Swype - OK fine! it's an awesome app

Before I got my Nokia N8, I read some reviews of different applications to download once I got the phone. Swype had only just been released and people were saying that it was not a good application because you could either type or swype. I wasn't sure whether that criticism was about the Android version only but that kept me from downloading the application for a good three weeks until now.

The other day I read some top 5 applications for N8 posts and kept seeing Swype. It really surprised me. The application is very intuitive and accurate, even detecting where two consecutive letters are needed for example typing "needed" only just required swyping "n-e-d-ed". Also where there are different options for words, four suggestions can be shown.

Most importantly, there is no requirement that you choose between SWYPING and TYPING when you are using the N8 in landscape mode (portrait mode does not support swype obviously). You can alternate between swyping and typing when you use difficult words like names. Have fun and leave your comments about swype below.

New Firmware coming soon???

Here's a little internet gossip I've heard. Nokia N8 should be getting a new firmware some time in the next few weeks which will improve various things about the phone. Do you know more? let us know!

Opera Mobile 10.1 out now

If you are a big Opera Mobile fan, you should take note that an update is now available for your Nokia N8. They have just recently updated to 10.1 which addresses some of the problems below: 

* Predictive text can be activated while writing password 
* Fixed crashing when typing in password dialog using Sougou keyboard 
* Fixed crashing when using predictive text and system keyboard 
* Fixed issues with spelling keyboard not disappearing 
* Fixed issues with backspace deleting all text in edit field when text isn't selected 
* Fixed bug where previous virtual key searches do not highlight correctly.

To download the Opera Mobile 10.1 for Symbian/S60 update check out http://m.opera.com on your phone or go to http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/pc/ on your PC.

Can't Delete that N8 MMS?

Well I can't believe something so simple is missing in the Nokia N8 but it eventually took a search of google to resolve this mystery as to how you can delete an MMS from the Outbox. I tried the options as well as pressing and holding down the MMS but there were no options to delete! Amazing! Eventually found out the work around for this one. 

You need to to into Messaging -> Conversations -> Select the conversation -> options -> Delete -> Yes. Currently there is no other way to do this. 

Fring on N8 = FREE local calls

I've always been one for making the most of whatever technology or telecommunications plans that you sign up for. One of the things we organised for is VOIP with our iiNET plan which gives us unlimited free local and national calls.

I found that we under-utilised our iinet talk pack so for many years I've been trying to get VOIP working on my mobile phone. Now, the N8 is serving as my voip handset when I am out. This will allow me to call local numbers for free rather than pay through a bleeding nose with my mobile plan. VOIP is one tricky beast to tame and I've settled for using FRING to make my iiNET voip plan work. FRING allows you to use your mobile for gmail talk, msn etc but I use it mainly for signing into my iinet voip plan. I've found Fring crashes much less on the N8 than on my nokia E72. What VOIP set up have you got with your N8?

HD Video of Sydney Fireworks on Nokia N8

So you've read plenty of reviews and seen macro pictures of flowers and bees on the Nokia N8. Yeah very impressive isn't it? Although I have to say the camera is quite impressive but what I like most about the Nokia N8 is the HD video recording that it is capable of. I was very impressed with how the N8 handled a fireworks display in low light during my recent visit to Darling Harbour Sydney. The following video is recorded in HD, tell me a mobile phone that can do this! If you like this video, I might upload the other parts to this fireworks display but because of the resolution, it takes a while :) Not sure if this works but if it doesn't look like HD, follow this link here

Youtube on N8

Finally! Today we receive news that the Nokia N8 is finally going to get a fix to the Youtube application. Youtube 2.4.10 has apparently been released into the wild however we have been unable to access the mobile google website getting a "Not Found Error 404"  when going to http://m.google.com. Have you had any success?

Ovi Maps now even easier

For those that have enjoyed using their Ovi Maps on the Nokia N8, you have to check out the new beta release from BetaLabs today. It allows you to connect to your WIFI using your phone to download DIRECTLY (ie without the PC) all the maps that you need. It seems to disallow you from downloading via your 3G connection, only allowing WIFI probably for speed reasons.

