The official Nokia N8 owners thread

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#448388 14-Mar-2011 22:56

Brent

Thanks for the reply. I understand your position, was hoping that just perhaps there might be some info you guys could pass on. No doubt you will when you know something.

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#448396 14-Mar-2011 23:19

And quite a lot of the former, I must say! And even once Nokia launches a device it may take time to get to market via the operators, meaning we can comment on a device itself but we don't always know when, where or if it is arriving in the country.

We try to let you know what we can though :-)

On that note I think a few more threads for different devices could be a good idea in the interests of staying on-topic. Feel free to create a C7 or E7 thread if you'd like to discuss them with others here.

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#448418 15-Mar-2011 07:29

BrentR: As per above the N8 works perfectly on Telecom XT, Vodafone, 2 Degrees etc etc

Thanks for this information. I see in the specifications for the N8 that the maximum talk time is 720 mins for GSM, but only 350 mins for WCDMA. I guess this might influence people to use this phone on GSM with Vodafone rather than on WCDMA with Telecom?

Is this big difference in talk time between GSM and WCDMA also applicable on New Zealand networks?

The specifications also say that there is "automatic switching between WCDMA & GSM bands". Does this mean that if a GSM signal is not available, the unit will switch over to WCDMA if this is available?

Thanks --- Fred

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#448440 15-Mar-2011 08:39

frednz:
BrentR: As per above the N8 works perfectly on Telecom XT, Vodafone, 2 Degrees etc etc

Thanks for this information. I see in the specifications for the N8 that the maximum talk time is 720 mins for GSM, but only 350 mins for WCDMA. I guess this might influence people to use this phone on GSM with Vodafone rather than on WCDMA with Telecom?

Is this big difference in talk time between GSM and WCDMA also applicable on New Zealand networks?

The specifications also say that there is "automatic switching between WCDMA & GSM bands". Does this mean that if a GSM signal is not available, the unit will switch over to WCDMA if this is available?

Thanks --- Fred

Hi Fred, the talk time is never accurate and I don't personally take too much notice of it. The best method to find out what the talk time is would be from user reviews.

3G would use more battery however there are other factors that can affect talk time, such as signal strength, background applications etc.

From what I have read, the N8 has really good battery life for a smartphone.

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#448450 15-Mar-2011 09:24

heavenlywild:
frednz:
BrentR: As per above the N8 works perfectly on Telecom XT, Vodafone, 2 Degrees etc etc

Thanks for this information. I see in the specifications for the N8 that the maximum talk time is 720 mins for GSM, but only 350 mins for WCDMA. I guess this might influence people to use this phone on GSM with Vodafone rather than on WCDMA with Telecom?

Is this big difference in talk time between GSM and WCDMA also applicable on New Zealand networks?

The specifications also say that there is "automatic switching between WCDMA & GSM bands". Does this mean that if a GSM signal is not available, the unit will switch over to WCDMA if this is available?

Thanks --- Fred

Hi Fred, the talk time is never accurate and I don't personally take too much notice of it. The best method to find out what the talk time is would be from user reviews.

3G would use more battery however there are other factors that can affect talk time, such as signal strength, background applications etc.

From what I have read, the N8 has really good battery life for a smartphone.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, it certainly looks like the N8 has a really good battery life. However, even though the 720 mins talk time for GSM and 350 mins for WCDMA are only estimates, I just wondered why there should be such a huge difference between these estimates?

If applicable to NZ networks, perhaps this is why Telecom don't seem to market the N8? I guess most buyers in New Zealand would be on either Vodafone or 2 Degrees because Telecom's WCDMA seems to drain the battery when talking twice as fast as the GSM option, is this REALLY correct?

Fred

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#448464 15-Mar-2011 10:01

The battery life experiences you are hearing about are from people using it on Vodafone in NZ using WCDMA, so you will still get great battery life Oman 3G-only network.

I can't speak for the official battery ratings but in our roles we are making calls a lot and still get great results. This is primarily because of Symbian being a ground-up smartphone operating system rather than a converted PC OS -- battery life and data efficiency are number one priorities.

Also bear in mind that 350 minutes is still a very respectable talk-time rating. It's just than when you switch from 3G to 2G, that rating goes from 'very respectable' to 'fantastic'. Think of it as a bonus on 2G rather than a poor rating on 3G.

