I get excited about technology pretty easily, Nokia World 2011 has me more excited than usual. Recently, things have been quiet at Nokia. There have been the usual releases of handsets aimed at the developing markets, but other than that there has been a pretty resolute silence coming from the Finnish manufacturer.
After spending two weeks in the company of the N8 I was left feeling like I was ready for more. More of the famous Nokia build quality and excellent industrial design. More innovation, thought and user focus like I experienced in the old days using everything from a 5110 to an N95-8GB.
I’m excited because we simply MUST be about to witness the unveiling of the next generation of Nokia Smartphones. With Windows Phone 7 (7.5?) platform the time has surely come for Nokia to re-enter the smartphone market with a bang. Nokia handsets empower people all over the world, give them their connections to the rest of the world, and help them get their message out. I simply hope that Nokia can make a barnstorming return to the premium handset market with something big.
Good luck Nokia.
After spending 2 weeks in September with the Nokia N8 I finally got around to editing some of the video that I took with this surprisingly powerful little handset. Navigating to and using the video recording mode is very simple, and the available controls provide enough flexibility to produce some pleasing results.
In the example included below, I was recording in bright sunlight, outdoors. The N8 produced very impressive video in these conditions, and the only time I really found it to struggle when indoors in low light conditions. However, this can be said of many smaller sensors found in mobile devices, and is a common problem with the technology, not so much with this particular device.
For those users looking for instant gratification, the N8 includes HDMI out, so freshly captured video can be played directly from the device onto a TV or monitor (via an optional HDMI cable). There are also options for wireless streaming over your home network to get your content moving about and displayed where you need it.
Overall I was VERY impressed with the video performance from the N8. It’s directly comparable to the quality that one would expect from a dedicated pocket video recorded such as one of the now discontinued Flip Cameras, with the added benefit that as it is also a phone, there is no need to carry an additional device. When compared with some lower end point and shoot cameras the N8 once again punches above its weight in terms of end result, and ease of use.
Nokia N8 v Apple iPhone 4
Video Performance Comparison
Nokia N8 v iPhone 4 Video Comparison from Jon Hume on Vimeo.
Above: Quick comparison movie to show the difference in quality between the Nokia N8 and the iPhone 4. The N8 produces fantastic realistic colours and overall provided a great video recording experience. The iPhone 4 could not be simpler to use and create basic clips on, but the unrealistic colours in the final product mean that the footage really only looks good when viewed back on the iPhone screen itself. The iPhone struggled to deal with the bright sunlight and the contrast between light and shade. A solid win for the N8 in this case.
N8 Video Specifications
- 12 megapixel with Carl Zeiss optics
- HD quality 720p resolution
- Shoot 16:9 videos in HD
- 3x digital zoom
- Video capture in 720p 25 fps with codecs H.264, MPEG-4