Compared to the previous 3.04 version of Ovi Maps, this 3.06 10wk48 b01 has the following features:

• New! Download street maps directly to your device!  A new feature called “Update” on the main menu which allows you download Street Maps directly (via WiFi) to your phone without a PC!
• New! My Position and Search are now integrated (now called Map). When accessed, it will show your last map view
• New! Back button in Favourites
• New! Long tap functionality to delete & rename collections & routes
• New! Pop up for first time use – to inform user to download new map data (when upgrading 3.04 > 3.06 for the first time)
• New! Improved behaviours of transit lines settings in map toolbox (no more grey out)
• New! Compass calibration hint
• New! Refreshed place details information view
• Pinch to zoom interaction (Only available on Symbian^3 devices)
• Visually refreshed main menu and icons,
• New maps with public transport lines (as a new map layer) for subways, trams and trains in 80+ cities around the world. Just click the map toolbox icon and select Transit lines,
• Improved search experience - find places and addresses around you - or anywhere in the world - fast and easily. Browse places or enter a keyword in the search box. Now with suggestions and "did you mean?" functionality,
• New place pages with description, reviews, pictures and places nearby. Interact with places in a whole new way - you can check in, contact, navigate, save, rate, share, report or see place on the map,
• Share a place - send a place to your friends via SMS or Email. The SMS contains the address and a link to the place page with description, ratings, contact, URL and a mini map. The link opens up on the mobile browser (also on non-Nokia devices),
• Check in - keep your friends up-to-date with where you are and what you're up to. Check in to places and share it with your friends on Facebook and many more social networks. See places you’ve been to in your check in history,
• New Drive assistance mode with live traffic flow - after clicking Drive, you're instantly in drive assistance mode with live traffic flow and more. Once you start moving, get safety camera alerts and speed limit warnings,
• More folder with many rich content services relevant to your location. Personalise your Ovi Maps by selecting the services you'd like to keep on your main menu for instant access.
•  Traffic flow: In Drive mode, a number of improvements to the traffic flow colour scheme and layout.

Social for N8 update available

Today if you open up your phone software updates, you will notice the new version of Social which is available for download. Social 1.2.163 does not seem to add too much to the older version except some have said that the scrolling is faster, images are bigger but the loss of the scroll bar has some people wishing they did not update. What did you think of the new update?

Galaxy S user talks Nokia N8

I came across an interesting look at the Nokia N8 from a Samsung Galaxy S user. Here is their comparison from Whirlpool Forums about how the N8 compares with the Galaxy S. 

Things that I like and have noticed:

- Build quality and feel is great. The Galaxy S was very light, but very 'plasticcy' and it certainly didn't feel like a smartphone should. The N8 has a great feel in your hands and its nice to hold with a perfect weight. You can tell its a well built phone from the feel of the buttons and casing. The Galaxy feels cheap in comparison.

- Call quality (including speaker and microphone) is excellent. I always found call quality to be a bit muffled with the Galaxy and many times people had trouble hearing me if I was outside, especially if there were windy conditions. Recording video the microphone recording is much clearer.

- Touchscreen keyboard has a great feel. Little bit hard to explain if you've never used the keyboard on the Galaxy S but I find personally that the N8's touchscreen keyboard is much more responsive. With the Galaxy I found that the keyboard would lag if I was typing fast, causing doubled up characters or mispelt words.

- GPS on the N8 works really well. I struggled to pick up an accurate location with the Galaxy S. I think this was a software bug, not a hardware but I know its a pretty widespread problem. Works for some and not for others. Big bonus is OviMaps which work exceptionally well. Awesome that you can just update from OviSuite as well.

- The messaging app has a nice familiarity to it, but even more surprising is the Conversations threaded message app. Similar looking to the iPhone messaging app, the dark theme really works with it and I find reading messages and keeping track of messages is really easy. The stock messaging app on the Galaxy (in my opinion) is awful. The fonts are too large, the colour scheme awful and the general layout crap.

- Symbian ^3 might not look as flash as Android but I feel that its more reliable, stable and functions better. When using the applications they feel more polished. For example I've not had one application lock up on me or lag yet. Even after upgrading the Galaxy S to 2.2 with lag fix and other fixes it still lagged and locked up on occasions. Not nearly as much as when it was running 2.1 but still enough that it was annoying.

