Nokia has announced its global roll out of the latest Symbian Belle update for Nokia X7, N8, C6-01, C7, E7, E6 and Nokia Oro. For Nokia 500 users, the update will be available much later in couple of weeks time. This is the 2nd Symbian^3 upgrade right after Anna rolled out about 6 months ago.
Symbian Belle aims to offer refreshed new experience on the same Symbian device. So what’s new? Belle now offers 6 customisable home screens, a new notifications bar with power toggle switches and an enhanced new Nokia Maps.
To upgrade to Belle, you would need to connect your Nokia device to the PC via Nokia Suite which is downloadable here. In terms of availability, Malaysian users should be able to update right now as indicated on their Belle availability page.
Update: It seems that we have offended a few Nokia N8 enthusiasts out there with our findings. In pursuit of the truth, we want to set the record straight, and so we have a proposition for the N8 enthusiasts who’ve expressed their opinions about this post. We have a proposition for you. Is the Nokia N8 still the best camera phone out there? Let’s settle this once and for all. Head on over to after the jump for details.
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We’re just one week away from the launch of the iPhone 4S in Malaysia. Aside from an uprated processor that’s now dual-core and very chatty Siri, the biggest improvement on the new iPhone is its camera.
With a Sony-sourced 8MP backlit sensor and improved optics, Apple says the new camera on its latest iPhone offers performance that rivals most dedicated point-and-shoot cameras, but is this claim founded?
Naturally, we’re curious to find out ourselves if the camera on the iPhone 4S is as good as Apple claims it to be, and so we’ve assemble some of the best 8MP smartphone shooters we could get our hands on along with the 12MP Nokia N8 for good measure and went out on a photowalk; taking pictures and videos using these devices in various situations to find out which smartphone available in the market right now has the best camera overall.
We compare the iPhone 4S with the Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II, Motorola RAZR, Sony Ericsson Xperia ray and Nokia N8. Follow us to after the jump to see the sample shots and videos as well as our verdict on which smartphone has the best camera right now.
The Nokia N8 is still one of the best camera phones out there with its 12MP sensor and Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. We have seen the N8 doing impressive short films and even the world’s smallest and probably largest stop motion video.
Now there’s a featured movie coming up that was shot entirely with a Nokia N8 entitled “Olive”. To make this possible, the film director, Hooman Khalili didn’t just slap on a Nokia N8 on traditional film camera lenses but had to hack the device to disable auto-focus and zooming. This gives the movie maker more control during the film making.
Nevertheless, this just proves that the Nokia N8 camera capability is still awesome till this very day. If only Nokia can emulate such feature on their next Windows Phone device.
Watch the first 5 minutes of the movie after the jump.
The iPhone 4S may be the new kid on the block but the Nokia N8 that’s over a year old is still the big daddy when it comes to taking spectacular pictures — no exceptions. Just take a look at these snaps! If we didn’t know any better we’d say that they all came from a DSLR or at the very least, a very capable prosumer point-and-shooter.
Pity we can’t say the same about the phone that’s bolted on to the 12MP camera of the Nokia N8.
We’ll be the first to admit that we’re not fans of Symbian in whatever iteration currently or previously available, but if Nokia had half the mind to carry over that wonderful N8 camera to a Windows Phone 7.5 device, now we’re talking. We would probably get that in a heartbeat.
Earlier on Nokia has announced its Anna software roll out to first generation Symbian^3 devices but only to be pulled out from Malaysia. Nokia Malaysia claims that Anna isn’t ready for Malaysia as we are supposed to be getting the localised version of the update.
Now Nokia Malaysia has announced that it is officially available for the Nokia N8, Nokia C7, Nokia C6-01 and Nokia E7. However a check at Nokia Malaysia’s Anna page revealed that Nokia N8 is labeled as coming soon. Most people have also feedback that they can’t enable split-screen messaging, a new feature which lets you do keyword input while still staying on the original screen. Unfortunately even with this new announcement, split-screen isn’t available for users in Malaysia/Singapore. Instead they will be releasing this feature in the next Anna software ugprade.
To get to know the features, head after the break for Anna introduction video.
UPDATE: Nokia Malaysia has announced that Anna update for first generation Symbian^3 devices isn’t officially ready for Malaysia and some users may experience issues upgrading. For those who managed to upgrade to Anna, it’s confirmed that we won’t be having keyword split-view as some countries we’re exempted for now. However they have confirmed to be working towards having it available at all countries in the next update. Anna updates for Malaysia will be published here but so far no dates were given.
To download the update, you can do it via Ovi Suite through a computer or you can download OTA through SW Update on the device. The first software update to Anna takes about 25MB to download. After completion, there are 2 more Anna updates about 58MB to bring it up to the latest version.
So what’s new with Anna? Apart from the rounded icons which is the interface design for Nokia right now, it brings a host of improvements in usability. The first obvious improvement is the availability of full QWERTY keyboard on portrait mode. Previously you only get T9 keyboard in portrait and full QWERTY is only available in landscape mode. Although this is good, some time is needed to get used to it as the keys are tiny while the Backspace button is placed at the bottom right, instead of the top. Another improvement is the availability of having split screen which we can’t seem to find right now. This lets you see the original contents of the page while typing instead of having the full screen taken over for input.
Browser seems to be improved as it is slightly smoother than before. The navigation and menus look better. For business users they have added meeting request support and couple of encryption enhancements. For the full list of enhancements, you can read the previous post or head to Nokia Conversation Blog here.
If you have a Nokia N8, follow these instructions: Hold phone in hand. Watch the video, look at your N8. Watch video, look at your N8 again. Watch video, now read this post.
