Prerelease Nokia N8 known to have Symbian3

The Nokia N8 has already been given an early review that calls it a poor rival to Android and the iPhone. Symbian^3 is said to have "little change in functionality," and the phone itself as seen as offering little new that Nokia or other companies haven't done before. Mobile-Review's Eldar Murtazin goes so far as to jokingly accuse Nokia employees of sabotaging the company's brand from the inside, else it might be "impossible to explain" why the N8 exists at all.

Symbian^3 still has some advantages, such as true multitasking, but mostly adds now virtually ubiquitous features like widgets or multiple home screens.

The Russian close look notes that most of the features are catch-up additions. The glass multi-touch display, 12-megapixel camera and 720p video recording have already existed either in Android phones, the iPhone, or even existing Symbian phones like Sony Ericsson's Satio and Vivaz. Despite being several months newer, it isn't any faster than a phone like the Vivaz and still bogs down with a significant workload, Murtazin said.

As the phone hasn't even been announced and won't ship until the summer, performance and other minor details may change before release. The lukewarm reception is nonetheless potentially dangerous for Nokia as it has already predicted that its market share will be flat this year and hasn't accounted for rapid shipment spikes from Apple or others before making its estimate. Android phones are now regularly faster than most Nokia counterparts, and the 2010 iPhone is expected to redress many of the remaining feature gaps between Apple and Nokia with a front camera, HD video support and a higher-density display. [via Engadget]

By Electronista Staff

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