Positive feedback from iPhone lover that test the N8.
http://mytechnews.info/b/2010/09/nokia-n8-preview.htmlQUOTE
I was invited to a preview session of the soon-to-be-launched Nokia N8 yesterday evening where I had another chance to play with the device after my initial introduction at the Nokia Connection event in Singapore in June of this year. This time, the firmware is very close to the version that will be shipping on the retail units (it was RC1, for the geeks, and this normally means that it is very close to final).
Let’s get the most burning questions out of the way first. It’s slated for launch at the end of this month, with availability in October. There is unlikely to be any exclusive deal with any of the celcos. Price is not yet determined – at the moment, it is still €370 (RM 1,484) before taxes and subsidies. So much will depend on how much tax is slapped on the phone by the Malaysian authorities.
The earliest retail units will ship with the following in the box – phone transceiver, USB-to-go adapter, HDMI adapter, charger, micro USB cable, wired headset and a limited stock back cover for the early adopters. If I recall correctly, the dark grey and white colours will be available at launch, with green, blue and orange to be available later.
Click here for the N8′s official specifications in case you have forgotten. I’ll just summarise for you my impressions after playing with it again last night.
* overall system feels faster (but this is not to say it was slow when I played with it in June!).
* scrolling is smoother. Kinetic scrolling is nicely implemented. Scrolling between the three homescreens with a maximum of 18 widgets (17 of which is customisable) is fast.
* navigation around the menus has been simplified with less taps to perform certain actions compared to s60v5 (the operating system that powered Nokia’s first touchscreen phones such as the 5800 and N97).
* haptic feedback is soft yet noticeable – I feel this is the best implementation on a smartphone so far.
* the screen is beautiful – it shows vibrant and lively colours (the pictures I took of the screen below really do not do it justice).
* the browser is fast and supports Flash Lite – it’s one of the few browsers around that can render the Flash object (the visitor counter) on this blog successfully.
* the 12 megapixel camera with Xenon flash is second to none really. Nokia says that the sensor in the camera is equivalent to some of the point-and-shoot cameras on the market today. The camera has a “face tracking” feature. I’ve attached some pictures below, you can download the “raw” version here.
* HD video taking at 1280 x 720 pixel is supported, at 25fps. See the sample which I uploaded to YouTube below. You can download the raw MP4 file in the same link as the pictures above. Videos and photos were taken in a room with flourescent lighting. Video geo-tagging is supported. I was told the N8 records videos in stereo sound using its two mics.
* video playback through HDMI was excellent. 5.1 stereo is supported. Playback of the Tron Legacy movie trailer was superb when connected to an external LCD TV, and to a 5.1 surround sound system. Has to be seen to be believed.
* supports USB-to-go, where you can plug in a thumbdrive formatted in FAT32 file format and play back media files on the thumbdrive, perform copy and paste file operations, etc. You can even connect a USB external hard disk, although it needs to be separately powered as the phone doesn’t output sufficient juice to power these larger devices.
* the new Social app, which has a homescreen widget, consolidates your Facebook, Twitter feeds/streams of your contacts. You can look up a Facebook contact and immediately create a contact profile based on their Facebook profile. So, there is some level of Facebook and Twitter integration on the N8 which is good news.
* the N8 will come with free lifetime Ovi Maps with Navigation as well as a lifetime license of Nokia Messaging for push emails.
* there will only be one model – 16GB built in memory, plus up to 32GB in micro SD card, making a total of 48GB, more memory than one of my netbooks!
* on screen soft/virtual keyboard has improved significantly from the s60v5 version which powered the first Nokia touchscreen phones, such as the 5800 and N97.
* no user removable parts – the battery, although a standard 1200mAh BL-4D (same as the N97 Mini and E5) is not easily accessible, all part of a design decision to make the N8 look sleeker as it is fashioned out of a single piece of aluminium (like the HTC Legend).
Things I felt could be improved:
* the screen is a real fingerprint/smudge magnet! If you have oily and sweaty fingers, expect to wipe down the screen often. I have suggested a screen protector to be included in the package, one that does not attract fingerprints easily.
* the camera, in auto mode, does not seem able to focus on objects close up properly. I had to force it to macro mode to take “proper” close up pictures. Perhaps it was due to the lighting?
Overall, I liked the phone and am looking forward to having a retail unit to play with and review. So stay tuned. In the meantime, here are some pictures I took of the device and preview session yesterday. Sorry for some of the blurry photos, it is very difficult to shoot pictures of screens which reflect light a lot!
and his a Malaysian.
This post has been edited by Leo the Lion: Sep 6 2010, 02:26 AM 
Sep 6 2010, 12:13 AM
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