Oh dear… 1st N8 hands-on feedback is bad

by Ben Smith on 26th April 2010

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Recently, I’ve been convinced we were seeing a Nokia turn-around… the Ovi store is better and sales are huge, there’s been bold moves like free Ovi Maps and there’s some impressively priced new handsets coming. First feedback on the still unannounced flagship N8 suggests the good news is over for a while though.

What Nokia needs to complete get itself completely back on course was a new OS on some great hardware. Symbian, for all its technical excellence and maturity, is badly let down by the current S60 user-interface offerings. The much-leaked N8 was the handset to fix that - a flagship device sporting the new Symbian^3 OS to match the excellent hardware with the UI it deserved. Sadly, the first feedback from Eldar at Mobile Review (article in Russian, but with plenty of extra pictures) is being reported as overwhelmingly negative…

…they’ve made cosmetic improvements, that users should like. And users do not like them. I get a feeling that Nokia is living in some wonderland, where people are buying it’s products in droves. But this is not the case. And as a flagship product, Nokia N8 looks not just bleak, but as something incomprehensible. With the help of advertising, they will get people’s attention, start selling and will sell quite a few of them. Just to scare more people away from Nokia brand. A feeling is that there are some competitor moles working at Nokia, sabotaging the work. Purposefully destroying Nokia brand step by step. I can not find any other explanation for current events…

If (and I stress if - this is one man’s first opinion) this is right, there’s going to be a substantial hole at the top of the Nokia range for some time (Symbian^4 isn’t due until 2011) and whilst sales may remain huge, Nokia will continue to slip towards the low-margin end of the market where every dollar is just that little bit harder-won (and more easily lost to the competitors).

You have to begin to wonder: is Symbian^3 up to the job or is it just lipstick on the current pig?

Quote credit: Unwired View
Image credit: Mobile Review

Tagged as: Eldar, Mobile Review, N8, Nokia

  • http://www.symbianworld.org Jade Bryan V. Jardinico

    For me it was a “Russian half-filled preview”. Why? We don’t even know what’s the complete spec of N8, from its hardware to complete Symbian^3 UI. No HD sample was been posted and no other OS features have been layout.

    Talking of the camera flagship, the N86 is still better in low light for having larger aperture and I’m not sure if this N8 has a wide-angle lens. 3.2″ is a fail for me, but not the capacitive. Over all the N8 is not the big thing even though it has a HDMI. Let’s wait for the full specs and dying for Snapdragon or even 700MHz plus a dedicated GPU will do. 512MB Ram should be the least memory.

  • http://www.symbiandreams.com/ Jade Bryan V. Jardinico

    For me it was a “Russian half-filled preview”. Why? We don't even know what's the complete spec of N8, from its hardware to complete Symbian^3 UI. No HD sample was been posted and no other OS features have been lay out. Talking of the camera flagship, the N86 is still better in low light for having larger aperture and I'm not sure if this N8 has a wide-angle lens. 3.2″ is a fail for me, but not the capacitive. Over all the N8 is not the big thing even though it has a HDMI. Let's wait for the full specs and dying for Snapdragon or even 700MHz plus a dedicated GPU will do. 512MB Ram should be the least memory.

  • http://www.symbiandreams.com/ Jade Bryan V. Jardinico

    For me it was a “Russian half-filled preview”. Why? We don't even know what's the complete spec of N8, from its hardware to complete Symbian^3 UI. No HD sample was been posted and no other OS features have been lay out.

    Talking of the camera flagship, the N86 is still better in low light for having larger aperture and I'm not sure if this N8 has a wide-angle lens. 3.2″ is a fail for me, but not the capacitive. Over all the N8 is not the big thing even though it has a HDMI. Let's wait for the full specs and dying for Snapdragon or even 700MHz plus a dedicated GPU will do. 512MB Ram should be the least memory.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    I’m expecting the hardware to be amazing… it generally is. The point is that the UI, which was the thing most in need of attention, has received minimal improvements. I would have been more suspicious if the images hadn’t backed it up.

    We shouldn’t write the N8 or Nokia off, but this suggests the journey to sorting their UI problems will be a slower one than I (and many others) had hoped. I really hope Eldar’s wrong.

  • Anonymous

    I would *hope* that that’s why S^3 has been delayed. That they aren’t going to release it until it’s good enough.

    But who knows until they do?

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    yes but isnt that why symbian ^4 is following ^3 so quickly - much like maemo 5 is short lived.

    where short lived is 12ish months. It’s a stop gap.

    ^4 was never due before 2011

  • http://twitter.com/TheProdigalFool The Prodigal Fool

    Ben, with great respect to you and the site, I think you’ve jumped the gun here.

    I don’t think it’s fair or useful to draw any conclusions from a post that was machine-translated from Russian and that describes hardware and software that is still months from commercial availability.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    I'm expecting the hardware to be amazing… it generally is. The point is that the UI, which was the thing most in need of attention, has received minimal improvements. I would have been more suspicious if the images hadn't backed it up.We shouldn't write the N8 or Nokia off, but this suggests the journey to sorting their UI problems will be a slower one than I (and many others) had hoped. I really hope Eldar's wrong.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    I'm expecting the hardware to be amazing… it generally is. The point is that the UI, which was the thing most in need of attention, has received minimal improvements. I would have been more suspicious if the images hadn't backed it up.

