So, i bit the bullet and got myself an N8! 😃
It seems that Ovi Suite doesn't play nice with Outlook 2010 (nothing new with OVI Suite), often giving the error 80043c93 when trying to sync contacts/calendar to the phone/Outlook during conflict resolution.
PC Suite 7.1.50 doesn't really work either, giving an error that "this phone is not supported". After trawling around the interwebs and nokia forums, i've come to a workaround that enables you to sync your phone's calendar and contacts (among others) to Outlook, with some caveats.
1. Install PC Suite 7.1.50.xx (the latest version available)
2. Install OVI Suite that came with the N8
3. Remove PC Suite 7.1.50.xx
4. Do not restart if asked
5. Install PC Suite 7.1.30.9
6. Run PC Suite, complete phone install, pairing
7. Set up Sync
This works wonderfully, as i now have a fully populated Calendar, and my Contacts are all in sync.
The caveats i spoke of however are:
1. In PC Suite, you won't be able to see your calendar entries (rest assured, they're still there)
2. Version 7.1.30.9 may not play nice with Windows 7 (i'm using XP SP3)
All in all, if you truly need the sync, you can follow what i did above, it works for me, for some others, and likely will work for you too.
You can get PC Suite 7.1.30.9 from here.
Spread the word around if you have encountered others having the same problem, always glad to help.
Cheers!