Another timeout for a tech blog, as I finally have to get with the times. I’ve never owned a smart phone. Considering how many websites I operate, along with related social media, I really should have had one years ago. Problem is, I hate carrying stuff in my pockets, even if I have cargo pants or shorts. Wallet, keys, phone, camera, GPS, music player. The last time I bought a phone, it had the best camera you could find, though its GPS turned out to be less useful than I hoped. While it had internet, it wasn’t 3G. The traditional number pad made it hard to send a text or even enter the URL for a website or search on Google. You know: tap each numeric button multiple times to get a letter, like you used to do five years ago? That’s my phone. The camera was great, though, and that’s the main reason I bought it. One less thing to carry, at least.
I’ve been waiting for 2 years for a phone that meets all my requirements. I’d hoped Apple would address them, but the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 fell short. So do all of the current Android phones. Here’s what I wanted:
- Decent reception, call quality and battery life (features most people seem to forget about!)
- Good camera with real flash
- Native GPS with voice guided turn-by-turn instructions
- Ability to tether my notebook through the cellphone for 3G internet
- HD 720p video capability
- 3G
- A real QWERTY keypad or touchscreen
Beyond that, I didn’t need much. The iPhone has an awesome operating system and apps, but it still doesn’t have a decent camera with a real flash and while it finally allows computer tethering, it costs a fortune with the required iPhone plans. Really, no phones that met all my requirements existed until now, though the Motorola Milestone XT720 came close by having a decent camera/flash. I might have even bought that one instead if it was clear it would get an upgrade to the newest version of Android. Here’s a nice comparison of the two premier camera phones. Anyway, the Nokia N8 was just released this month in the USA and the color I wanted just started shipping Friday. Mine is supposed to be on its way to me now, hopefully arriving next week. It met all my requirements above. Not only is it 3G, but it is unlocked and gets 3G on both AT&T and T-Mobile, a very unique feature not found on iPhone or any Android phone that I know. Now I can freely switch providers anytime I like and not lose high speed internet. The Nokia N8 also has a wide-angle, high quality 12MP camera with the same xenon flash that you find in point-and-shoot cameras, not a weak LED one like most cellphones. Nokia’s map utility provides free voice guided navigation for life. Unlike Google Maps and some others, it is all stored local to the phone like a real GPS unit so you don’t need a signal or internet connection to navigate. It tethers just like my last phone, using the same software and hopefully my grandfathered $15 unlimited internet plan on AT&T. By most accounts and reviews I’ve read, the reception, call quality, battery life and speaker are pretty good. It also has stuff you can get on most smartphones these days, like HD video for all my action carseat installation clips and a touchscreen keypad so I can text people something normal, rather than, “hard 2 txt plz call me.”
Nokia threw in some other nice hardware touches. The HD video cam has stereo sound and a smart zoom that means you don’t lose much resolution up to 3x zoom. There’s a durable anodized solid metal case and Gorilla glass screen and lens that are scratch and crack resistant, so you don’t have to put it into a bulky or ugly case/skin to protect it. It has all the features I need like music player, browser, social media apps and email. They threw in USB On-The-Go, so you can access external drives and devices like keyboards. There’s the latest Bluetooth 3.0 for file sharing and wireless connectivity of all sorts. There’s an FM radio receiver and transmitter. Full Dolby audio and an HDMI output to show your photos and videos on a TV. Seriously, no other phone out there touches these features. As a bonus, I get to use all my old Nokia chargers, my wife’s mini USB chargers, my old cables and my old MicroSD memory stick.
Well, there is always a catch. The operating system and software apparently sucks. The interface is a new version of Nokia’s Symbian that most claim is very unpolished. From all the reviews, it really sounds behind the times and has a number of bugs, too. While it’s apparently better than previous Symbian software on Nokia’s smartphones, it apparently doesn’t come close to what you can get on an iPhone or Droid 2.2 phone. Nokia’s library of apps is also apparently far behind what you find from Apple and Google. Most reviews have raved about the hardware but have been pretty sour about the software, leading to a mediocre overall rating. There’s even a dedicated hate website already and the phone just started shipping this month! Since I’ve never experienced an Android or iOS phone for daily use, maybe I won’t know what I’m missing and can be happy with the state-of-the-art hardware. It has to be better than what’s on my Nokia N82, after all!
My biggest complaint is that Nokia wouldn’t even bother to respond to my email inquiries. I can’t even get them to send me tracking information. I guess you have to be a tech or cellphone blog to merit the courtesy of a reply. The sales representatives on the phone weren’t particularly helpful, either, though maybe it was partly a language barrier. I hope that isn’t a red flag about their customer service if I have a problem. I had intended to write one of my boring, too-thorough, full reviews with photos and video. Instead, I may have to lightheartedly poke fun at the annoyances I have to endure to get the hardware feautres I want. In that they also haven’t partnered with a provider to offer the phone with a plan discount, it appears they just aren’t very interested in selling them or generating publicity in the USA. That’s too bad, because Apple and all the makers of Android phones and the new Windows 7 phones could really learn something about packing hardware features into their cellphones, rather than just providing top-notch software. Granted, the same could be said about my last phone, and I’ve been relatively happy with it for almost 2 years while I waited for something to come along with all the features I really wanted. Oh, did I mention the best thing about the N8? It comes in Orange! (And at least this year, that’s better than Red. Am I right, Hoosiers?)
