http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 8:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/symbian on anything is rubbish. Why would anyone want this with all the great Android options]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
tacky.
boring.
symbian lol.
nokia is pure fail. they just have no idea. remove this mediocre mgmt.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Pure fail? Sure if you consider almost 60% of the smartphone market share a fail than by all mean it is one ]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Yes being world leaders by a big margin in worldwide phone sales isn't good enough for some fanboys.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Symbian smartphone market share 2010 (est) by Strategy Analytics is 39 and set to fall to 31% by 2012 IF trend continues. Even 2009 Symbian share was just above 40%.

60% You must be thinking 2007, but that's ages ago.


]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/2009 - 40%
2010 - 39%
...
2012 - 31% if trend continues? Huh?]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://xkcd.com/605/]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Douche. Where are you getting your info from, your mom? Check your sources before you make an claims.

A.) Android market share is now 10% (Gartner, May 2010), and growing fast.

B.) Nokia has been around for years, Android...less 2 years. Pretty damn good. And just you wait.

For the record, what phone/os do you use?]]>Jun 14th 2010 9:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
If N97 can become a huge success even with that crappy software and hardware, N8 with such a price tag and Hardware capabilities can surpass N95 records..]]>Jun 14th 2010 9:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
I kinda agree with him. Nokia's OS looks stale, old, and stiff. I've always been a fan of Nokia phones, but I just don't see how this is going to have much appeal over something like an iPhone 4 or an EVO (at least in the US).

Yes, we all know about Nokia's worldwide dominance. People bring it up EVERY SINGLE time Nokia is mentioned. However, they are just riding on their success from a time when iOS and Android didn't exist, and it's hard to argue that the emergence of those two operating systems has not dealt a very significant blow to them. If you think that "60%" number will continue into the future as Apple and Google continue to step up their games, well, then I think you are being quite ignorant about the whole situation. ]]>Jun 14th 2010 9:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 9:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 10:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Motorola RAZR was a one phone model wonder until well you know the rest...]]>Jun 14th 2010 10:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Symbian would appeal to people that want an OS that has a practical, usable UI, old fashioned multitasking, and that doesn't need a 1Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM to run smoothly.

You know, people who care about how it looks less than they care about what it does.

So tell me one single thing that Android or iOS can do that can't be accomplished with a symbian device (and no, accessing Apple's and Google's App stores doesn't count). Then i'll stand corrected.

In the meantime, i wonder if there is any good turn-by-turn navigation app on either Android or iOS that is free and can be used offline. Just wondering.]]>Jun 14th 2010 10:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
For me Nokia has always done a great job with the video/camera aspect and their build quality is always solid. As long as the software is stable (i.e. multi tasking, solid email, and IM) I'd take this over the EVO and it's screen issues. The EVO specs looks great but I'm not investing in sub par build quality]]>Jun 14th 2010 10:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
@Hamaki

Er, yeah, it's called google maps and navigation; free and works very well. No it isn't available offline but then again you need a data connection to get an android phone so it's always connected. Besides, being online based means it's constantly being updated rather than having to buy expensive DVDs like with Garmin etc al. ]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
You are missing the point, again. Offline is better for roaming. Thats why Ovi is significantly better for people in countries smaller than the US, where a border is hit more easily. Within the US, the benefit is that your GPS will work when you have no cell reception. For large parts of the US, that is a huge plus as well.]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Could you explain to me where I missed the point the first time? He asked if there was good, free offline navigation on android or iPhone, there is, it just doesn't meet one of his criteria points. Yeah, if you live near a border and get charged extra for roaming than offline nav might be a better idea but I don't think that's the case for the vast majority of people.]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 1:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
This said, both Nokia and RIM need to step up their game in the smartphone arena. The UIs on both need a refresh and, for RIM, more internal memory would be great. But to say either one of these OSs are behind the times is are complete overstatements. All the OSs out there have their benefits and drawbacks; it's just a question of which ones a user is willing to take. I like all of them, but choose BlackBerry. Others choose Symbian, Android, iPhone or WinMo/WinPhone. To each their own.]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
In a later comment. Not this specific one. ]]>Jun 14th 2010 2:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Am I better or worse covered because Google Maps is available also on Symbian? Also even if I never crossed a border, Google maps navigation isn't available where I live. Also with our developed mobile market, I can get a phone and use it with or without a data plan as I see fit. I really wouldn't want to pay extra every month just because I wanted to have a navigation system.