- Inbuilt music app is awesome!! Its got a great layout, I love the buttons and it works really well. The Galaxy S stock music player looks like an iPhone ripoff, but also feels clunky and horrible to navigate. Speaking of music, the quality also sounds better. Much deeper and clearer sound sound quality. Even compared to Android Winamp and other players like MortPlayer on Android, the Nokia player beats them in my opinion.

- OviSuite > Samsung Kies hands down. Kies is a bloated piece of crap. I dislike iTunes but I personally think Kies is actually worse than iTunes. OviSuite has a nice layout, its fast, easy to use and I had no problems connecting the N8 to it. Getting the Galaxy S to even show up in Kies was an effort.

- Battery is better.

- Camera....well theres no need to compare is there...
The N8 is just awesome.

Things I don't like:

- Web browser is a bit clunky. I know there is an update coming out to address this, so its doesn't worry me. But felt it was worth mentioning. Opera functions well enough.

- Youtube app isn't as good as the Galaxy. I've read there was supposed to be an update coming for this as well, so I'm not all that worried.

But apart from those two things, I can't fault the N8 much in anyway.
Its a pleasure to use, and I'm glad I picked one up.

Confirmed SU-8W keyboard working

Just a quick post for those trying to get the SU-8W keyboard to work with their N8. Remember that in order to pair the keyboard, you will need to set it up for detection by holding down the MAIL and MENU buttons down on the right of the keyboard until you see the two LED lights alternating in a railway crossing kinda way. Then use your N8 to go to settings - connectivity - bluetooth - paired devices - add new paired device.

Nothing now beats the N8 with a bluetooth keyboard!

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pixelpipe user fail :)

The first 24 hours

What were the first things you did when you got your Nokia N8? First of all, the E72 had to give up all its contacts, sms, calendar entries, personalisations, bookmarks etc to the N8 and that was handled seamlessly using the Data Transfer and a Bluetooth connection. 

Charging or not charging?
I've been reading conflicting reports around about whether or not you need to do a 15 hour initial charge of the phone and decided to do it just in case. Its been recommended that you do this for the first few charges, draining the battery completely and then charging it for a prolonged length of time. Correct me if I am wrong.

Updated Firmware 
I downloaded the software updates to the N8 to make sure I didn't have any unnecessary bugs.  

Turned off key tones
I just can't stand it when someone else is typing an sms and every letter is making a beep sound. So I did to other what I would want others to do to me. Off. 

Updated Ovi Maps
With the phone coming from overseas, I needed to import the Australian maps into the N8 rather than sit around waiting for the program to download maps on the fly. Just doesn't work so save your hassles and potential car accidents and get these updated early. Best of all, its all free!

Checked Google docs
Was a little disappointed that even till now, mobile phones still don't know how to handle google spreadsheets well. Word documents turned out well and the touch screen enabled a much more decent scrolling. 

Checked whether Quickoffice was free
Confirmed that unfortunately, unlike the E series, this does not come with free editing. That you will need to pay for but you can still read XLS DOC and PPT files without a problem. 

Tried out the camera
Took a few shots but was a little disappointed with the results inside the house at night until I switched to night mode and the excessive flash was toned down and produced a very decent photo. Haven't tried the video yet. Customisation on the camera was much more extensive than other phones. That's why it won the awards right? 
More later... but what did you do on Day 1?

The N8 finally arrives..

My Nokia N8 finally arrived yesterday after a prolonged delay. For those that don't know, my N8 was a prize from an Ovi meetup organised by 1000 Heads in London on the eve of Nokia World 2010! It was a little disappointing to receive an opened box but nevertheless, the phone was all there. 


Initially I thought that it was missing a mini SD card but I guess I wasn't familiar with phones that have 16GB space in their internal memory! Question: Why did Nokia produce one of their first SEALED in battery device on a phone which is capable of so much? So many people would be buying back up batteries to switch between during events where the video and camera are getting fully utlised. OK I digress but that's the difference between a blog and a review. :)


Apart from someone else doing the unboxing for me, the first impression of the device was pretty good. The flaps that protect the SIM card, SD card and HDMI slots were flush to the point that it took quite some effort to open them up. As a left hander, I claim discrimination with the main button sitting in a spot that makes it a cramp-risking bend of the left thumb to reach. The E7 will be more friendly. 