If you’re looking for a good review, I recommend the comprehensive coverage at TechRadar and GSMArena. A lot of reviews out there are so heavily biased for or against iPhone, Nokia or Android that it becomes quickly obvious there is no objectivity at all. It’s either praise or bashing depending on their agenda. These two reviews seem pretty well balanced and not too subjective, in additon to being much more in-depth than most other reviews I’ve seen.
No more problems with camera photo or video. The images and movies are excellent quality and the flash works well, too. Reception and call quality are good, but I would not say excellent. The user interface is sometimes a second or two slower than I would like, but not too bad. I uploaded 20 GB of music, a total of 4000 songs. The phone music player is no iPod, but it has cover art and plays well. On the other hand, Ovi Player and Ovi Suite for the computer interface are barely tolerable. They are slow, frequently disconnect, timeout and just generally frustrating for music sync.
Couple glitches so far. For a couple days the phone refused to show caller names when I received or dialed calls. Number only. I tried all sorts of settings and tricks to no avail. Finally on a whim I turned power off and on and that fixed it. The other glitch was major. I went to my son’s kindergarden Halloween show. The camera wouldn’t work in photo or video mode. The focus was stuck and everything was blurry. Nothing I could do in 15 minutes fixed it, including power off/on and setting switches. Of course, after the show when I had time to look at it, it worked just fine. But, we had nothing from the show:-(
Congrats on the new phone! I figured the color would be orange–you’re too predictable ;).
Phone arrived. Looks nice. The bump for the camera is larger than I expected and somewhat annoying, but not a deal breaker. The orange color isn’t as bright as I had hoped, it’s more of a burnt orange, but still very distinctive which is what I wanted. The color on the end caps doesn’t quite match the body color which is a bit low quality for a phone at this price. I think the material may be slightly different and reflects light differently. No issues with setup so far. Contacts, calendar, facebook, twitter, multiple email accounts all synced with my notebook easily. Wifi setup. Tethering my notebook works. The screen is bright and looks great, despite the relatively low resolution compared to other phones. I guess what I don’t know won’t hurt me! At least so far. Tomorrow I’ll see if I can get the music player going and test out the Navigation.
Nokia still hasn’t replied to my inquiry about the tracking information for my order that was left off of my invoice. I guess their response time is a bit longer than 24-48 hours. The invoice said it could be found in my Nokia account, but I apparently used a different email so my invoice and account were not tied together. So, I called the sales number on my invoice to get the tracking information and to see if the order and account could be linked. I waited on hold about 5 minutes. Talked to a sales rep and was put on hold a couple more times while they got the tracking information, then again while they investigated the order/account issue. They finally said I had to call tech support. I did. Another hold. I made the issue very clear, he said he could help but required all my information again. Fine. Then he says that he has to call the sales department to resolve this issue. I told him they just referred me to his department. Anyway, another hold. He comes back and verifies confidently that I have a Nokia account, as if that was the reason I called and thus Problem solved. Not. I again ask if the order number can be linked to my account. Oh, apparently I used a different email address. Well, yes, that is what I have been saying all this time. So, of course, he cannot help me after all. Please hold if you would like to complete a survey on my experience today. I did. I am now wondering if they contract with the same third party support network as Hewlett Packard. See https://carseatblog.com/429/customer-disservice/ . Not a great start and I haven’t even gotten the phone yet!
Yup, that’s what I am hoping. If they do force me into one of the new plans with tethering, I’ll just go to T-mobile. I’ve been on T-mobile before and the coverage is just as good in my area and fewer drops and issues even before iPhone. Plus, T-mobile is a hair cheaper now and I hear their 3G is faster too. I switched to AT&T to save some money and now I’d like to stay since most of my relatives and friends are on AT&T so I can keep the low-minute family plan for now. I did use the invisashield on my last phone that worked nicely and didn’t add any bulk or detract from the appearance and will do so again on this one even though it is supposedly more rugged.
Can’t wait to hear how you like it. We switched a few months back to N97s from N95s and have been pretty happy. AT&T’s network is so overwhelmed with all the iPhones that calls get dropped way too often, but that is the network not the phone.
You can still use the $15 unlimited plan, most likely the network will not recognize your new phone type or that you have changed phones. If you go into the store they will tell you that most likely you will not be able to use all the features of your phone unless you switch but that has proved to be untrue for us.
Don’t forget that you are basically carrying a tiny computer around in your pocket, tossing it on the counter and dropping it on the ground. Abuse will lock it up but taking the battery out is an easy reset. We have otterboxes and invisashield on our phones and they are in new condition after 6 months. Even DH’s after much time on the go and on job sites.
I really wanted something with Android 2.2, but finding one that had a real flash is impossible, let alone one with 3G on at least AT&T’s network. I could have compromised on some other stuff.
We dang. I was hoping it would be android. Still waiting for my perfect phone.