Nokia N8 Review: Nokia's New Flagship
by Mithun Chandrasekhar on January 12, 2011 1:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Nokia
- N8
- Symbian
- Mobile
Third time’s the charm
As mentioned earlier in the review, the N8 is Nokia’s first device to be based on the new Symbian^3 platform. Before we dive into Symbian^3 and how it works and what new features it brings along, let’s have a quick look at Symbian’s evolution in the recent years.
Evolution of Symbian; S60 1st Edition, S60 3rd Edition, Symbian^3 (L-R)
Although Symbian can trace its roots back to the 90’s and the days of Psion (known as EPOC OS back then), Symbian as we know it today only took shape earlier this decade with Nokia and Ericsson’s involvement. The basic design principle for Symbian OS was that of maintaining absolute simplicity, and making conscious and efficient use of the (then) spare resources available on mobile devices. As a result, the ‘OS’ itself did not come with a user interface of any sort. It simply included the (EKA2) nanokernel packaged with a few basic primitives, libraries and device drivers to extend it to the realm of a microkernel.
After an initial reference design, further development of the frontend itself was left to the device manufacturers, leading to the likes of the Nokia Series 60 UI, UIQ etc. Over the course of this decade, mainstream Symbian moved from version 6.0 to the version 9.4 used in Nokia’s last S60 update. Over the course of years, Nokia added features and updates to its S60 UI resulting in various editions and feature packs. The last major update made by Nokia was to add support for high-resolution touch screens resulting in S60 5th Edition. However, sometime in 2008, Symbian went open source and along with the OS, now came packaged the S60 UI, creating what is known as the Symbian Platform. It was also during this time that Nokia started pushing the use of Qt as the framework of choice for Symbian development.
The Symbian platform includes code not just from Nokia, which was the primary contributor to the code base, but also from other companies (Sony Ericsson being one of them) as they decided to withdraw from using and developing Symbian. The platform as such now also includes parts of other releases such as UIQ, MOAP etc. The first product based on Symbian Platform was Symbian^1, which was a mildly reworked S60 5th Edition. Symbian^2 was an insignificant release with only a handful of Japanese vendors releasing handsets based on it. What we see today, Symbian^3, is Nokia’s boldest move forward, bringing significant and much needed updates to the platform. It is also going to be the last major Symbian release for a while, with Symbian^4 having been cancelled and its code base and feature set having been rolled into Symbian^3.
On first look, it may seem like not a lot has changed between Symbian^3 and previous iterations, apart from an improved UI. But Symbian^3 is Nokia’s first OS built from the ground up for the high resolution touch-screen interface paradigm and it is a marked improvement over its rather poorly implemented (and received) S60 5th Edition touch interface. The OS is now finger-friendly and multi-touch capable (except the on-screen keyboard), not requiring a stylus, and makes use of single-tap interaction throughout, thereby eliminating the need to dig through layers of menus. Welcome to the party Nokia, better late than never!
(L-R) The slick screensaver that makes use of OLED’s ‘free’ black color, Multitasking in S^3, the Dialer app, a typical S^3 menu
Another significant update to Symbian^3 is the introduction of the GPU accelerated UI. While Symbian has never really been slow to respond to input, this was more a result of the fact that it was almost completely devoid of any animation or effects and as mentioned earlier, Symbian’s inherent thrift when it came to using available resources. Although functional, it looked outright prehistoric compared to most modern mobile operating systems, and having to deal with multiple menu hierarchies to change even fairly obvious settings and options didn’t win it any favors either.
With Symbian^3, Nokia has tried to make a clean transition to the present day and age and for the most part, Symbian^3 and the N8’s BCM2727 media processor is able to pull it off reasonably well. The N8’s response is quick, whether it be navigating the menus or switching between applications. The transitions are smooth with no lag; the phone doesn’t get bogged down even with multiple applications running in the background. It also responds to taps and gestures consistently without needing to double tap or repeat gestures. Overall, using the N8 is a fairly smooth experience with nothing to complain about.
Home screens in Symbian^3(first three), S^3 Widget Manager (Right)
Very similar to Android, Symbian^3 now also allows for multiple home screens (three to be exact), with the switching between them facilitated by a simple side-swipe gesture. The current home screen you are on is indicated by one of three dots at the bottom. It is very easy to customize each of the home screens with application shortcuts, notifications, and widgets such as weather, email, social networks, calendar, etc. This is facilitated by a long-press anywhere on the home screen, which initiates the widget manager.
