny Tremaine
nobody wants to create apps for them (maemo/meego)???
thats really funny considering my n900 has plenty of apps, they are mostly FREE, and the major majority of them do useful things like overclock my processor, add wiimote support, unzip files within the file manager with one click, etc. we're not talking fart apps and apps that HAD to be made because the phone lacked the required support for things like flash. many apps arent even really apps on other phones, theyre just links to dummed down versions of their websites.
but the funniest part is how uninformed you are. there are people already downloading from meego repositories to prepare working on apps for it and it doesnt even have a gui yet! thats how excited devs are for meego! they cant even wait for the gui to be released to get their hands on some code! and why wouldnt they want to? meego is going to be huge. we're not only talking phones, itll be in computers, gps systems, media players, etc.
you further show how out of touch you are with any info on developing for the platform considering developers will be able to make one app and compile it for meego, symbian, or anything with qt. who wouldnt want to make an app once, have it available on an os that will be used on many different kinds of devices, and ALSO have it be capable of running on the most recognized mobile phone os in the world???
so many people think that just because they are a mobile phone enthusiast they know everything and their opinion will be the widespread opinion of the general public. well u saying devs wont want to make apps for it shows how little you know in that area, and what enthusiasts think couldnt be further from widespread opinion in most cases.
is s^3 plain in the gui dept? no doubt.
will i get one? not a chance.
is it far from being the next big wow device? absolutely.
but S^3 is about recoding things to enhance the platform. the new core will allow the os to expand and grow again like it did several years ago. the gui can always be updated later.
think of it like a website. if u had a site from 2002 and it was centered around table layouts, inefficient code, old auth methods, etc then you would have to do a lot of work. you would start by updating your functions, separating your data from your layout, then wrapping it all up with pretty stuff using css. its kind of like that. they had an old os, in this version theyve recoded a lot, and as they go they can add the pretty pictures. the more efficient they remade the code first, the easier it is to update the look later and continue doing so for a long time.
drawing an icon is a hell of a lot easier than dealing with the code. i think they are addressing things properly by doing the complex tasks first. it makes more sense to release somethng that doesnt look too differently than what people are already used to while making things run more smoothly behind the scenes, than it would to create a completely new look that dazzles the eyes then cant run worth crap when you try to click something.
as for people complaing about the dated look of the os, what do you want? slide out icon trays or something? in the end does clicking an up arrow to view icons then clicking a down arrow to get rid of them really function any differently than clicking a menu button to see icons then clicking a back button to get rid of them?
symbian is a powerful os in a basic gui. everyone undertands the soft key system, theres no need to click a menubar button to see extra hidden options in apps, and it works with any form factor you can throw at it. flip, twist, bar, slide, touch, keypad, qwerty, whatever you want. when was the last time you saw android on a flip or keypad phone? or osx on anything other than touch only? symbian is the most versatile phone os ever created, and improving the core and adding qt will only strengthen that position.
to the morons complaining about things like fonts, icons, colors, etc... i cant believe u even consider yourself a mobile phone enthusiast. i will argue with anyone that symbian is one of the easiest oses to customize. who cares about the default fonts? for all you talking about "us americans" -this and "in the US" -that, how do u not know that one of the first things we do when we turn on a new phone is change the theme anyway? with symbian you can choose from preinstalled alternatives, buy more from ovi, or download them from anywhere on the internet straight to your phone. no tethering to a computer, syncing, third party apps, walled gardens, jailbraking, or anything like that is required! simply open up one of the most powerful built in web broswers, search for a theme, then click a link. thats it, youre done! your phone will download the theme, install it, and make it available to you... right from the broswer. no pc software, app store, or the like is required, although you still have the flexibility of using those too. (and yes, themes can change icon images, touch keypads, progress bars, etc)
i like how a lot of symbian haters here praised bada. i dont see how its so different than symbian. add android and osx too. theyre all basically just home screens and icon grids. the rest is up to the apps. (actually the "favorite" doesnt even have a home screen really).
so if u dont like the look, theme it. but if what we are really talking about here is transitions and similar unimportant factors, enjoy watching your pandora app fade off the screen while im listening to it straight from the website proper.
at least most people give nokia credit for their quality hardware. the software can always be improved upon, but u cant change the physical hardware thats in your hand. nokia may have a weird rollout schedule for phones and countries, but it can be said that they consistently provide updates and continue to support their products after the initial sale.
to sum up my thoughts: symbian will continue to be the os of choice for the majority of people, nokia has their priorities correct even though those of us on this site always expect the most fantastical phone ever made from each and every new model, and this new phone is dull in the wow department although we should all be able to agree that once again nokia listened to its end users and added many requested hardware enhancements.
@Robbie Hottie "hey consistently provide updates and continue to support their products after the initial sale."
This is certainly not true. I have an E51 and I had to literally fight with Nokia to enable my phone for firmware updates. And what happened? My phone has the same bugs even with the 6th or 7th updated software. And these are well-known, well-documented bugs which Nokia simply does not want to deal with. BTW, Nokia stopped issuing new firmwares after 2 years, so my phone will never have a proper software.
