Nevertheless, the Nokia N8 isn't just a "test device" supposed to introduce a new Operating System to see how the market react, but is a real innovative product that brings mobile entertainment like no other phone has been able to offer. Indeed, this new device offers a whole buffet of multimedia and entertainment features: An amazing 12MP Carl Zeiss Camera with autofocus and Xenon + LED flash, a 3.5" AMOLED screen, an HDMI port, HD Video recording and playback, online TV programs, Dolby Sound, 16 gigs of internal storage and 3D accelerated graphics for an awesome gaming experience.

• Technical Specs:

Networks: WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

Operating System: Symbian^3 (introduced on this device)

Dimensions: 113.5 x 59.12 x 12.9 mm

Weight: 135 g

Standby time: Up to 16 days

Talk time: Up to 12 hours

Display: 3.5" 640 x 360 px OLED capacitive touchscreen

Memory: 16GB mass memory + MicroSD slot + 135MB system memory

Camera: 12 MP Carl Zeiss with autofocus, xenon and LED flash - 720p video recording (25 fps)

WiFi: Yes, with b/g/n support

Bluetooth: Yes

GPS: Yes, with A-GPS

Radio: Yes, with RDS

FM Transmitter: Yes

Audio connector: 3.5mm

Video connector: HDMI output

Colors: Gray, Black, Blue, Green, Orange

• New Operating System, Symbian^3:

Nokia has never announced Symian^3 as a revolution, but as an evolution of Symbian S60 v5 and we believe that this denomination was a wise choice for them. Indeed, although Symbian^3 does bring new features, it seems very similar to Symbian^1 graphically and does not seem to bring many improvements at first (even though it actually does). The major "revolution" with the introduction of Symbian^3 is that graphics will now be hardware accelerated, probably on all Nokia's high end devices, which means smoother scrolling and navigation within menus and applications, but also better looking effects and transitions as well as awesome graphics. This improvement therefore brought these major changes into the final operating system:

- New music experience with "cover flow" navigation, allowing users to browse their albums by covers with a nice scolling effect thanks to the graphics card

- New photo and video gallery as well as new editing capabilities

- Introduction of HD video (both playback and recording), which couldn't have been handled without a dedicated chip

- Visual multitasking: you see the applications themselves instead of just an icon

Also, here are the two other main changes brought by S^3 that have very little to do with the introduction of a "standard" graphics chip on new Symbian devices:

- Improved and more intuitive UI, with the introduction of multitouch (pinch to zoom)

- Better integration with Ovi Services

• Multimedia Experience:

First part of the multimedia experience on the Nokia N8 is obviously the widgets, that were first introduced with the Nokia N97. Unlike the latter, widgets can now be placed on three different pages that are fully customizable. This therefore allows the user to keep all the information he needs directly on his homescreen without having to limit the information shown because of page restrictions. Not only widgets can be personalized in the way they are displayed, backgrounds can also be customized separately on each screen so that each screen has a specific appearance, to make information even easier to spot.

Second important element of multimedia are obviously photos and videos that are extremely well handled by the N8, as the phone has what is probably the best camera ever for a cell phone but also shoots HD videos in 720p with video stabilization. Of course, the device supports HD playback (at 30 fps) and is even able to display HD content on an HD display thanks to its HDMI output. The Nokia N8 also makes sharing easy thanks to Nokia Share Online and organizes photos thanks to a new Symbian gallery, that is faster and looks better than the previous one. Talking new stuff, the Nokia N8 now has a face detection system built into the photo application for even better photos! Finally, the Nokia N8 comes with an excellent photo and video editor that will definitely eliminate the need to transfer files to your computer to edit them!

Finally, what we believe also takes place in the multimedia experience for users is their access to social networks. For this usage, the Nokia N8 has a lot to offer: it comes with a Facebook and Twitter application (Nokia Messaging for Social Networks) that can handle pretty advanced features and also offers a homescreen widget, making it very convenient to keep up with your social life. Also, the Nokia N8 is supposed to integrate social networking directly into the address book, even though it is not very clear how this will be implemented. In terms of photo sharing, the Communities application (the one mentioned above) also offers the possibility to upload photos directly to your Facebook or TwitPic account, making it very easy and convenient to share your life with others directly from your cell phone.

Just in case you want to see the stunning picture quality, here are some samples taken with the Nokia N8

• Entertainment Experience:

The Nokia N8 is definitely built for entertainment and will offer advanced features regarding this usage. Many N8 users will use the device as their main music player and will fill it with their music, this is why Nokia now offers an album view that lets you scroll though albums and select the song you want from there but also to shuffle the whole CD and play tracks randomly. The Nokia N8 is designed with entertainment in mind, which is why it will offer a stunning audio quality!

Another feature brought by the N8 is the Web TVs that allow you to directly watch your favorite TV channels directly on your phone. Depending on your location, you will have access to various local channels, as well as the global CNN, E! and National Geographic Channels, for free (excluding data charges)

Finally, the Nokia N8 is the first touchscreen Nokia device to include a dedicated graphics chip (like the N95 did), which will let you play the latest and most graphically advanced games on the device, making it a true mobile gaming platform.

• Regular Symbian features:

Being a Nokia product that runs Symbian, the N8 comes with all the traditional Ovi services associated with the platform. Therefore, the phone is compatible will all the Ovi Services, such as Contacts, Files etc. but also with Nokia Messaging, which lets you get push emails on your Nokia device for up to 10 different email accounts. Also, the Nokia N8 comes with the latest version of Ovi Maps that includes free navigation in more than 70 countries as well as free Premium content such as City Guides and Traffic information.

• Bad points:

Even though the N8 is probably an excellent device, it still has some weaknesses. Indeed, Nokia has surprised everyone by releasing a device that is somehow different from what people got used to. For instance, the Finnish manufacturer decided to prevent the user from removing the battery, a little bit like on the iPhone (even though this can be done by unscrewing the back cover), which is meaningless and very unusual with Nokia. Then, for a high end product, the Nokia N8 only has a single speaker, which will probably not deliver a very good quality compared to stereo speakers on previous devices. Finally, the product also seems to be missing a physical keyboard, which would have made text input much easier, especially given the fact that it integrates so many social networking options.

However, let's keep in mind the Nokia N8 is a middle to high end device that will ship this summer for less than USD 550, taxes included and cannot possibly be a perfect product on every point, especially when it hasn't officially been announced as the brand's flagship for 2010. The Nokia N8 is definitely a great device that brings the evolution that Nokia devices desperately needed. What Nokia brings here is a real multimedia and true entertainment device, letting you capture and share stunning photos and videos, keep up with your friends, play the latest 3D games and watch HD videos on a TV! We will hopefully review this device this summer and let you know in more details what we think the N8 brings and what might still lack in Nokia's device.

Nokia N8 Video presentations: