Nokia's N8 touchscreen smartphone - originally announced in April, then finally launched in the US last month after six months of delays - has made it to NZ.Vodafone will release the N8 ($999, off contract), on November 19. Telecom - which has dragged its
Nokia's N8 touchscreen smartphone - originally announced in April, then finally launched in the US last month after six months of delays - has made it to NZ.
Vodafone will release the N8 ($999, off contract), on November 19. Telecom - which has dragged its feet a little with recent high-end Nokia handsets - will also stock the N8.
Nokia has also been talking to 2degrees, but so far no N8 plans have been announced.
A lot is riding on the N8 for Nokia which, although still easily the world's largest cellphone maker, has been losing share in the high-profit smartphone segment.
The N8 is the first Nokia handset to feature its latest operating system software, Symbian 3.
NBR has a review unit on the way.
In the meantime, we can go by US reviews, which are mixed.
US PC World thought Symbian 3 was "no match" for Apple's iOS or Google's Android.
It also thought the N8's 680MHz processor was under-powered compared to the 1GHz (1000MHz) chips that run most smartphones.
On the plus side, it loved the N8's free Ovi maps, and 12 (yup, 12) megapixel camera, and other multimedia frills that include HDMI output.
Nokia is pursuing a three-tier software strategy, with cheaper phones running on the Java-based Series 40, smartphones on Symbian 3 and next-generation, larger mobile devices running on MeeGo, co-developed with Intel.