The widgets themselves afford a decent amount of customization. You can also easily switch the widgets online and offline by selecting a single option, unlike the last time I used Symbian where this had to be done on a per application basis. And this logical simplification of actions runs deeper than just the home screen. For example, managing data connections is much simpler on the N8 than it was on the E5. Although it still makes use of “Destinations” to manage your data networks, which isn’t the most straightforward or efficient method to handle data-network related settings, at least all the options are now housed on one page. Symbian^3 also makes some updates to the network stack and it is now 4G ready, should Nokia decide to launch such a device.
There are some quirks in Symbian^3’s current incarnation. For one, the dialer app does not work in landscape mode. Secondly, there is no QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode. Also, using the keyboard in landscape mode takes up the entire screen. So if you are entering your name in a form on a site, clicking on the text field will open up the keyboard with a white text area up top; you cannot see the site itself. As I quickly learned on the Nokia Ovi Store registration page itself, it becomes very irritating when trying to enter CAPTCHAs. You either have to memorize the entire CAPTCHA, or switch back and forth between the website and landscape keyboard view. And finally, the battery indicator on the N8 is a fair bit off from the actual remaining battery life as reported by the N8 itself!
(L-R) S^3 lacks a QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode; battery indicator shows 3/4th of the battery is left, even though it’s not true; the landscape keyboard takes up the whole screen
I’d mentioned earlier that Symbian^3 is going to be Nokia’s last major OS release for a while and this is true. But this does not mean that Nokia plans on pulling on with this release in its current form for another decade. With the closing of Symbian^4 development, what Nokia is actually trying is to do is roll out regular, incremental features and updates to the Symbian^3 code base, instead of branching it off to a new OS release. This is needed for two reasons: to keep Nokia devices such as the N8 competitive, as well as to maintain forward momentum and consumer interest in the Symbian platform. Nokia has promised to make one such significant update to Symbian^3 in early 2011 and some of the updates are much needed.
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strikeback03 - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
Off the top of my head (and only looking at US releases since I don't follow the international market that closely) the OG Droid went from 2.0->2.1->2.2, Droid Incredible and Droid X both are on 2.2, think the Evo is as well. Seems like for the most part the devices lagging are Sony-Ericsson (which would seem to be due to their skin) and the Galaxy S phones (which other parts of the world have seen updated, so maybe the US ones will be soon). Remember, a major snag in updating Android is the carriers and their need to test and screw with everything. That wouldn't be a problem for Nokia if they are just selling the phones unlocked and you bring whatever SIM you want.7amood - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
I would like to see similar review of the old Samsung Flagship Galaxy S and the new upcoming flagship (Galaxy S2 A.K.A i9100 or i9200 not sure) that should be announced in MWC2011.I used to be a nokia fan but they are so outdated... no more nokia for me...
maybe I will change my mind when I see MeeGo but until then...
strikeback03 - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
They reviewed the Epic and Fascinate (2 of the US versions of the Galaxy S) and most likely will get some form of the S2 whenever available.Samus - Thursday, January 13, 2011 - link
Nokia is similar to RIM in a lot of ways. They make solid hardware with outdated software. But that isn't a bad thing. Their products are reliable, refined, and built to last. I don't think many people here with HTC and Samsung phones can say the same thing. I simply don't see business users using them. Battery life, reliability, and overall finish keep most people I know who depend on their phones away. Android has great promise, but with the exception of Motorola, who makes good hardware running it?Voldenuit - Thursday, January 13, 2011 - link
I'd add HTC to the list of good handset makers (regardless of OS), although their track record does vary (as does Motorola's). And their Sense UI is a lot more usable than Moto's (horrid) Blur.Samsung puts some cutting edge hardware in its phones but the build quality is often wanting, and the reliability is not good in my experience. My fiancée went through 3 (!) Blackjacks in 2 years, each device would start failing after several months, and she eventually replaced it with a Moto Bravo. She had the option to get a Galaxy S variant (I think it was the Captivate?) but declined due to her negative experience with the brand.
