andys blog

Summary: The Nokia N8 is now getting sent out into the hands of reviewers so next week will be an interesting time for Nokia as we see if they can overcome the shadow of the failed N97 flagship device.

DR X12 is now shipping all around the world and we will see a ton of enthusiastic unboxing posts starting later today and through the weekend. The real test for Nokia comes next week though as media, smartphone enthusiasts, and regular people dive deeper into their devices and we see more detailed content and experiences being posted online. There was a record number of pre-orders and excitement seems to be quite high for the Nokia N8, even after thousands tried them out at Nokia World a couple of weeks ago. While my own pre-ordered N8 won’t arrive until the end of October I do have a review unit that should arrive tomorrow that I can use for almost three weeks. While there is a lot of excitement for the Nokia N8 it is also a fairly pivotal device for Nokia and could set the stage for their future.

The Nokia N97 was the last flagship device, A1 AGPS seems to be avoiding that label this time around, and while I liked it for many of its features and functions, the internal hardware was outdated and the constant low memory warnings really killed that device and lowered people’s expectations for the high end Nokia devices. The timing was not good for Nokia as the iPhone started getting better, Android starting exploding, and RIM kept on chugging away. There has not been a true high end Nokia device released since the N97 last year so Nokia fans are looking at the N8 to be that device.

The Nokia N8 is also the first shipping device with A818 WCDMA+GSM and while it is not a revolutionary software update, it looks to offer lots of improvements over S60 while still providing some familiar S60 parts and pieces. From what I saw at Nokia World, people who like Nokia devices should like Symbian^3 on the N8.

I am expecting some very critical reviews here in theUSand will be very surprised to see a lot of reviews giving the N8 high marks. Most of theUSmedia doesn’t understand or know how to use Symbian devices since they are not readily available fromUScarriers and you have to go out of your way to buy Nokia devices in SIM unlocked fashion.

The N8 is the first in a line of Symbian^3 devices that looked quite good at Nokia World, including the E7, C6, and C7, and I will be following all of the news myself to see what people think of the device. Stay tuned early next week for my first impressions of the N8, followed a bit later by a more in-depth take on using the device for a couple of weeks.

A Nokia employee and, apparently, another from Microsoft have been caught posting anonymous comments boosting their product on a review of the new Nokia Lumia 800 phone using Microsoft's new Windows Phone software.

The review, posted on the Moneylife.in site in India, was not based on a hands-on review of the product but only its technical specifications, in which it was compared principally to Samsung's Galaxy S Plus handset.

The reviewer, Yogesh Sapkale, concluded - perhaps brutally, since he hadn't laid a finger on the phone - that " Although Nokia sees its Lumia 800 to be a competitor to Apple iPhone [sic], it is nowhere near the niche product. In fact compared with iPhone, the Lumia 800 can be termed as 'noPhone'."

A number of commenters on the article were unimpressed - including one who called himself Harish. "What an crap review!! It is one of the best phone available, iphone is so dumb compared to this.... Guess some one is paying you lumpsum, congrats..", he wrote.

Another commenter calling himself Aditya Agrawal wrote: "dude, gone are the times when actual consumers just use to care about the technical specifications of mobiles. today, people want devices which are beautiful, fast and easy-to-use. for most of the consumers, it does not matter if the phone has 512mb or 1gb ram. If the 512mb performs better in real-life, that the one customers are going to prefer. just a small advice, go to a store and use windows phone 7.5 for 10 minutes, the last thing you will care is whether the phone has a single or a dual core."

Agrawal posted from the IP address of 207.46.55.31 - which apparently belongs to Microsoft. (That IP address seems to have been used to make a number of unwelcome edits to Wikipedia; many have been reverted.)

A number of other commencers were - to say the least - nonplussed at Sapkale's decision to "review" the phone based only on its specifications (although it's worth noting that some western gadget sites aren't above writing "first look" and "review" pieces which do exactly the same, but without the disclaimer).