I still think that Nokia could be the perfect alternative of the iPhone, but man, they should get their sh*t together very quickly, because it's a shame that even after 3 years, they could not release software which would be close to a competitor of Apple's mobile OS or Android.
I am buying this one.. A great UI is of no use without good hardware.
N8 has great features like HDMI and processor and even camera with HD video recording.
I can compromise with UI bu not the features. Love you Nokia.
When is it out?
No matter how much Americans hate Nokia. This thing is going to sell millions in Europe and the Middle East.
@KingFaisal94
And Asia :)
Looks like early alpha of sense ui ...
paraphrasing a meme in reaction to the comments of some above Engadgteers regarding the UI:
A font, man? A font!? We're talking about a FONT.
@c w j
Yes, we are talking about fonts. Symbian^3 UI sucks, because we see a font in a screenshot. Brilliant huh?
@c w j
Change the damn font then. I can use droid sans if I want on my N80, not a big deal. It looks worse though.
@Suomaa
He feels the same way you do. Font should not be an issue.
I'm not certain why this gets so much bad press here. I wouldn't call Android good looking compared to Maemo, iphone or WebOS either.
It's really functional OS that will mostly be fighting with mid end when Nokias MeeGo comes later this year.
It seems like all the talk about how Symbian is "dated", is really about the default Nokia theme..
In which case I agree the Nokia theme is a bit dated but luckily you can change that.
@Zabavan
Spot on.
@Zabavan right on. :)
The test is a real joke, the guy didn't even remove the screen protection.
In fact it is not a test, we don't see anything except the home screen, so #fail
I think this "test" shows that Symbian^3 is far superior over iPhone OS 4.
Why? Because the leaked iPhone doesn't even boot up and I prefer a device which is able to boot.
Got it, Nokia-haters? You see the relevance of this leaked pre-production prototype "test"?
@user47alpha lmao.
i like it. it works. it does everything i want. it'll get even better when it actually comes out 6 months down the line. i like it.
Its all about the apps...,and Ovi Store doesn't impress me.
@anotherworld
It is not all about the apps, that is what certain people would lead you to believe. Anywho, there will be around 10k apps for this phone when it comes out. Its less than android/iphone, but more than enough. And, relatively few fart apps as well.
Eldar, of all people, should know better. Symbian^3 wasn't supposed to be this all new OS. It IS a polished version of what you see now. That was clearly explained by pretty much everyone out there, especially the people at Symbian and Nokia, and anybody who looks at the UI will notice that. That's the whole point of Symbian^3. It's the transition OS that will hold Symbian over until they get their act together with S^4, which is all new.
And quite frankly, aside from a decent web browser, decent on-screen keyboards, some social network integration, and blazing fast UI, I don't see how it doesn't live up to what's currently out there. It's got pretty much everything they have, with a bunch of things they don't have, and with a 12MP camera that will no doubt perform extremely well, it's going to outshine the competition.
Of course Nokia needs to do a LOT better of a job with the high end. But this looks like what they need right now, if only they could release it now...
Spec sheet! Looks very good:
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/1302/nokian8vascofullspecs.jpg
Dear Nokia,
I *want* to develop apps for your phones. But it seems you are doing your best to make sure your best days (and phones) are behind you, which does not motivate me to develop for your platform. You may enjoy market share, but that will only last two years at best. Please fire whomever is running your phone division[into the ground] and accept my offer to re-imagine the Nokia phone brand. I am a current iPhone user who sees plenty of places where Apple missed the boat. I can fix your suck, and throw in a bunch of things that will make Apple blush in embarrassment. Whomever is at your platform helm is too geek and not enough chic. Please help me to help you.
@Scorp1us
I was just reading this, and I think it would be interesting for you as well:
http://forum2.mobile-review.com/showpost.php?p=858340&postcount=18556
Even though everyone is falling over themselves to prove nokia wrong in their software choices, I am betting they will do more than fine.
I would be interested in some nice UI skins from you, if you are really so chic :)
@JFH If you think that 'Skins' are the fix, then you're underestimating how much needs to be crapped. It is not a matter of a skin, but a new mentality that starts at the level just about the GUI library. It needs a new mode of operation. iPhone despite its slick UI is nothing more than a "shell" call. It is pretty equivilent to Windows 3.1 in its sophistication. (Albeit with touch and a good GL implementation) Android uses the "Applet" paradigm, that OSX started and KDE4, Vista&7 follow with. Nokia needs something different and better than both. Something that is unique and delivers flexibility on reduced screen space. Much more than a skin, it needs its own paradigm.
@Scorp1us
Have you read the post I linked to? I was being sarcastic with the skin, I get that part of your point. In my mind the post I link to talks about how nokia is going about to get there. What do you think about that?
@JFH Funny thing... I am a Qt application developer :-) (Not employed by Nokia) Qt alreasy works on S60, Maemo, and the upcoming MeeGo. What they lack is a paradigm from the start. MeeGo sounds like "MeToo", and that is all they are doing. They are in a copy phase, and until they chart their own unique direction, they won't have appeal because they aren't innovating. HTC has the best hardware on a great platform. iPhone has a great platform. What does Nokia have? Competitive hardware on an inferior platform. Qt won't save Nokia, as it will only do what you tell it. Nokia needs a vision.
"From his face"