8 Reasons to Love the Nokia N8

1. 12 MP Carl Zeiss camera that isn’t all about the pixel number!

On paper, this is undoudtedly the best camera phone ever made.

Sensor size [1/1.83] bigger than all camera phones out there, bigger even than some 300Euro pocket camera – what does this mean?

Basically each pixel is “bigger” and receives more light (instead of cramming same mp into the same small sensor) thus you get less noise and better low light performance.

Plus you’ve got 28mm wide angle option so you get wider field of view as well as the option to take 16:9 photos at 9mp!

And to top it off, you have intelligent zoom, improved red eye reduction, face detection, super fast autofocus, and very short time in between photos due to faster processing.

SAMPLES HERE

2. XENON Flash – a proper flash!

N97 VS N82

When you want to brighten up a scene and need some form of flash, accept no substitute from paltry LED.

In pitch black, Xenon lights up the scene and also freezes any motion blurs.

Perfect for any indoor, night, clubbing – taking photos of people

This is why the N8 has so many die hard fans.

They could appreciate that they never needed to take a digicam – something else to bulk up a pocket.

Plus N82 users had the advantage of always having a a reliable camera with you to take those once in a lifetime moments you could never have thought about in advance enough to bring a digicam.

The combination of improved optics/sensor (that already optimizes for low light) with xenon will make for truly spectacular performances in pretty much every lighting situation.

Check out my N82 photos as well as comparisons with DUAL LED flash.

N82 samples

N97 VS N82

N97 VS N82

N900 vs N82

3. High Definition 720p video with amazing stereo audio

[VIMEO=http://vimeo.com/11266224]

Everything looks better in HD. At 1280x720p there’s so much more detail to appreciate, so many new things you’ll notice before that you wouldn’t with VGA (640×480).

Audio recording is equally an important feature nearly every single cameraphone and digital camera ignore.

Nokias have always produced stellar audio quality.

From loud band recording to quieter lectures – audio recorded from my Nseries has been beautifully crisp, and clear – my lectures sometimes feels as if I’m still in the lecture hall when played over my speakers.

PLUS – You get TWO microphones! That’s right! TWO! N93 did it before and it’s stereo reproduction was amazing!

Now N8 has it.

Sound totally adds another dimension, you can feel objects moving! Have you ever tried “Virtual Barbershop” with those 3D sounds that make you feel like you’re actually in the room having a haircut? You could replicate the same thing with N8’s stereo.

Not many people have seen the raw Audio and Video combined yet (only sample available right now has soundtrack), but I saw a clip of N8 on a plane (later got removed) and it looked and sounded fantastic.

4. Capacitive AMOLED display with multitouch pinch and zoom

Much of the gripes people have had with Nokia touch screens were to do with having a resistive display that lacked multitouch.

Now most of those people can shut up. (For many it was a personal preference)

For the majority, capacitive will give you that feather light touch that a touch screen deserves.

Chinese markets gets a capacitive stylus for handwriting recognition.

Plus you’ve now got multitouch so all those fans of pinchy zoominess can pinch and zoom till the cows come home.

Also, with AMOLED, you get more vivid display, livelier colours, greater contrast, deeper blacks, wider viewing angle, brighter whilst using less power.

Plus, some first impressions out there say it is legible in sunlight.

n8 tweakers preview

5. 12.9mm thin anodized aluminium body in 5 different colours!

at 12.9mm it’s Nokia’s slimmest touch screen ever despite having such a good camera with real (xenon) flash. [X6 was 13.6mm and that felt really good in a pocket :)]

The tapered shape may might separate some opinions, but there seems to be a majority of people who are loving it.

There’s something quite futuristic about it.

Also the device is made of Anodized aluminium fronted with glass for the screen. No cheap ass plastic.

And to top that off, you get a choice of 5 colours, traditional silver, black (dark grey) to livelier orange blue and green!

Vote for your favourite colour here:

[YOUTUBE=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ-5WAcj6o0]

6. Bursting with connectivity including HDMI out, 802.11N Wifi, Bluetooth 3.0, 3G Pentaband, MicroUSB for data transfer and charging, 2mm charging, 3.5mm audio/tv out jack and USB on the go hosting!

[YOUTUBE=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ6OthGSki0]

There is a plethora of connectivity options.

Share your own HD made videos or HD movies on the big screen HD TV with dolby digital surround sound! I’ve loved how Nokias can be pocket DVD players that my friends and family can crowd around the big screen and enjoy some movies from a phone. The quality from N900 was shockingly good, now there’s HD output to ensure no detail is lost.

802.11N – fastest WiFi connectivity – be further from the router whilst still getting faster data connection.

With Bluetooth 3.0, it makes it even less of an effort to transfer photos to or from a computer to your Nokia. No need to find any cables for connection or get a card reader. Just send over to N8 and its received over bluetooth, or from the N8 send to your computer. Bluetooth 3.0 also means transfer rates would be significantly faster, pretty much like wireless USB.

You can charge with either classic Nokia pin charger OR microUSB! Fantastic!

3.5mm Audio jack by standard from Nokias for a long while, with that TV out if your TV isn’t HD compatible.

Finally – N8 has USB reading so you can plug in a USB stick and transfer files (via supplied adapter – no extra purchase)

7.  Price! 370EUR before taxes and subsidies.

The build is superior to the highest Nseries, the camera is superior to any of the highest Nseries. It is in terms of hardware, currently the best Nseries.

But it’s NOT priced like the high end Nseries. It is priced at 370Euros (before taxes/subsidies).

This is probably one of the best value smartphones you’ll see this year and looks to be a big hit for Nokia.

It’s easier on your pocket in more ways than one.

8. Symbian^3 with Qt and Nokia’s Services – Ovi Maps, Ovi Store, Nokia Messaging

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYNJCSZD5k8]

Symbian has a heavy following. The biggest of all smartphone OSs.  But it’s been in desperate need of optimizing for touch to be up to date with expectations.

Now it’s getting a refresh to improve that user experience. Whether that is enough or whether N8 should be on Maemo is a totally new blog post.

But for many, as long as the user experience is sufficiently fluid, that should be more than adequate.

Qt not only means cross platform app compatibility between Maemo/MeeGo and Symbian (and maybe apps from other platforms too) but a much easier time for developers.

Ovi Maps life time navigation (GPS/COMPASS), Ovi Store’s download catalogue and Nokia Messaging’s email solution though available on other Nokia products further strengthens

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_EfNl1Uucw]

N8 – INNATELY GREAT?

Tags: N8, Nokia, Nokia Nseries, Nseries, Symbian^3

Category: Nokia, Nseries, Symbian