Messaging and Social Networking has become a huge part of every bodies life whether you use it to keep in contact with family friends or peers or for marketing it is a DEFINATE must have on your mobile..that said let's see how the N8 handled it out the box and what other options were available..Starting with Messaging :)
Smsing
While many think that smsing is used less every year, with other methods such as continuous instant messaging ,Twitter and Facebook taking over from the SMS it is still a very important feature which everyone whether the business man or student will turn to when they need a quick sure way of sending a message. I'm glad Nokia saw this and made some much needed improvements on the N8 which I as a student appreciate most! .
The first new thing you'll notice of you are a Nokia user and something you may be used to if you aren't is the Conversations Box . Put simply Conversations is a bubbled text view where your sent messages are combined with your received from a particular person so you and can have a easy visually appealing way to receive and respond to sms's. While this may seem small believe me coming from the N97 I use it a lot , not having to go back and forward between editing and reading what was received is great.
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| The Conversations Tab is Great! |
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| The Emoticons Add some Fun! |
The next new thing you will see is in the conversations tab ,Emoticons. Such a simple but loved feature had been neglected by Nokia in the past but I'm happy they put it in and it works..I love looking at the animated smiley's on my messages and have to admit this is a small thing that really makes a difference to me. Ofcoarse I could have had this before using a Third party app like Animated SMS which is available over the OVI store but getting it with the phone from Nokia is perfect .
These new features may not be appealing to everyone but are still much needed and appreciated from Nokia, one niggle I've found is that the background in the conversations tab is always black no matter which theme you install.
It isn't such a big problem and if you have a theme that wasn't made professionally it may actually save you from straining your eyes just to read your messages . Besides for this Nokia has pretty much stuck to the old Sms app they've always had which isn't a problem because it worked great ,inbox messages can be grouped with a tab for folders where you can sort your messages , drafts to save incomplete messages and the usual functionality you can expect when managing sms's and mms's. The touch integration is good with there normally being just the right button that you need in that situation!
Just a last thing on Sms's and Mms's ,this for existing Nokia Users . Nokia have changed the Messaging app so that all messages are always stored on the Mass memory ,this was needed and Thankfully I wont get the "Inbox Memory Full" error like I did on my N97 when I had 20 GB free on my mass memory. Thank you Nokia!
Nokia Messaging(Email)
Nokia Messaging is simply the way to email on the phone. I really like what's been done to this application when it comes to how it looks and the new interface compared to what I'm
used to on the Nokia N97.The application works fast and effectively having all the mailing tools necessary. You are able to view your mails as HTMLs i.e. as it would show on your PC which appeals to both us students and our Business Minded dads who look for this in their mail for some consistency and functionality. It also has some handy things like being able to mark multiple mails, set the priority of sent mails as and most importantly for business users is the ability to have multiple mail accounts ( up to 10).Most students won't use this as we normally stick to one mail account but from a business perspective it's a winner due to the need to manage business and personal mails. The widget for your homescreen is clear and a nice touch is the ability to have multiple widgets showing different mail boxes.
The one niggle I've found is that the most I can set my Gmail to sync for is every 5 min where as on my Nokia N97 I could have a continuous sync. I can't figure out why this is but it's something I'm sure can be changed as having read up this is dependent on your type of mail account so others Using say Mail for Exchange with Gmail can sync continuously which is vital. Why is it Vital? This is due to Blackberry. The stand out Blackberry feature is mail ,messaging and IM this is what is attracting the youth even to these handsets and if Nokia could get into the " always connected" nature that Blackberry has then I nor any of my peers would feel the need to change as our Nokia's can do everything the Blackberry does and in most cases MORE!
Nokia messaging is a great App on the N8 and one which I use often, it hasn't let me down yet and I don't think any people could flaw it when it has a good looking interface with all the features needed , though if you find you aren't enjoying Nokia Messaging LCG Profimail is also available and while great it is very , very pricey at $30. At that price Profimail isn't very accessible to most students but if you are a Business user and need a very powerfull Email client on your N8 maybe Profimail is worth your money.
Now for the Social Networking and Instant messaging Section...
- Nokia Social
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| Integrated Updates |
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| Facebook Interface |
The initial setup was a bit tedious because it didn't like the WIFI connection I was using but once I worked through it in a min or two I was looking at a decent if not good looking Facebook interface and Twitter interface.