The video you just saw (three times now, if you’ve followed our instructions properly) is a testament to the potential that is the Nokia N8. The 12MP imaging behemoth (in the mobile phone world at least) opens up tremendous possibilities for creative explorations. Now the question is, are you creative enough for your N8?
The video — titled Gulp — is no ordinary stop-motion rendition. The elements you see in it are not animations or miniature constructs. They are all life-sized. Yeap. The boat you see, life-sized. The beach, that’s a real beach, not a set. The text and illustrations, all drawn by hand on the beach. The set for the short was an 11,000 square feet piece of beach in Wales.
Gulp was made by Sumo Science at Aardman Animations, these are the same people that brought us the lovable characters of Wallace & Gromit. The makers used the Nokia N8 for the still shots and then stitched the stills together at 25 frames per second.
Yes, this is nothing more than an elaborate Nokia advertisement, but what a commercial it is. Having said that, Nokia has to stop relying on the N8 to catch people’s imagination. The iPhone 5 is coming and let’s not forget the unstoppable tide of Android phones that feature even more sophisticated hardware and processors. Nokia had better have something special up their sleeves when the show of their Windows Phone devices.
Check out the making of Gulp right after the jump.
Among the many short films/videos we’ve seen shot using a mobile phone, this one takes the cake. Deliciously done, simple yet sophisticated, beautiful yet functional, Splitscreen: A Love Story tells a story that we all can relate to. And it’s shot using the Nokia N8.
We just love watching it and it’s not wonder that this video won an award for short films shot on mobile phones at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival.
On a side note. When it comes to making damn good camera phones, we get it, Nokia is awesome. When it comes to the OS part, let’s hope they’ve learned enough to pull things together.
Follow the link for more wonderful Nokia N8 shorties that made the Edinburgh International Film Festival shortlist.
When Nokia announced their new Nokia E6 business phone and Nokia X7 entertainment device, they have also revealed Symbian Anna which was formerly known as PR2 update for Symbian^3. The new Symbian Anna comes with a number of key enhancements as follow:
New icons, appear more rounded
Improved touch screen keyboard for better typing and QWERTY in potrait mode
Improved Ovi maps with check-in support for Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare
Improved Ovi store with increased download limit for WLAN
Improved Social app
Enhanced Browser with touch UI improvements and URL bar. Responsiveness and navigations are improved
Nokia has mentioned that Symbian Anna will be available for existing Symbian^3 devices such as Nokia N8, C6-01, Nokia E7 and C7 in the coming months but no dates were given.
For more information, head to Nokia’s Conversation blog here.
Check out more screenshots and introductory video of Symbian Anna after the break
We probably need to pull the local video analysis experts off the sex video case to take a look at this video of what looks like a Nokia N8 running Windows Phone 7.
So here we have a video of a Nokia N8 running Windows Phone 7 but is it the real deal?
If you ask us, the it looks highly suspect. It could be a hack but we feel the most likely scenario is that the interface that appears on the screen of the device is actually a video.
Our reason? If you look closely at 0:05, the person recording the video closes up to the top part of the device to try to show that it is indeed a Nokia N8. Then at 0:10, he scrolls the home screen up but if you look closely his finger action is not in sync with the movement on the N8’s screen, his finger continues to go up but the screen stops moving.
On top of that, if you’ve used Windows Phone, you’ll know that the UI has this unique trait where if you scrolled all the way to the end of the screen, the panels get squished to tell you that you can’t scroll anymore. In this video, that squished effect is not seen.
So we think this is actually a video of a video on a Nokia N8. What do you think?
Nokia has just made available the first update for its Symbian ^3 platform — now simply known as Symbian — globally starting from today. The version 1.1 update is available for the Nokia N8, C7 and C6-01.
Nokia says most of updated features in version 1.1 “are not directly visible to end users, but together” but ensure that the enhancements “will enhance the user experience of each Symbian device”.
General enhancements in version 1.1 are:
Meeting requests can be accepted directly from email invitations
Maps integration in email, which means people can view the meeting location on the map when the address is mentioned in the location field in the invite
For the Nokia N8:
New Quick Office 6.4 editor version, which offers editing possibilities and allows zooming in & out in Word documents
Need for Speed Shift, Real Golf and Galaxy on Fire preloaded in the new version. (In some countries, Need for Speed is replaced with Asphalt 5). In any case these games are already available for free from Ovi Suite & Ovi Store despite the 1.1 update
To get the update, go through the “Software Update” on your device or just visit Ovi Suite for instructions.
Nokia warns that the update will be hefty, especially for the N8, so make sure your device is connected to a non-3G network via WiFi when executing the update.
Alternatively, you can use the Ovi Suite on your PC to download and install the update.
C7 owners can get the standard, non-customised version of the software is available from today. Nokia N8 and C6-01 owners will have to wait for your version early next week.
When it comes to media and entertainment, there’s no denying the the Nokia N8 packs quite a punch with its HDMI port, surround sound and HD video playback capabilities. The thing that’s holding it back on becoming a true entertainment powerhouse is its diminutive screen.
HD vids and pics are meant to be enjoyed on the big screen and the Beta Lab guys at Nokia have developed just the app to make this possible — the aptly named Nokia Big Screen.
The Nokia Big Screen allows N8 users to easily share and display the media stored on their device on the big screen. The app launches automatically when you hook up your N8 to a HDMI TV and it displays all available media content in your N8 right on the TV. You can then choose to control the media using the phone or a Bluetooth remote or keyboard.
The Nokia Big Screen is available from Nokia’s Beta Labs for the Nokia N8 and the soon to be released Nokia E7. Hit the link to download.
