Nokia N8 Review - Does it Compete with Todays Smartphones?

I was in the market for a new phone and wondering what I should get. There is so much choice today that it's difficult to make a decision so I decided to get back to basics and list down what I think is important in a phone so I wouldn't get distracted by all the bells and whistles!

The list ended up looking like this:

• Build Quality/Robustness (I always end up breaking phones!)
• Looks and Style (We all want to look good right?)
• Storage and Memory (I hate running out of space and having to delete things!)
• Battery Life (Very Important!)
• Camera (I, like everyone else, shamelessly document my life in pictures on Facebook!)
• Performance
  
• Price/value for money

After shopping around and doing my research I decided to try the Nokia N8 and I must say I wasn't disappointed at all, in fact this must be the best best phone I have ever owned and it ticks all the boxes from my list above!

The build quality is amazing, it's made of metal and feels solid.  I have already dropped it many times yet there is not so much as a scratch on it, my previous phone (an HTC) was covered in scratches within a week!

Yet this sturdy phone doesn't look like a brick, in fact it looks incredibly stylish and minimal. Mine is a stunning metalic blue but it's available in many different colors.  The chassis is fully enclosed which means that you need to unscrew it to change the battery, which might seem like a pain but actually you'll be glad of this when you drop it in water! (I told you I always end up breaking phones!)

And lets face it, how often will you need to replace a battery? Many people don't know this but inside all phones there is a sticker that turns red when it gets wet from moisture.  If this happens then the manufacturer or insurance wont pay out on warranty because it's classed as water damage!  These stickers can often turn red from the sweat in your pocket (eeewwww!) even though they've never been anywhere near water. Sealed units like this reduce the risk of that sticker picking up moisture from its surroundings which is another great plus for me!

The N8 has slots for an SD card so you can upgrade the memory easily which is perfect for a happy snapper like me!  On that note the camera is excellent and features a Carl Zeiss lens and 12 megapixel resolution.  The photos may not look that clear on the display but are really crisp when I view them on my computer.

The battery life is excellent, I only charge it once every 3 days. I believe this is down to the choice of processor which runs at 680mz.  On paper this may seem lacking when compared to the current processing speeds of phones but ask yourself this, how much processing power does a phone need?  I'm not intending to run Photoshop on it!  Lets face it, you just need enough speed to browse the net, run some simple apps and play a few games... anything more is just a drain on the battery and I think they just put these faster processors in to look good on paper!

The phone performs very well, there's a great choice of apps and I've never had any issues with the phone freezing or running slow.  Some 3rd party apps will crash but I think that's down to the way they're developed as the native apps work really well.

This phone was released last year and retailed at $549 but the price has dropped dramatically since and it's now available on Amazon from only $309!

I'd recommend this phone for anyone who is looking for value for money and performance, trust me you won't regret it!