Browsing through I didn't find any faults initially besides the sticky Kinetic Scrolling which is not present all the time but can be very annoying when it shows itself.
The next issue was the lack of options when it came to what loads, which pictures and how often the relevant pages refresh. These are options which are needed and I think Nokia should integrate them soon
After I experimented I found that the Facebook client may not be very exciting and different but it is definitely the best available for the phone allowing you to upload photos directly from the app is another plus.I was happy to see that the pages load quickly, a huge improvement compared to the Facebook client for the N97 which I wrote off in favour of Socially and Snaptu (more on those to come).
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| Twitter Interface |
This took me by surprise as I'm used to Nokia's past approach of pretty much neglecting phones once sold. However it seems the new management are doing the right thing and that is Listening to the customers. I have no doubt it will work out better for the company and give it a great image which right now it is lacking. A step in the right direction for Nokia!.
The next part of the app I looked at was the Home screen widget, which while being great I think could be better with some simple adds. Firstly the single integrated widget should remain but with two added widgets giving the option to show only Facebook or only Twitter. Not only would this give more space bit it would also allow the user to update or refresh either without going through the process to the full app!
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| Twitter Search in Browser |
Another draw back is that only Facebook and Twitter are supported at the moment . Most Linked In , Orkut , My Space and Foursquare users will be upset but I happen to agree with Nokia here. Twitter and Facebook are the two most used Social Networks and so it makes Sense that Nokia should perfect these first before integrating multiple other smaller Social networks.
The Nokia Social App is also integrated into the Phone contacts and calendar and while being simple and easy to use it requires you to select each one individually ,so if you have over hundred social contacts that you need to link to your phone contacts needles to say...I hope you have time on your hands!
Nokia seem to have realised that Social Networking is something they need to focus on, and with them listening to the advice and complaints of the users of the app I'm sure that the Social Networking experience will Be something you Love on the N8. Unfortunately the latest version of the Social app doesn't seem to be available on my N8 yet So I can't comment on any improvements yet..
Rating : * * * *
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| Adding Calendar Event to Phone Step 1 |
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| Step 2 |
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| Complete |
UPDATE!!
I managed to get hold of the new Social App and lucky I Did. The new App uses larger fonts so its easier to Navigate. The Contacts linking is now easier. The widget has no buttons anymore it just auto scrolls :) and the BEST.. full integration of photo and Video uploading!Still no retweet though.. here's how it looks..
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| Larger fonts make it easier to use .. |
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| Newish widget.. |
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| Share from anywhere .. |
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| Share to either account.. |
2)Socially
Socially is a third party app for social networking on the N8,giving access to Facebook ,Twitter and Four Square( which isn't so common is in SA so ill omit it from this) and Linked In. All networks have the basic functions you expect and work well, one exception is I cannot figure out how on earth to reply to a Facebook message? It has location support and integrates your updates on a single filmstrip in the front screen. Socially has some standout features which I like the main one being Social contacts which integrates with the built in contacts so that when you make or receive a call the persons update is displayed at the top of the screen. Handy and intuitive…The next stand our feature which is missing in the Nokia Social client is the ability to automatically sync social contacts and phone contacts updating contact photos and calendar events at once where as this is done manually with the Nokia Social client. One drawback which I found is again slow sticky Kinetic scrolling..Why? I wish someone could get this right in the social clients! There is no widget..But instead a pop up is set to appear after a set interval which allows you to swipe through the last 15 Social updates .
Rating : * * *
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| Your Socially Home |
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| Integrated status update.. |
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| Facebook Interface. |
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| All your Social Contacts |
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| Easy Social Contacts Access from contacts.. |
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| Variety of Options.. |
3)Snaptu Snaptu is a type of application which aims to integrate all your needs..From social networking to sports. World news and weather. While it does everything efficiently something that lets it down is the visual element..It does it..But it looks plain..Almost aged? Besides for this draw back there is no form of social contacts so I have to access the app and search first..And no home screen widget. Definitely not suited to the N8 but can do the job and has better Kinetic Scrolling than Socially. Snaptu works but is definitely more suited to older Nokia phones unless they release a fresh , Flashy interface and a home screen widget that will suite the N8 .
