The Final verdict –Or is it??

Finally , the Final word(s)!

This review was anything but short .. detailed in some parts , brief in others. I focused on what I thought was important and what I thought every one needs to know about the N8 . The truth is the N8 is perfect in hardware alone.. No one can fault it there..it looks good it feel, great and it fits like a glove! Multimedia? The N8 is an all in one Monster of a Multimedia player. Social? N8 does it and integrates it too! Cool Apps? It's got the games and the IM so with more on the way who can complain? N97 apps work too so you won't be alone! Connectivity? Better than the competition by MILES .Calling ? easy to use and clear! So what's letting it down? USER INTERFACE. Sure Symbian has taken a huge leap forward and fixed most of the problems of the past but it all leads me to say that Symbian on the N8 is what Symbian on my N97 should have been. It's too late for that now though so does that mean the N8 is not worth it? Going to forget about it?

Just hold on..there's a twist :D




What if you could do something that almost perfects the N8 while you let Nokia play catch up with Symbian?

IS that possible ?



The simple answer... Yes! Enter SPB Mobile Shell!






You probably lost right now so let me help you..this is a shell designed to work over your phones normal interface so that you can have a much easier way to navigate your phone ! So does it work? In almost every way YES! Even on my Nokia N97 SPB was a great Experience!

! You get new homescreen which has more widgets of all sizes and shapes and still get to use your downloaded Nokia widgets! Get two "Homes" being personal and professional each with 5 pages each . A dragable homescreen with one wallpaper. And all you need to switch from personal to professional is swipe up ! This = All homescreen problems solved :D


The Menu's use a swyping and a touch interface together with customisable animations and some handy easy to use shortcuts.

The shell has its own calendar interface, Time/Clock ,Weather and Contacts. These mostly fit over your normal apps and move to the exact part of the normal app you want when it doesn't have a skin for it. Without a doubt what they have done with the contacts is great providing you with not only a favourite contacts tab but also a favourite contacts carousal that's great to use:) The contact cards look quiet nice too and you use the similar search method to the N8's contacts to search for Contacts.

The real WOW feature of SPB is the SPB carousal which allows you to spin through your SPB pages and screens in a 3D carousal that's easy to use and great for some fun or just an easy way to find your pages !


 Since I can't explain it all in words..lets just show it to you ..Notice how it can integrate your Nokia theme too! Enjoy :)

My SPB Home!

Dragable Homescreen Transition :)

Homescreen 3

Homescreen 2

Homescreen 4

Your new Contacts Home

Your Favourite Contacts

Split Screen Contact Search

Hidden Keyboard

The 3D Carousal!! WOW!

3D Carousal Again Simple

Top View..

Clock Interface..

SPB Weather Forecaste..

SPB Weather Current Conditions

Making your Connectivity Easier to Manage!

Your new Calendar..

Contact Card

Choose What yoy want to do?

Choice of Widget Design

SPB Widgets

Nokia Widgets in SPB

Edit your layout :) No set Grid here!

SPB settings

SPB Task Switcher

Choose your Anitmation :)

Your First Menu choice..

Swype to the right and theres your Second Menu Choice :)

There it is ,the app that will keep your N8 near perfect till Nokia does what it needs to !

So is the N8 for you?? Well it's definitely for me and all the friends I've given the chance to have a look at the N8.

• Step 1 Buy N8 R4800
• Step 2 Buy SPB Mobile Shell R250
• Step 3 Enjoy your N8 - Priceless

 

 

Hardware Defects

Unfortunately it has come to light that a limited number of N8's have a power problem which results in the phone dieing and not charging. Though it is a knock for the new phone, Nokia have moved swiftly to fix the issue and given full support to all users whose phone's has died. Sources have said about 1 out of 20 phones suffer from the Problem. So though it is not an Antennagate size of problem ,it exists.. here's what Nokia had to say..






Alot of time and effort has gone into this review for the last two weeks, but I have to admit it was worth it , it turns out the N8 is the phone for me..Is it for you? I hope after reading all these posts you know now! any questions are welcome my email address is shamalh108@gmail.com :)



All the work except where stated is my own work and any copy of text ,pics or ideas is banned ©Shiamal Harkison 2010 N8ReviewZA

Thanks to any sources I have used for pictures and Video's Provided!