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#448465 15-Mar-2011 10:03

I don't think the battery life on 3G has anything to do with the fact that Telecom don't sell the N8. I'm sure it's political and probably related to they way they source their phones. They do have other Nokias on their 3G network.

BTW I think it is crazy that Telecom are not selling the N8. I'm sure they are losing customers as result, I see Vodafone have deals at the moment where you can get the likes of the N8 for free on some plans. Up front it's a cheap way into such a phone if you don't mind being tied to a contract.

My Nokia 5800 has similar variations in the specs for standby and talk times between 2G and 3G. It is on the Telecom network and the battery life is quite OK, I normally get 2 to 3 days between charges with average use.

I wouldn't worry about the battery life on 3G. If you're using the data functions you will want to be using 3G anyway, to get good service.

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#448467 15-Mar-2011 10:07

nikrolls: This is primarily because of Symbian being a ground-up smartphone operating system rather than a converted PC OS -- battery life and data efficiency are number one priorities.

Well spoken that man.

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#448544 15-Mar-2011 13:32

I think mine has a runnaway process as it's eating battery.

It's getting a rest for a while and has been moved to "Weekend & Event" category. Android has taken over as work phone as it has WiFi access point in Infrastructure mode and multiple exchange accounts. WP7 has taken over as day-to-day personal phone as it too has multiple exchange accounts. Both can create calendar entries with invitees, so the N8 remains in play due to it amazing camera. When the "big update" comes I'll review it's role.

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#448610 15-Mar-2011 16:15

lyonrouge: I think mine has a runnaway process as it's eating battery.

It's getting a rest for a while and has been moved to "Weekend & Event" category. Android has taken over as work phone as it has WiFi access point in Infrastructure mode and multiple exchange accounts. WP7 has taken over as day-to-day personal phone as it too has multiple exchange accounts. Both can create calendar entries with invitees, so the N8 remains in play due to it amazing camera. When the "big update" comes I'll review it's role.

Hi, are you saying that you can't use the Nokia N8 to access free city WiFi internet?

Also, I have recently seen dozens of postings in overseas N8 forums about a "purple screen" issue, something to do with a problem with the AMOLED screen. It seems that this purple colour can appear a month or so after purchasing the unit. Is this problem evident in N8 phones purchased in New Zealand?

http://discussions.nokia-asia.com/t5/Nseries-and-S60-Smartphones/N8-C7-PURPLE-SCREEN-ISSUE-AND-HOW-TO-SPOT-IF-YOU-HAVE-IT-PLEASE/td-p/952377/page/8

Thanks for your advice.
Fred

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#448618 15-Mar-2011 16:36

frednz:
Also, I have recently seen dozens of postings in overseas N8 forums about a "purple screen" issue, something to do with a problem with the AMOLED screen. It seems that this purple colour can appear a month or so after purchasing the unit. Is this problem evident in N8 phones purchased in New Zealand?

It certainly isn't a problem on the one I got a few weeks ago. In fact I had been thinking that it does things like greys and gradients on black and white photo's etc very well.

While there are undoubtedly some phones with a problem (and Nokia are not the only ones) I have no idea how many - the same few people are posting in forums all over the place and some are just teenagers having a rant, so it is hard to get a grip on how extensive the problem is. Then most of them say they have the problem but for reasons known only to themselves they don't want to send it in for service. I suspect some of it may be mass hysteria.

I was surprised that some claim that it appears after a month or so as blues are supposedly the first to weaken in AMOLED displays so one would expect that with age the display will tend to warm rather than cold colours. Perhaps it took them a month and others drawing their attention to it for them to notice.

If one has a problem with a NZ bought (non parallel import) phone no doubt it would be fixed/replaced under warranty.

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#448623 15-Mar-2011 16:56

John2010:
frednz:
Also, I have recently seen dozens of postings in overseas N8 forums about a "purple screen" issue, something to do with a problem with the AMOLED screen. It seems that this purple colour can appear a month or so after purchasing the unit. Is this problem evident in N8 phones purchased in New Zealand?

