No need to wait, Nokia launches firstrate N8

Nokia releases iPod challenger N8

Nokia today revealed its latest iPhone challenger, the exciting Nokia N8 smartphone.

The multimedia focused Symbian smartphone features a 12-megapixel camera and HD video recording, obviously far superior on paper to anything an iPhone can offer. Beyond the hardware, though, the N8 is the first phone to feature the latest iteration of the Symbian OS.

One of the most exciting aspects of the phone is its HD camera, which offers Dolby Digital Surround Sound through plugging the handset into their home theatre system. The handset also enables access to local and global Web TV services that deliver programs, news and entertainment from channels like CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic.

Social networking seems also to be one of the key focus points of the Nokia N8. Users can update their status, share location and photos and view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen. The Nokia N8 also offers multiple personalisable homescreens which can be loaded with apps and widgets.

The Nokia N8 comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation, guiding people to places and points of interest in around 70 countries.

Not much is known about Symbian’s new operating system, Symbian ^3, According to Nokia’s press release, Symbian ^3 introduces “several major advances” including support for gestures such as multi touch, flick scrolling and pinch-zoom. The new 2D and 3D graphics architecture in the platform “takes full advantage of the Nokia N8’s hardware acceleration to deliver a faster and more responsive user interface.”