Nokia Needs To Do More, Much More

Finally the N8 is out in the wild. After months of delay, numerous false announcements, Nokia's latest flagship device is available to customers (to be frank there is some doubt if this is actually a release date. Especially since the preordered phones are the ones being despatched).

A lot is riding on the N8. In short, Nokia future will be defined by this device. If it turns out to be an epic failure like the N97, then lets say, its all over for the Finnish giant. If however this turns out to be a success, it will give Nokia another opportunity to prove to the world that they are capable of producing quality phons even now.

Although individual bloggers had already come up with pretty good positive reviews of the N8 (thanks to Nokia's "trial a phone" for free sweetness), Techradar's (a much more reliable source for reviews than individual blogs, and more recently even CNET's) detailed review of the phone has bared it all. From what I understood from the review here are the conclusions regarding the N8 -

Pros: good camera, good build quality, good battery life.

Cons: oh well, the same old ones to be honest. Okay you start checking if I miss anything. Symbian^3 is primitive, not nearly as good as android or ios interfaces, severe shortage of apps, sloppy internet experience, okayish touchscreen and physically "heavy". Apparently its much heavier than the likes of iPhone 4.

And from the look of things, the reviews arent going to get any better for Nokia. As someone said on a personal blog, had this phone been released a couple of years back, it would have blown everything else, but in 2010, there are simply way too many better phones out there for the N8 to even remotely create an impact.

Top apps for N97 (Mini)

Image by Michele Ficara Manganelli via Flickr

Lets face it, the Ovi Store isnt really a huge repository of apps and most of the apps are well, unusable (read intolerable).

However fortunately there are a few apps which are worth downloading and trying out. I will list them according to my preference (why? Well coz its MY blog and I get to write whatever I want thats why!):

1. Gravity - Well you knew this was going to be the first one didnt you? Frankly Gravity is kind of THE app at the Ovi Store. The twitter cum facebook cum Rss reader cum much more is well and truly the one app which is a must buy if you're on the N97/Mini. The interface is unlike any other and fortunately isnt a memory hog. Hence its perfectly possible to listen to soothing music whil you're tweeting away! To cut the long story short, this is a must download.

2. SPB Mobile Shell - This software transforms the look of your boring N97 into something quite classy and sleek. The look does resemble Android and is not reallty that difficult to use. Okay yeah, it does take some time to get used to but overall this is quite an awesome piece of software totally worthy of its steep price tag. Symbian was never renowned for its looks and this software makes it easier for you to tolerate the boring UI of Symbian by forming a completely different layer. Highly recommended.

3. Raging Thunder - Asphalt 4 for Symbian's touchscreen devices isnt really a good experience. However this game more than makes up for it. Raging Thunder is a car racing game and it uses the built in accelerometer of the devices. That way, this game is quite unique. Also, the price tag is what makes this even more attractive. Completely and whole heartedly recommended.