Also in case you haven't seen OVI maps homepage, navigation, map updates etc. are completely free. Which is better than stand alone GPS updates (mostly).]]>Jun 14th 2010 2:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Maybe for A LOT OF PEOPLE it is important also how things are done...

Symbian has become a laggy UI in comparison with the rest. It for sure can make a lot of things but it´s a pain in the ass to get them done in comparison with other UI.

This model, which is yet to come -do not forget this point-, is the first Nokia with capacitive screen a pinch to zoom...it has the same screen resolution as my 5800XM, the same ram, and maybe the same processor but overclocked (the GPU is different, I know)...

It will sell a lot for sure but it´s a midrange phone, it cannot compare with Iphone4, Galaxy S, EVO or the like, by no means. Neither SW nor HW, it´s a fact.

]]>Jun 14th 2010 2:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
I totally disagree unless you can point me to other handsets in that price range that use an anodised aluminium shell and capacitive AMOLED display.

Let's face facts here. Most people don't give a s**t if the UI is the absolute best as long as it's good enough. Microsoft kind of learned this point with the early versions of Windows (in fact right up to Windows 7) which is why they demolished the more usable Mac OS. All Nokia have to do is get it nice enough and they have a competitor.

Secondly, the screen is a capacitive AMOLED . It has the same resolution as the 5800 but AMOLED is superior to TFT in terms of colour resolution. The ppi on the N8 is actually less than that on the 5800 given it's a 3.5" screen not a 3.2" screen but since it's over 200 it's a moot point. Also, I'd point out that I have an N86 and a 5800 and the screen quality on the N86 is considerably better than the 5800's despite the fact it has a ppi of 154. Yes, AMOLED really is that much better.

Oh and before anyone goes on about AMOLED and sunlight I would point out that IPS TFT screens are considerably worse. Just a thought.

As for software, it depends what you mean. Does it have flashy transitions? No. Does it have a slight lag on some transitions? At the moment yes.

However...

Does it let me install what I want on it from where I want? Yes. Is it dependent on a proprietary piece of software to even work? No. Does it allow me to operate completely independently from a PC? Yes? Does it run in VM mode? No. Is it power hungry and therefore requires a bigger CPU to do the same functions? No.

Oh yeah... and of course the N8 has a GPU to do the heavy lifting which is why it can pinch and zoom a 12MP image with no slow down at all. Yeah, poorer hardware. Right.

It's really a case of what you want so when you say 'not as good' what you really mean is 'not as pretty but functionally more useful'.

Now, doesn't get me wrong - Nokia have a history of ballsing up firmware and releasing unfinished goods to the public. They've gotten away with it so far because of their market share and because they always fix it quickly. However that's not going to fly this time - this needs to be good (not necessarily perfect) from the get go. I'm prepared to wait for that because, frankly, this phone kicks the s**t out of everything else that's out just now or that's been announced this year if they do get it right.]]>Jun 14th 2010 2:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 15th 2010 12:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/from the way my current and previous nokia's have been treating me, with update after update of sloppy firmware's, you can count me right into that statistic regarding lesser sales volumes, because nokia has good hardware, but buggy software.]]>Jun 15th 2010 3:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
A slightly higher res screen would have been nice but other than that looks pretty good.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Yeah the device looks sweet. Liking the different colors too.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Seriously, this is one of the sweetest looking devices out there. I saw the comparison sheet to the iPhone 4 and Evo and was thinking, "Where the hell did this come from?"]]>Jun 14th 2010 12:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Ofcourse what would be life without some Engadget gems:
"but we wonder if output quality wouldn't have been even better served by a less ambitious pixel count. "

I guess Engadget will keep wondering the above till God Jobs unveils the "Retina Camera" 2 years later and then it will be all about how the highest pixel count is the best just like the "Retina Display" gimmick. :roll:

"Well, we prodded Nokia on the key advantages of Symbian^3, and they seemed to be threefold: ease of use, speed, and familiarity. Can't say we care much for the latter..."