    We shouldn't write the N8 or Nokia off, but this suggests the journey to sorting their UI problems will be a slower one than I (and many others) had hoped. I really hope Eldar's wrong.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    You won’t be surprised I disagree :-)

    - I haven’t drawn any conclusions - just reported the feedback and said it’s worrying.
    - Eldar has also widely commented in English on this and his comments are consistent with the quote above.
    - ‘Months away from commercial availability’ means ‘finished’ in effect… particularly in the major OS changes. Any tweaking from here on will be limited to minor refinements and Nokia’s own apps. I read that Nokia has acknowledged publicly (I haven’t confirmed personally) that this device is with networks for evaluation…

    I really hope this isn’t how the device turns out, but the chap in question is a significant and influential commentator and his post deserves reporting.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    You’re right re: Symbian^4 but if the Mobile Review comments are correct (*if*) then it doesn’t sound as if any of the gap has been stopped.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    AFAIK it hasn’t been delayed… it’s a few weeks of a date which was announced but has been H2 for a long time.

  • http://www.symbianworld.org Jade Bryan V. Jardinico

    Right. The Symbian^3 was the only reason for other fans to give rants, but let’s hope for a better GUI when Nokia will officially unvieled it.

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe”
    well you would like anyway, bloody NDA’s

  • http://twitter.com/TheProdigalFool The Prodigal Fool

    Annoyingly, you’ve mounted a convincing defense.

    Damn.

  • penna

    I would *hope* that that's why S^3 has been delayed. That they aren't going to release it until it's good enough.But who knows until they do?

  • penna

    I would *hope* that that's why S^3 has been delayed. That they aren't going to release it until it's good enough.

    But who knows until they do?

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    yes but isnt that why symbian ^4 is following ^3 so quickly - much like maemo 5 is short lived.where short lived is 12ish months. It's a stop gap.^4 was never due before 2011

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    yes but isnt that why symbian ^4 is following ^3 so quickly - much like maemo 5 is short lived.

    where short lived is 12ish months. It's a stop gap.

    ^4 was never due before 2011

  • http://twitter.com/TheProdigalFool The Prodigal Fool

    Ben, with great respect to you and the site, I think you've jumped the gun here. I don't think it's fair or useful to draw any conclusions from a post that was machine-translated from Russian and that describes hardware and software that is still months from commercial availability.

  • http://twitter.com/TheProdigalFool The Prodigal Fool

    Ben, with great respect to you and the site, I think you've jumped the gun here.

    I don't think it's fair or useful to draw any conclusions from a post that was machine-translated from Russian and that describes hardware and software that is still months from commercial availability.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    You won't be surprised I disagree :-) - I haven't drawn any conclusions - just reported the feedback and said it's worrying.- Eldar has also widely commented in English on this and his comments are consistent with the quote above.- 'Months away from commercial availability' means 'finished' in effect… particularly in the major OS changes. Any tweaking from here on will be limited to minor refinements and Nokia's own apps. I read that Nokia has acknowledged publicly (I haven't confirmed personally) that this device is with networks for evaluation…I really hope this isn't how the device turns out, but the chap in question is a significant and influential commentator and his post deserves reporting.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    You won't be surprised I disagree :-)

    - I haven't drawn any conclusions - just reported the feedback and said it's worrying.
    - Eldar has also widely commented in English on this and his comments are consistent with the quote above.
    - 'Months away from commercial availability' means 'finished' in effect… particularly in the major OS changes. Any tweaking from here on will be limited to minor refinements and Nokia's own apps. I read that Nokia has acknowledged publicly (I haven't confirmed personally) that this device is with networks for evaluation…

    I really hope this isn't how the device turns out, but the chap in question is a significant and influential commentator and his post deserves reporting.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    You're right re: Symbian^4 but if the Mobile Review comments are correct (*if*) then it doesn't sound as if any of the gap has been stopped.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    You're right re: Symbian^4 but if the Mobile Review comments are correct (*if*) then it doesn't sound as if any of the gap has been stopped.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    AFAIK it hasn't been delayed… it's a few weeks of a date which was announced but has been H2 for a long time.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    AFAIK it hasn't been delayed… it's a few weeks of a date which was announced but has been H2 for a long time.

  • http://www.symbiandreams.com/ Jade Bryan V. Jardinico

    Right. The Symbian^3 was the only reason for other fans to give rants, but let's hope for a better GUI when Nokia will officially unvieled it.

  • http://www.symbiandreams.com/ Jade Bryan V. Jardinico

    Right. The Symbian^3 was the only reason for other fans to give rants, but let's hope for a better GUI when Nokia will officially unvieled it.

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    “I've seen things you people wouldn't believe” well you would like anyway, bloody NDA's

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    “I've seen things you people wouldn't believe”
    well you would like anyway, bloody NDA's

  • http://twitter.com/TheProdigalFool The Prodigal Fool

    Annoyingly, you've mounted a convincing defense. Damn.

  • http://twitter.com/TheProdigalFool The Prodigal Fool

    Annoyingly, you've mounted a convincing defense.

    Damn.

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    `Who cares, it comes in lime green or orange’ this is what matters people.
    I’m semi serious.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    And you’re right. Hmmm… Even I’m thinking Oooooo. Dammit.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    In a dazzling display of bad grace, I’m also now going to say ‘tada’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrXHXin9Iio
    :-)

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    `Who cares, it comes in lime green or orange' this is what matters people. I'm semi serious.

  • http://mostlythis.com Mac Morrison

    `Who cares, it comes in lime green or orange' this is what matters people.
    I'm semi serious.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    And you're right. Hmmm… Even I'm thinking Oooooo. Dammit.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    In a dazzling display of bad grace, I'm also now going to say 'tada': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrXHXin9Iio :-)

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    In a dazzling display of bad grace, I'm also now going to say 'tada': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrXHXin9Iio

    :-)

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    And you're right. Hmmm… Even I'm thinking Oooooo. Dammit.

  • http://%/q2131q2121 Kylie Batt

    ??????????! ???? ? ?? ??? ??????????!…

    First feedback on the still unannounced flagship N8 suggests the good news is over for a while though. What Nokia needs […….

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