Nokia N8 review

Rarely there has been so much buzz around the release of a Nokia phone. Yet the Nokia N8 had that fate. Currently Nokia is in a very tough position.

The Finnish phone giant recently saw new entrants like Apple and HTC reaching the same, or an even higher level in terms of usability and innovation. Time for a saviour; time for a device like the N8.

At first glance Nokia promises much-needed changes which the brand as well as the shareholders desire. The specifications are solid, excellent even! The design is modern, attractive and even a bit daring. The result is a phone that, without exaggeration, can be called beautiful. The operation system, that at first glance underwent fewer changes, was according to Nokia thoroughly addressed. Indeed so much, that we were only able to judge it after we worked with it. Even Nokia's 'marketing machine' contributed to the hype around the N8 so much that it is still noticeable these days. There has been an official press release sent with photographs of the first shipment of N8 phones. But, of course, the ultimate key question here is, is it all enough? Is the N8 a good device? Time to find out.

In any case, the Nokia N8 has difficulties to overcome. Because of the presence of a promising 12-megapixel camera it's obvious to compare the N8 with phones like the Sony Ericsson Satio and the Samsung Pixon12. However, both devices date from 2009. In telecom-world that means ‘out of date'. We aim higher and believe that the N8 should compete with the Apple iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. How does the N8 relate to the usability of iOS and the excellent integration of Android; in other words, how does the N8 relate to everything that Symbian is not?

Unboxing

The delivered box is as we described earlier, typically Nokia. We recognize it from previous Nokia-phones: a simple relatively small box without any fuss, from nearly one piece of cardboard. So simple but it is thoroughly thought through. Since 2006 Nokia packages have been very compact and consist only of one type of material. Nokia says it saved no less than 60% of paper between 2006 and 2008! The cardboard that Nokia uses does exist out of 95% recycled material. And even the box itself is fully recyclable.

Besides the N8 itself is in the box a AC-15E travel charger, a HDMI-adapter-cable, a headset and two microUSB-data-cables. One female and one male. The first one is to use the USB On-The-Go function. This allows you to connect a USB-memory-stick directly to your device. The male variant connects your phone to a computer. Finally, we find a printed manual accompanied with a €25,- coupon for the OVI Music Store.