Ofcourse Engadget would not care but 50% of the mobile device market would. Sorta evens it out I guess.

The S^3 interface looks even better than I expected from my short encounter with it. It will sell in huge quantities in the rest of the world, but please please Nokia get your marketing team out of their slumber and nail a deal or two with carriers in the US - the US consumer is heavily in need of education as to what is a real smartphone. They think it is something which can mostly run 1 app at a time and shoot 5MP pictures.

For Android users claiming how Android is oh-so-smooth, sorry to break it to you but even Froyo with its 450% performance improvement lags behind the S^3 UI - I personally tested my N1 with Froyo side-by-side with my friend's N8 running one of the S^3 builds from April '10. Having moved to the Android camp after the N97 disaster, I think Nokia is getting its mojo back. The problem for competitors is that it is far easier for Nokia to make better software than for its competitors to replicate the huge production, supply chain and distribution juggernaut that Nokia had built over the years. As Google learnt the hard way, being "cool" and "hip" in the blogosphere and valley digeratti does not equal to great sales numbers.
]]>Jun 14th 2010 12:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/The thing with Engadget, they didn't take the time in this case to do a little checking of the available data concerning the camera. The pixels on the N8 are NO SMALLER than those on the Iphone 4 as much as they'd like to think so. They're the same size and they can verify this claim if they choose to. So no matter how they try to twist, the N8 will produce better pics, end of.]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
I hope you are right dude. iOS and Android do not appeal to me, I am waiting for this device to be awesome, and to become my spare when the N9 comes out. Did you have a chance to play any games yet on the N8?
]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/For me the N8 looks like a winner, even though the typical Engadget poster will find something to complain like "the home screen looks too busy" (after installing tons of widgets) or "the transitions are not as smooth as a heated knife cutting through butter at 110 degrees Fahrenheit".
Oh well, baby, what can you do if these are your priorities?]]>Jun 14th 2010 2:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 8:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
id rather have something with a real processor, good screen, and operating system]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
yeah i read the same article, i remember when everyone freaked out about the 3gs cracking and the white 3gs burning, the palm slider breaking, yes there are minor problems with all phones but most are isolated, since this phone hasnt been released i think its unfair to compare issues such as that.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Sorry but my evo. Screen kinda sucks. It's big yes but its also has a 65k color limit that really shows when watching movies or YouTube ]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
awww well id rather that then the N8, you have android :P i am on a HTC magic with 1.5 android... i dont see how people complain lol]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/1. 5. Dude. You NEED to head over to
Xda-developers.com ASAP and get an overlooked optimized software free 2.1 Rom ]]>Jun 14th 2010 9:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
i would but its hard to root the phones from canada, they are different then the us ones so it sucks, if you find an easy guide for the Canadian HTC magic please send lol]]>Jun 14th 2010 9:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
You NEED to go try the N8 out when it is out. :)]]>Jun 14th 2010 1:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 8:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Maybe they could also make Android phones, but its great to have variety and freedom of choice.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 8:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
That is actually a very good idea. I don't understand why your comment was down ranked. A Nokia device with Android on top would be a total win. Nokia makes great devices, Google makes great software. It's a match made in heaven, and it would be a big hit to Apple. It would bring more unity to the mobile market and Nokia would get a lot of sales. And I'm sure Nokia and Google could work something out (e.g. Nokia could include Ovi Maps on their device -- I would love that! Navigation without data connection FTW especially when going abroad). And, it's not like Nokia didn't buy Symbian and then completely drop it. They afford to make big changes. I wish they'd make this one.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
You might be right, but developing apps for Android is much simpler than developing for Symbian. This means there are a lot more apps for Android than for Symbian (and there always will be). Which is a great plus, if you ask me. Also, I hate the Ovi store (I used to have a Nokia phone). Android Market is much better organized.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/Jun 14th 2010 8:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Nokia just spent the last 5 years becoming a content supplier and web services supplier why on earth would they hand all that over to Google ?

I still think S3 looks like a rip of Android though.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/14/nokia-n8-preview/
Developing for N8 is seven better with QT. Symbian C++ is not considered beginner friendly though.]]>Jun 14th 2010 8:50AM