Rating : * *
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| Facebook Home |
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| Status Update |
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| Accuweather in Snaptu |
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| Gravity Dashboard |
4)Gravity
When it comes to Twitter on any Nokia Symbian phone Gravity is King and it's hard not to see why, it allows you all the basic twitter functions with added support for uploading pictures and can update every minute. Couple this with a well thought out swyping interface, Google docs and Facebook status update and you know you have a clear Twitter Winner. Gravity also includes a rather simple twitter widget which may not look pretty but does the job. It may be the only one out the lot that isn't free and at R80 from The OVI store it isn't cheap either but if you are an avid tweep you simply cannot do without Gravity. Something off subject here..It also has the best portrait keyboard in a third party app,The Opera Mini one being totally cluttered!
Rating : * * * *
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| Gravity Portrait QWERTY |
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| Timeline |
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| Replies |
5) Nimbuzz
A free app that includes Facebook Chat, Google chat Windows Live,Yahoo,AIM,My space,Gadu-gadu,Hyves and Twitter together with VOIP.Nimbuzzz is the ultimate IM integration app, I've tested this on both the N97 and N8 and can with confidence say it works well and can run in the background with ease. Nimbuzz also allows you to send files to other Nimbuzz users which can come in handy. Until recently Nimbuzz supported Skype in both chat and VoIP but Due to Skype issues this was withdrawn with force from Skype, a real pity ,Nimbuzz though remains a great app I can't live without. For those who still want Skype you can Access it through the Skype mobile App available in the OVI store.
Rating: * * *
6) Whatsapp
Whatsapp is a simple IM client that's main appeal is its simplicity, integration and cross platform Nature.
The app is still a beta but I've found it hard to find any bugs so far. The app keeps the GPRS open all the time so that people can always be in contact with you on the go, once installed it integrates with your contact list so that anyone you know with Whatsapp is added to your favourites list. The interface is simple and effective one thing I would like to see added is Emoticon Support to add some visual appeal to the chats. With what's app it's the small things that count...for example the two small ticks which appear next to the message...one for sent...one for delivered..Simple ! Again this is available on the OVI store for free but is a one year trial and can be purchased for a few dollars and would be well worth the money.Rating: * * *
7) Mxit
Our homemade IM is quite ordinary on the N8, I didn't expect much from the Java app and I wasn't disappointed in anyway .The only niggle being the number of touches to send a message and that the vital bottom buttons seem to be very "numb" to the touch which gets annoying. MXit needs to go Symbian Native. There is hope though as the API was released , all that is left now is the wait till some developer integrates it ^Fingers crossed^!
Rating: * *
8)OVI contacts
Let me just be frank..I cannot find this preloaded on the N8 ..I haven't missed it much but after having it integrated on the N97 I thought Nokia were going to push this especially due to the announced integration with Yahoo..IL keep looking !
Swype
So a lot of people would not have any idea what this is and may think it’s some form of onomatapae and they are right in some ways. Swype is a new way of typing on your touch screen phone and while this didn’t come with the phone I think that anyone who uses their phone to send even the shortest of messages should have it. So how does it work? Simply move your finger along the on screen QWERTY dragging across to the letters you want to type in a continuous touch..And..Bang..There’s your word..No need to type individual letters and spaces. Sounds quite odd but it works and has proven to be the fastest way to type on the N8. It also has predictive texting so that even if you don’t hit the exact letters you want it can show the words you most likely wanted with that gesture . Swype is an awesome application and is for FREE on the OVI store a must must MUST have in my opinion even if you have an older N97 or 5800!
Typing
This is something that if you're a student you are definitely going to use often.
I've heard alit of complaints about it on the N8 . The most common are the lack of a split screen keyboard and the lack of a portrait QWERTY. So what do I think? Personally I love the normal T9 with predictive text on which is the fastest way for me to type .Even with Swype I've yet to come across a faster way to type. But for those of you who miss it.. Not to worry..Nokia will be fixing it in the Next firmware update .Conclusion
For me Nokia Social while not perfect is the best and I think will get better. If you need that bit extra for Twitter go for Gravity it's worth the money. If instant Messaging is what you need Nimbuzz and Whatsapp are a must!
For Students: While we don't use email much we use social all the time and the new social client will keep us happy. Conversations saves us typing and reply time so that is another plus. Instant messaging while absent on the N8 normally is great with the two 3rd party apps.
For Business Users : The Main point would be Email and I think Nokia Messaging does the job , Social for Businessmen is sorted with Socially supporting Linked In .
For Tech users : The N8 gives tech users great all round service out the box. Something I have yet to see though is a Mobile Blogging App which I think tech users would appreciate most !
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