As many have said over the last few months, the phone feels really nice in the hand. The portrait keypad is a T9 but many will find this useful anyway. Next post we'll look at the first steps when you get a Nokia N8.

N8 won't turn on or won't charge

Around the world there have been reports that some N8s are not powering up or the battery will not charge. If you have a problem, you should contact your nearest Nokia Care Centre.

Norway Rates N8 the Best Twice

The 2010 edition of Gulltasten, the Norwegian mobile industry’s highest awards, was held last week and we were pleased to see the Nokia N8 walk away with two major awards – best camera phone of 2010, and best multimedia phone of 2010.

9 Things to look forward to with my N8

This blog has been nothing more than a placeholder in the last few weeks as we await the delayed arrival of the Nokia N8. However, come next week, we'll finally be able to do the things that we have only been able to talk about so far.  Here are a few things I am looking forward to -

• Reading HTML in my emails 
• Browsing the internet without hindrances regarding flash etc (N8 supports even Flash 10)
• Broadcasting my music and audiobooks through the car radio from my phone 
• Plugging the N8 straight into a HDMI port on a TV to show photos / videos 
• Playing games such as Angry Birds without lagging or closing other applications because of lack of memory
• Connecting a USB thumb drive to the N8 to check what its got on it without having to boot up the computer 
• Trying out the new Swype keyboard software to see whether its faster than a Qwerty
• Taking photos using the 12mp camera 
• Using the voice navigation on a big touch screen with pinch to zoom on Ovi Maps! 

If you are waiting for your N8, what are the things you are looking forward to most about using the N8 for?

New General Manager for Nokia Australia

Following what must be said to be a very poor launch of the Nokia N8,  the woes of Nokia Australia have forced a change in leadership with Chris Carr, who was Vice President of sales for South East Asia Pacific, moving to Sydney to replace Emile Baak as General Manager of Australia and New Zealand operations.

Also joining him will be Steve Lewis to head sales for Nokia Australia and Greg Clark who will be in charge of retail for Australia and New Zealand. One hopes that the sleeping giant has been properly woken up and Nokia can start clawing some market share back from the up-and-comings of the mobile industry in Australia.

Now Available in Australia

The Nokia N8 is now available with all carriers (except Telstra apparently). Optus is offering the Nokia N8 with their $49 cap plan with a 24 month commitment required. As a sweetener, they are giving three months free access which is a saving of $147.

Three and Vodafone are also offering the Nokia N8 on their $49 cap plans with a $50 bonus credit. However, if the $29 cap is sufficient for you, you can get the Nokia N8 for only $10 per month extra. If you know of a better deal, leave a comment below.

Blogging on Your N8 with Wordpress App

Wordpress has come out with an application for Nokia devices which allows bloggers to submit posts via their mobile phone. Here is the video to explain this new application which is available for the Nokia N8.

Apps Wanted in Exchange for Free Nokia N8

Are you thinking of doing an app for the Nokia N8? If you have the skills to be an application developer, go to
http://nokiapromotions.com.au/ovipublishing/ and try your hand at suggesting an app that you think will be one of the top 30 application ideas and if you get your application published by the end of December, you get to keep a Nokia N8 for your efforts. You also will be earning $$ for your application as well but ok, some of us may be just motivated to get our hands on the Nokia N8 for free :)

FREE Celebrity Photoshoot for Sydney and Melbourne

If you live in Sydney and Melbourne, you will have the opportunity to have your photo taken by a celebrity photographer. From Wikipedia, David Lachapelle has taken photos for celebrities such as Whitney Houston, Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bündchen, David Bowie, David Beckham, Björk, Shakira, Drew Barrymore, Courtney Love, Lil' Kim, Lance Armstrong, Angelina Jolie, Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, Brook Shields, Leonardo Dicaprio, Amanda Lepore, Cher, Christina Aguilera,Mariah Carey, P!nk, Olga Rodionova, Rihanna, Kylie Minogue and this month, you will be next! 


David Lachapelle will be using the Nokia N8 for the photoshoots to show the world what can be done with a N8 and no photoshopping. Check out the details at http://www.facebook.com/NokiaAustralia and have a look at some of these photos taken on the Nokia N8 at the Sydney event. More photos can be found at the Nokia Australia Facebook group.

