I don't agree with nipuna777 saying that a potential early firmware end-of-life won't be a problem with the N8! An open source firmware is only better if the community can develop and release their own firmware versions that handset owners can install themselves. And I would not expect that to happen with the N8.
If I remember correctly there is still a proprietary compiler needed to build the firmware and I doubt it is officially possible to build own firmware images that can be installed on Nokia phones in any way.
We will as usual be dependant on Nokias firmware updates and I don't think they give us more than the usual bugfixing releases.
Most Android and iOS phones defeated this flaw by promising updates even to future major OS revisions.
Smartphone owners expect this kind of support nowadays and developers expect this from the platform they develop for.
Nokia could convince me on this by announcing a Symbian^4 update for the N8, but I doubt that will happen.
peterp4n wrote:We will as usual be dependant on Nokias firmware updates and I don't think they give us more than the usual bugfixing releases.
Most Android and iOS phones defeated this flaw by promising updates even to future major OS revisions.
Smartphone owners expect this kind of support nowadays and developers expect this from the platform they develop for.
Not really true for android as the updates haven't materialised. Too much proprietary fiddling. iPhone updates appear less frequently than I replace my phones so I don't "expect" updates. I'd rather not slog on with tired old handsets. And anyway, Apple have dropped the first iPhone completely from updates and effectively left the 3G behind (no video or multitasking).
And Nokia updates recently have not just been bugfixes. New features have been introduced since N95.
I don't think updates are a big deal, new phones are more important.
Nokia could convince me on this by announcing a Symbian^4 update for the N8, but I doubt that will happen.[/QUOTE]
At least apple doesn't leave software features out "just because they can". Like podcasting on some eseries devices and some homescreens on some 5th edition devices.
Just wanted to chime in about the screen resolution issue (my field is computer graphics and I'm a bit tired of all the misunderstandings).
First of all, the only measure that matters is DPI, so please stop talking about resolution in terms of number of pixels. Sure, I can do the math, but why would anyone? Do it yourselves before posting and we'll have a better way of comparing phones.
Second of all, anything beyond a full color, antialiased text, 150 DPI display is mostly indistinguishable for any adult. Sure, 300+ DPI from Apple gives you some bragging rights, but nothing else. Even most e-ink based displays which have no more than 16 shades of grey to do very primitive antialiasing, resolve around 150 DPI and they look sharp to everyone.
The N8 is 210 DPI. The first iPhone was 165 and nobody ever complained about reading texts on it. End of story.
Reading websites at native resolution (i.e. without zooming in) on any phone is plain stupid at least, and unhealthy at most. So please stop the nonsense.
Tenkom wrote:At least apple doesn't leave software features out "just because they can". Like podcasting on some eseries devices and some homescreens on some 5th edition devices.
Actually Apple had left MULTITASKING out from 3GS when it was released "just because they can". And currently there's no multitasking support with the current iOS for the 3G, although it should be able to handle it (based on its spec) "just because they can".
Also, they left Video capture out of 3G "just because they can".
Enough said
I'm actually in favor of apple not enabling multitasking on the 3g as lets facing the lack of 128 on the 3g kinda of makes it hard to multitask too many apps.
Unregistered wrote:I'm actually in favor of apple not enabling multitasking on the 3g as lets facing the lack of 128 on the 3g kinda of makes it hard to multitask too many apps.
Absolutely. Hastily and sloppily implemented feature does more damage to devices image than a feature that is not implemented at all. Speaking of "full" multitasking on S60v5. It's unreliable, clunky, has a potential of crashing the device. So basically the feature is there. But if someone asked me to describe the multitasking on Symbian I'd have to use words "works", "on a good day", "but" "unreliable", "clunky", "dangerous" to give him complete and honest information. It's obvious that he/she will extend those and associate whole Symbian with being unreliable, clunky and so on. Apple understands this. They don't rush things and only release a feature once it's tested thoroughly enough to be snappy, reliable and easy to use. "Making a product better often requires removing features". Nokia/Symbian (everyone, in fact) should be aware of that.
Why isn't everyone using swiss army knives to slice bread? Can't they slice bread? Sure they can...well...it's doable. But hey, they have sooo many other exciting features! But how many people and how often will use them? Will swiss army knives ever replace ordinary, simple ones in the kitchen? No. They will remain gadgets. And despite their numerous applictions they'll be seldom used. Who will slice bread with them? Daily? Only hardcore enthusiasts.
Numerous features do not make great products. Excellent implementation of features does.
manual_ wrote:Speaking of "full" multitasking on S60v5. It's unreliable, clunky, has a potential of crashing the device. So basically the feature is there. But if someone asked me to describe the multitasking on Symbian I'd have to use words "works", "on a good day", "but" "unreliable", "clunky", "dangerous" to give him complete and honest information. It's obvious that he/she will extend those and associate whole Symbian with being unreliable, clunky and so on.
I can't speak of S60v5, but I do can speak of S60v3 and my E51 does multitasking perfectly. As a matter of fact, I can't think of using a phone without being able to switch from task to task without closing the app first. It feels just natural and now that I think of it, this is the only criticism my girlfriend has about her Iphone G2 (I have many more, but that's just her). It's hard to believe Symbian did such a poor job on multitasking on v5 when v3 works so flawlessly.
I returned my N97 mini after I discovered how sluggish the browser and apps like YouTube and AP video ran on it compared to my 10 year old son's iPod Touch. If I'm not mistaken, it's the same two year-old ARMS6 CPU that Nokia uses for virtually all its phones, except with bigger RAM and a slight overclock. Ask Olli P how many of those chips they bought and stocked and you'll discover why Nokia is simply not serious about recapturing the high-end. I still depend on my E71, but it's getting obsolete by the minute, especially when Nokia Email goes into its once-a-month seizure and and I have to reset the damn thing. Just wish those guys would get serious, narrow down their product range and focus on a TRUE FLAGSHIP. I am very worried about the aluminum shell (RF...) and battery capacity. Never mind it looks like a 1970 Dodge Charger, where the iPhone seriously exudes Leica feel and quality. Not very encouraging...
One of the major reasons that drove me away from Nokia and the Symbian operating system (besides the low ram and poor build quality) is the constant prompting to access data. I can understand that there are security reasons and people with limited data plans, but why not give us the option? It would take 3 prompts to let my accuweather widget download data, and half the time it would return an error. Of course, there were little if any updates to the program or for a lot of the US centric programs...and forget 3rd edition...seems like all development has all but stopped on that. The symbian interface is so dated looking too.
Android is seems to be where the action is. Cool apps, fast and well built hardware, huge high resolution screens, no stupid prompts to access the internet...yes, battery life could be better, multitasking app switching could be a lot better, and the massive number of apps that stay open because of the massive amounts of ram definitely drain the battery. The Android Market is considerably better in speed and selection than the Ovi store. I hate to say it, but nothing on Nokia's horizon is likely to bring me back to the fold.