You'll be able to pick up the N8, Nokia's first Symbian 3 phone, from 1 October on the high street, the Finnish manufacturer has confirmed. It'll be free on a £35-a-month, 18-month contract, and cost £429 SIM-free.
The N8 will be available online from the last week of September. Packing Symbian 3, an 89mm (3.5-inch) AMOLED touchscreen and a 12-megapixel camera, it's eagerly awaited.
Nokia has put up some price plans from T-Mobile, O2 and Vodafone on its website. For £35 a month over 18 months, you'll get at least 300 anytime minutes, unlimited texts and 'unlimited' mobile Internet, which may involve a fair-use clause. You'll also get a free HDMI cable for connecting the N8, which can play 720p video, to your TV.
The N8's multimedia capabilities sound impressive, but whether the phone succeeds or not will also depend on Symbian 3's usability. It has flick-to-scroll and pinch-to-zoom capability, but that's more or less a minimum requirement for smart phones today. All the bells and whistles in the world won't mask a dodgy user interface, so keep your eyes peeled for an in-depth review soon.
The N8 will be shown off at the Nokia World event next week. At the same event, we should also get a glimpse of the flagship E7, which also sports Symbian 3, as well as a Qwerty keyboard, 102mm (4-inch) touchscreen and 8-megapixel camera.
What's your take on the N8? Will it prove a multimedia powerhouse or a crushing disappointment? Let us know in the comments section.
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Comments 3
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Anonymous 8 September, 2010 12:44
I think the N8 will be a success. The advantage it has over Droid based phones is the free sat nav has the ability to download the maps to the memory rather than over the air which requires an internet connection. The other features I think will help are the FM transmitter, and massive storage. If the camera is as good as the specs suggest then it'll be a great all round smartphone.
Mark Anderson 8 September, 2010 12:46
I think you're right about the OS or more specifically the UI.
Will it be as smooth as the iPhone's? I doubt it. Will it be so different as to be a problem for most people? Equally I doubt it.
I'll give it a go. Can't ask more than that.
skillsmith 10 September, 2010 19:46
Is it normal for tire pressure lights to come on every 4 months think the N8 will be a success. The advantage it has over Droid based phones is the free sat nave has the ability to download the maps to the memory rather than over the air which requires an internet connection.
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