Definitely agree with you about Nokias being built to last. My N70 lasted nearly 4 years, and that was with some nasty drops and bumps. The N8 had a recent nasty fall the other day, and I was very relieved to find it made off without a single nick or scratch (fell onto some metal railings).
jonup - Thursday, January 13, 2011 - link
Most people that look at spec sheets do not get these benefits that Nokia phones have. All these people know is that "My phone has more MHz than yours" and "I want iPhone 4". What is been overlook is that as much as Symbian OS is been bashed it is very efficient OS and does not require as much resources as some other OSes.This review also does not give the phone's excellent standby efficiency justice. Since most of the time the phone is in your pocket, the standby efficiency quite make up for the not so good battery life in the benchmark scenarios in this article. With normal use you would get 3 days out of N8, something out of reach for iPhone 4 or most Androids, which meanwhile have larger battery capacities. Smaller battery allows for use of better quality materials while keeping the weight down.
For all the performance freaks, I recommend to get a Samsung. I have own one and my boss has an Epic, they brake just in time for the newest and the greatest SoC release; which by the lay seems like is every three months now.
To all the N900 lovers, have you seen one? It is literary twice as big as my phone and weights almost 2.5 times. And while solidly built, it still feels too plasticy.
Voldenuit - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
Good job Mithun!I confess that I couldn't wait for the AT review, so I ended up splurging on the N8 a month ago.
Fortunately, I haven't had the issues that you had with the Ovi Store and email - I was able to use the Ovi store on the device just fine, and I have gmail set to 15 minute synchronisations with few problems - it correctly identifies read messages in my inbox, although it will not mark a message that I receive on the phone and then subsequently read on the PC as read.
I've also had no problems with GPS acquisition (using Ovi Maps 3.06) - lock is pretty speedy even in urban areas and accurate enough for turn by turn navigation. I like that you can download maps for offline use, very handy if you're going overseas on a trip, for instance.
As you've outlined, the camera is great, and easily as good as a high end compact, as long as you're happy with a prime lens. In fact, the lens appears sharper to me than the Canon S90's.
Battery life is nothing short of superb. I've just recharged the phone today - the (3rd party) battery monitor app reported the battery at 15% after 5 days and 21 hours of mostly standby and light use (facebooking, email, some calls, some music viewing). With heavy use (Angry Birds, 720p playback, music, internet), I've had to recharge the phone every other day, which is still stellar.
Also worth noting is that there is no need to root the phone to sideload apps, and you can also run java apps compiled for general smartphones. Being a nokia, it is a phone first and foremost, and the call functionality is great - the speakerphone is crisp and clear, handset is great, and there is a LED notification light for missed calls and messages.
When I first purchased the phone, I found the UI took some getting used to compared to, say, iOS, but now that I am accustomed to it, have grown to love the phone. If you think that Nokia is out of contention because of the weak CPU, you might be surprised by how full featured it is. Couple that with top notch build quality, great call quality, a superlative camera, very good battery life, great GPS and navigation apps, and the N8 is a definite contender.
mythun.chandra - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
Good to know you're enjoying your N8!If Nokia keeps to its commitment of updating Symbian^3 on a regular basis, it actually may be a very viable alternative to the other platforms. The only issue as I see is that Nokia does not seem to have a clear cut platform roadmap. They have S40 for the lower-end devices, S^1 for entry-level smartphones, S^3 for the higher-end devices and Meego...well...we're not sure when and how Meego fits in. This, according to me is going to be a problem for Nokia.
Voldenuit - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
Thanks mithun!BTW I notice that mention of the camera is conspicuously absent in the conclusion section. Until the rumored Panasonic Lumix phone appears, the N8 is the best choice for photo enthusiasts on the market, and perhaps some note could be made of that in the recommendations.
For me, at least, it's more attractive than getting a S95 or LX5. Although I lose out on the zoom and capture parameters (you can only control ISO and EV in 0.5 stop steps over a +/- 2 EV range), I end up with a device with a very nice lens, good detail retention, and the ability to edit, geotag and upload my images all from the one device. If you're travelblogging, the N8 makes a very good companion. For reference I have a GF1 and a 40D, so I'm pretty keen on photography, and the N8 has delivered all I could ask of it in a carry-everywhere package.
mythun.chandra - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
From the conclusion page:"With most definitely the best camera ever seen on a mobile phone, the N8 is a worthy replacement to basic point and shoots." :)