Nokia N8

The N8, first announced in April, will finally be available to consumers on 1 October, Nokia has disclosed. The smartphone, based on the Symbian 3 operating system, includes a 12mp camera and will be available from Carphone Warehouse, O2, Orange, Phones4u, T-Mobile, Tesco Phone Shops, Three Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.

Nokia is pinning its hopes on the N8 and the forthcoming N9 to challenge the dominance of Apple and Google in the profitable smartphone area. Although Nokia continues to be the world’s largest producer of mobile phones, its dominance is increasingly limited to the developing world, as Apple and manufacturers making phones for Google’s Android operating system take an increasing part of the Western mobile market. Many African markets, however, are increasingly using phones made by Chinese manufactuers such as ZTE, so Nokia’s share is being squeezed on several fronts.

The open-source Symbian 3 allows personalised home screens and multitasking of apps, and the N8 also features an HDMI interface for connection to a TV, an AMOLED touchscreen and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. Although Symbian 3 offers social networking integration, no major features have yet been demonstrated that are not available on other operating systems, or in some instances on other Nokia handsets. The N8, for instance, does not feature DLNA wireless media streaming, so its HD content must be connected physically to a TV for playback; Nokia’s N95, however, does feature impressive DLNA capabilities.

Nokia also bundles free satnav capabilities, as it does with all its new phones, via the Ovi Maps tool, and access to the Ovi Store for applications to expand the phone’s capabilities. The device can also access web TV, and function as an MP3 music player for up to 50 hours.

The N8 will retail for £429, or be offered free on £35 per month tariffs. Nokia’s N9 handset will be the company’s first to be based on the newer MeeGo operating system; details are expected to be announced next week at the Nokia World Summit in London.


Preview : Nokia N8
Shoot your masterpiece in HD
Film, edit and perfect your high-definition masterpieces, then share them with the world. Add music, images, text and transitions - all from the phone. With a large 12 MP sensor and Carl Zeiss optics you can capture great images. The Xenon flash allows you to take good pictures in low-light conditions as well.

Connect to your home theatre
The Nokia N8 features an HDMI connection so you can easily show off your images, videos and music on compatible televisions and projectors. All in stunning high-definition digital 720p resolution. It also features premium-quality *Dolby Digital Plus technology - compatible with home theatre systems - so movies will sound as good as they look.

Integrated social networking
The Nokia N8 brings your friends together, by pulling feeds and updates from Facebook and Twitter to one handy application. Photos and videos can be shared the moment they're captured, Facebook events added to your calendar with just one click. Live updates are shown on your home screens, making it even easier to stay in touch.

Make it your own
Personalise your phone by adding your own widgets. Not one but three live home screens – make one for work, use one for fun, and have one with your favourite picture as the wallpaper. Swipe between the home screens with an easy gesture. Download more widgets from Ovi Store.

Download thousands of opportunities
Turn your Nokia N8 into a tool for showing off, having fun and being creative. In Ovi Store you’ll find thousands of different applications to constantly upgrade and improve your device. Download apps, games and videos. The possibilities to make your phone smarter, more useful and simply more fun are endless.

National Geographic in your pocket
The Nokia N8 with on-demand WebTV. Access your favourite TV channels like CNN and National Geographic and get them piped to your phone from the comfort of your bus seat. Visit Ovi Store to find even more WebTV channels.

Navigation. For free. Forever.
Voice-guided navigation wherever you are in the world. Absolutely free. Simply enter where you want to go and Ovi Maps with voice guidance will tell you how to get there, turn by turn. By car or on foot.

Fifty hours of music playback
You can browse smoothly through all your favourite albums and once again get thrilled by the album artwork. Re-experience your record collection for over 50 hours straight.

Make a good thing even better.
Hear Ovi Map's voice guidance navigation conveniently through the Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-608. Or go all out and make your flight a pleasure with the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-905 with eight microphones for cancelling up to 99% of background noise.