Sapkale, who revealed the data about the users' IP addresses in a follow up post, justified his unusual approach to reviewing it on the basis that he was doing a feature comparison for price-sensitive consumers. "India is a very price sensitive market when it comes to spending hard earned money," he wrote. "This is the mistake many manufacturers, especially from the western countries, has made in India. Obviously they are still paying the price for this overlook. Most Indians prefer to save money and then spend it rather than taking credit for a smart phone that may cost them a month's salary. It is the same reason why iPhone 4S, which is available at Rs42,000" - equivalent to ￡534, only slightly more than the UK price - "is still unable to see better sales in India."

Nobody has come out of the episode looking good. Sapkale was accused of breaking his own site's privacy policy by posting the IP and email addresses of the commanders, while the commenting duo's failure to declare any interest looked, at best, like astroturfing.

The Nokia N9 is the most beautiful smartphone I’ve reviewed all year. How wonderful it would be to leave it at that, to herald the N9 as Nokia’s return to relevance in the high-end smartphone market. Unfortunately that’s not possible, mostly thanks to the fact that Nokia has said in so many words that Windows Phone is their future, but also because they’ve remained so guarded about their future plans for MeeGo. This review is already getting ahead of itself, though. Let’s take it from the top: the N9’s design.    Stay ahead of the game - Check out the latest news headlines with the slick 4-inch AMOLED screen, the largest Nokia has ever created for such a slim size of product. You’ll also have more room to enjoy all your apps and videos in vivid colour and true 16:9 widescreen format. Fast, no fuss functionality With no physical buttons on its face, the Nokia N9 features a new user interface, making swiping through features and accessing apps quicker and simpler than ever before. Everything you need now  The homescreen features three views making multitasking even easier and faster. Just swipe horizontally anywhere on the screen to quickly start an app, move between running apps, swiftly view your latest social media updates or respond to the latest client email – in an instant! Your guide to the action Heading to a music festival or meeting friends for a round of golf? The Drive app features optimized in-car UI that can be accessed with one click without having to open the Maps application. With free turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation, getting to where you need to be, on time, has never been easier. Precision engineered style The Nokia N9 blends style with cutting edge minimalist design so it not only looks sharp and but also feels great to use. Crafted from a single piece of polycarbonate enabling superior antenna performance for improved reception and voice quality, the body flows seamlessly into its curved scratch resistant screen. Never miss a shot Great moments are over in an instant, whether it’s a winning goal or an action packed day with friends. You can take photos with the 8MP Carl Zeiss autofocus sensor and shoot HD-quality film faster than ever before. The Nokia N9 features smooth continuous focus so your shots stay sharp all the time, even in low lighting conditions. You can also upload your clips and photos directly to Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr and Facebook. Always in tune Listen to your favourite tunes at home or on the go with the new Nokia Play 360 speakers. Pair them only once with Bluetooth and you’re able to stream music wirelessly for over 21 hours just by tapping your NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled Nokia N9 on the speakers, filling the surroundings in every direction with premium quality sound. Virtually all you need Nokia has handpicked the best new apps to complement your lifestyle. 

  In 1898, Nokia was set up in Finland, in the 1990s, it became the world largest cell phone producer. For a long time, it has been the giant of cell phone industry, Motorola, Samsung are always pacing after it.

  But now, things have changed, it is no longer the giant of the cell phone industry, as we know, it has quit from the stock market which may be beneficial for them and is a better choice for the fall. We have to admit that android OS and IOS is quite powerful and aggressive that a giant of cell phone for 100 years has fallen in less than 3 years. Now the cell phone industry is the divided by iphone and the android smart phones.

  From the online shop, we can figure something out, search from taobao.com of the cell phone selling, you will find that android cell phones sell best on the online B2C website, before, many bulk Wholesale supplier sell China copy phones on the website with large quantities, but now, with the smart phones becoming popular, the China copy phones no longer rank first of the online shop.

  For the sake of android OS, Motorola and Samsung have grown the sales of the Moto phones and Samsung phones have increased a lot in the last years. Many of them are sold on the website like taobao.com and amazon.com.