It certainly isn't a problem on the one I got a few weeks ago. In fact I had been thinking that it does things like greys and gradients on black and white photo's etc very well.

While there are undoubtedly some phones with a problem (and Nokia are not the only ones) I have no idea how many - the same few people are posting in forums all over the place and some are just teenagers having a rant, so it is hard to get a grip on how extensive the problem is. Then most of them say they have the problem but for reasons known only to themselves they don't want to send it in for service. I suspect some of it may be mass hysteria.

I was surprised that some claim that it appears after a month or so as blues are supposedly the first to weaken in AMOLED displays so one would expect that with age the display will tend to warm rather than cold colours. Perhaps it took them a month and others drawing their attention to it for them to notice.

If one has a problem with a NZ bought (non parallel import) phone no doubt it would be fixed/replaced under warranty.

Thanks very much John for your reply, it's good to hear that you don't have the N8 purple screen problem.

http://discussions.nokia-asia.com/t5/Nseries-and-S60-Smartphones/N8-C7-PURPLE-SCREEN-ISSUE-AND-HOW-TO-SPOT-IF-YOU-HAVE-IT-PLEASE/td-p/952377

Regards
Fred

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#448626 15-Mar-2011 17:20

Something I had wondered about with the purple screen pictures that have been posted is how accurately the camera the poster has used is recording the actual colours of the phone's display. So your post has prompted me to do a couple of tests.
As I said my phone looks normal (well to me anyway

) so I grabbed an el cheapo digital camera (Sony DSC-S700) and took a photo of the phones display and it came out full of purples - in fact it was full of purples just looking at it on the cameras LCD display.

I also tried a much better but quite old compact camera (Sony DSC-V1) and while it was much better it also showed slight purples in some areas.

In both cases those purples are not visible to my eyes on the phone. So a few ideas, some of the posts are just windups (well I know the teenage rants are, but mean the ones with photos), maybe digital cameras are sensitive to the strong blues from AMOLED displays or (and this related to the last) maybe the purples are more apparant to those who have some level of colourblindness (to long wavelength, so protanopic, which is about 1% of males). I know I am not colourblind.

EDIT: meant to mention the phone does WiFi internet data no problem at all. I believe LyonRouge is taking about infrastructure mode (where it can see other devices on the network as you can between PC's on a network) which as far as I know most phones cannot do - I haven't investigated the N8 as I have never had a need but strongly suspect it cannot.

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#448629 15-Mar-2011 17:40

John2010: Something I had wondered about with the purple screen pictures that have been posted is how accurately the camera the poster has used is recording the actual colours of the phone's display. So your post has prompted me to do a couple of tests.
As I said my phone looks normal (well to me anyway ) so I grabbed an el cheapo digital camera (Sony DSC-S700) and took a photo of the phones display and it came out full of purples - in fact it was full of purples just looking at it on the cameras LCD display.

I also tried a much better but quite old compact camera (Sony DSC-V1) and while it was much better it also showed slight purples in some areas.

In both cases those purples are not visible to my eyes on the phone. So a few ideas, some of the posts are just windups (well I know the teenage rants are, but mean the ones with photos), maybe digital cameras are sensitive to the strong blues from AMOLED displays or (and this related to the last) maybe the purples are more apparant to those who have some level of colourblindness (to long wavelength, so protanopic, which is about 1% of males). I know I am not colourblind.

EDIT: meant to mention the phone does WiFi internet data no problem at all. I believe LyonRouge is taking about infrastructure mode (where it can see other devices on the network as you can between PC's on a network) which as far as I know most phones cannot do - I haven't investigated the N8 as I have never had a need but strongly suspect it cannot.

Thanks very much John for your interesting post. It seems that some people expect perfection in their electronic devices and it's a pity that a quite minor colour screen problem can get a lot of publicity. It certainly wouldn't affect the pictures taken by the N8 or its abilities to function properly as one of the best mobile phones in the world.

Regards
Fred

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#448981 16-Mar-2011 17:49

With my experience having the phone since October, I can say that its one of the best phones around.

In regards to earlier questions about Telecom and Vodafone 3G-2G, If you are with Telecom and there is no signal on your phone, it will switch to Vodafone for emergency calls ONLY, I have not tested that scenario but I believe its something the two companies have agreed to.

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