Nokia N8 high-end smartphone with Symbian^3

Nokia, the world's leading mobile phone manufacturer in terms of sales, is a brand that's notably absent from the smartphone market. That's set to change with the N8, a high-end handset the Finnish manufacturer hopes will stand out from the crowd.

The N8 should be released this summer with a UK retail price of around £320 before taxes and subsidies. It'll be the first handset to run on the new Symbian^3 OS, which is more of an updated version of the previous OS rather than a total system overhaul. In any case, the new version is reported to offer improved handling of multi-touch control, more customisation options for the interface and improved multitasking support for greater responsiveness.

The unmistakable Nokia design

The N8 looks like typical Nokia stuff. In fact, it doesn't look like the brand is ready to take any major risks in the design department, even if doing so could help give the manufacturer the boost it needs for a successful launch into the smartphone market. A revamped design could also help Nokia compete more effectively with brands that use design as a major selling point. The Nokia style doesn't necessarily need to be completely abandoned—plenty of users like the old-school Nokia look and the familiarity of the design. However, there should still be room for diversification within the firm's range of handsets, and especially in higher-end smartphones.

The N8 will have a 3.5-inch touch-screen, a 16 GB internal memory and a MicroSD expansion slot for cards up to 32 GB. It'll have a 12-Megapixel camera (note that the latest Nokia handsets offer better photo quality than many competitors' models), an FM radio, 720p video recording and an HDMI output for quick and easy connection to a TV. There'll also be 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Ever since the iPhone set new standards in the market three years ago, Nokia has had trouble tapping into this booming and lucrative sector. The brand's latest releases may have succeeded in winning over die-hard fans, but no handset has been able to match the success of the N95, released four years ago.

Faced with Asian brands' steamroller strategy of bombarding the market with products and pushing down prices, the mass of Android handsets flooding in from all sides, and the American giants Apple and BlackBerry, Nokia has no choice but to seek a different strategy. When announcing its financial results last week, the brand also announced forthcoming price cuts on its handsets. Will that be enough to catch up with the competition that's already so far ahead? Whereas rival manufacturers have nearly all already presented their 2010 smartphones, Nokia has taken its time even announcing the N8, with no word at the MWC in Barcelona in February.

So with the smartphone market in such good shape, the absence of a major player like Nokia leaves the way clear for brands that are only too happy to fill up retailers' and operators' shelves with an ever-growing selection of handsets. It seems that Korean, Thai and Chinese manufacturers have understood that perfectly.



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