  The suppliers have various ways of getting the phones although they are not the official suppliers of the cell phone company. Many of them get the cell phones of EU version or US version or HK version and root the cell phones with the China mainland system, and then sell them at very cheap price which may be lower for 1000 RMB than the price of a cell phone in the official authorization shops. And also there are many cell phones locked with a mobile supplier like AT&T, Verizon and T-mobile. And the suppliers can root these phones to make them becomeUnlocked Phones by which way Chinese buyers can use these phones in mainland China. So you have to admit that the Chinese are indeed great for doing things like this. They can think out many methods and ways to earn money from some security loopholes.

  With the android phone becoming hot on the market, many China Electronics Wholesale are setting foot in this market, hoping to make some money, as the android OS is a open source system, so everyone can use it.

  As I know, a lot of android smart phones are made in Guangdong of China brands, the producers sell them on the B2C website, taobao.com and some have their own website mainly toward the western customers the prices of which are quite lower and cheaper than the famous brands cell phones, as the Motorola, Samsung and HTC.

  At the same time, many IT workers work on the android apps and IOS apps to make money, many of them gain success, the angry birds is a positive example. It has been downloaded a several billion times on IOS and android OS. Also there are many other examples, here I will not list any more.

  We here feel sorry for the giant’s fall but at the same feel happy for the rise of new technology and innovation of the IOS and android OS.

The Nokia Lumia 800 is the best smartphone you have ever held, though it is not the best smartphone you have ever used. In your hand, the Lumia 800 feels remarkably solid, as though having been carved clean out of a single piece of obsidian, or the monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey"; it is a phone that you will prod your friends to hold for themselves, so proud will you be of its make, its impressive density. The thing is so well-built that it is almost a letdown it does not shoot lasers or give back massages in addition to making calls and checking emails. Therein lies the problem: Aside from feeling great in your palm, the Nokia Lumia 800 does not clearly distinguish itself from the horde of other Windows Phones currently available. You are paying a premium for design, not performance.

  (2) This smartphone's killer feature is not Siri, nor Ice Cream Sandwich, but rather gadget-as-piece-of-architecture. Curved on the sides, flat on the top and bottom and suitably thin yet solid, its only buttons are, from top-to-bottom on the right side, a volume control rocker, a lock screen and a camera launcher. Its only visible hole is a headphone jack up top: The charger and SIM slot are hidden beneath two flimsy latches that are (form over function!) more of a pain to open than they should be. The screen gently slopes outward toward the holder -- imagine, if you can, a boy holding a cafeteria tray under his shirt -- but stays relatively free of smudges (or, perhaps I was persistently wiping to preserve the phone's beauty). The tiles on Windows Phone Mango look great cascading up and down the Lumia's Hall-of-Mirrors-ish curved display; more Windows Phones should use this curving glass as it is so well-suited to the style and movement of Mango.   (3) Beyond style, the Lumia 800 offers little to distinguish itself among Mangophones. Perhaps it is the oft-repeated hype-line that this phone is WP7's saving grace, but there is something very underwhelming about the way the Lumia 800 actually operates. Everything looks great and runs smoothly, sure, but performance-wise, Nokia's first Windows Phone is just on par with other Windows Phones: just on par when it should be a double eagle, given its body. This is not Mango supercharged: It is regular Mango on a very, very pretty phone. I will repeat my opinion of Mango from an earlier review: It is an attractive mobile operating system that is comparatively lacking in apps but is cutting-edge in design, terrific for communication across several platforms (Facebook, SMS, Twitter and more) and an early-adopter's dream. The Nokia Lumia 800 is one way to experience this mobile OS, but it is not the only way. For add-ons, the Lumia 800 ships with Nokia Music (why?) and Nokia Drive (why, yes!), a navigation system that reads directions aloud; American drivers -- especially those who have their smartphones hooked up to their speakers and who do not have Garmins or TomToms -- will love Nokia Drive.   (4) In short, Nokia could have done a bit more past the design phase to fill this phone out: There is no front-facing camera or 4G capability, two features that seemed like no-brainers. The camera on the back is great and loads quickly, and I got consistently excellent battery life, often spanning across two or three days of heavy use with push email enabled. The lack of power-sucking 4G, of course, helps with that; next year, Nokia would be wise to trade in some battery hours for some quicker download speeds. Using the phone day-to-day, I never sensed anything special about the phone's performance -- fast, yes, but not commensurate with the build.