Swype Coming to N8 soon

With the Nokia N8 bringing in the on-screen keyboard many people wanted to know how long they needed to wait until Swype would be launched for the Nokia N8. Swype is an application which enables you to run your finger across the keyboard instead of typing the words, which is apparently the fastest way to input words onto the phone. 

Nokia Betalabs had this to say yesterday: 

As many have noticed, the beta period of Swype for Symbian will soon be wrapping up as it becomes available from Ovi Store for certain devices.

The current version of Swype on the Ovi Store supports Nokia C7 only with the following languages: English, Spanish, Canadian French, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Active development and testing are under way to support Nokia N8, other devices, and other languages. We hope to have an update available in the next couple of weeks. 

Thanks for your patience.

Australian Advertising Campaign on Cards

Channel News reports today that Nokia Australia is looking at a large TV advertising campaign for the Nokia N8, with all the carriers, Optus, Telstra, Vodafone (and therefore, Three) selling the Nokia N8. Cap plans including the N8 have not been announced yet but the phone is expected to be available from the 1st of November.

Compared: Nokia N8 v Galaxy S

Here is a video of a 20min+ comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S and the Nokia N8. Check it out, thanks to Phone Arena. Not sure why the guy sounded a little nervous though...

Nokia N8 Launches in Australia - Twitter #n8au

Today in Sydney, Nokia launched the Nokia N8 with celebrity photographer David LaChapelle for the first time holding public shoots in Sydney and Melbourne. The phone takes phone camera technology to new territory with the ability to take photos at 12MP with a Carl Zeiss lens and Xenon flash as well as shoot HD-quality videos. The phone is also a FM transmitter, external hard drive, video/photo editting hub, GPS navigator and a portable media player compatible with HDMI TVs. 

In Australia, the RRP will be AUD$749 with the Nokia N8 being available on all networks and various plans to be announced. . Nokia Australia’s managing director, Emile Baak, said: “The Nokia N8 is a first step in our aggressive renewal of our smartphone range."

“We decided to stretch the boundaries of what consumers can do with a smartphone and at the same time, make it accessible to everyone at a price point that won’t break the bank,” Baak said.

A number of Australian developed applications have been specially created for the Nokia N8 such as Coastalwatch, SMH/Brisbane Times/The Age/WA Today, Corkscore, SkyNews.com.au and the Weather Channel. Built by local developers, these apps were created using Web Runtime, a software development environment that simplifies development and makes it possible to build one application that can be deployed across Symbian and other platforms.

N8 Pre-orders in Malaysia

Pre orders of the Nokia N8 from Malaysia's Nokia website will come with an extra 12 months warranty. Check it out here

Bluetooth Keyboards SU-8W and Adobe Flash

We can confirm that bluetooth keyboards will work with the Nokia N8 so if you have a Nokia Su-8W from ages ago for example, that will still work with the Nokia N8. Bear in mind though that from what we know, the N8 does not come with QuickOffice editting for free so all you can do is view documents, not edit them.

Five years later, the SU-8W has outlasted all Nokia Devices!

Also, in terms of browsing Flash on the internet, yes it does load flash enabled websites and at Nokia World, we used http://www.whatismyflash.com/ to confirm that N8 does support the most recent Flash Version 10.1.85.

Why N8 Camera? Autofocus for Video

When you buy a phone that has a mechanical shutter built in, you can do cool things like this. There is a continuous auto-focus mode within the video settings. Enable the following settings on your Nokia N8 to make your next video production look like it was shot by a handycam.

Looking for the N8 User Manual?

It may seem like a very strange post but you will be surprised how many people will be looking for quick access to their Nokia N8 manual. Most of us don't like reading the manual but if you take some time to get through it, you may discover some tips and tricks that you didn't realise the phone could do. You can download the manual here.

When you are using  your phone, you can also get to the user guide by going to
Select Menu > Applications > User guide

How to Unlock the N8

If you have bought your Nokia N8 with a contract, there is a chance that your mobile service provider (eg Vodafone or Three) will unlock it without any cost. This is the case in Australia but otherwise, I am not sure about your country.

They will ask your for your IMEI number which can be found by entering the code *#06# and giving them the Serial Number that appears. They will then tell you a code number which you need to enter in your phone in the following way:

#pw+YOURCODE+1#

How do you know it is successful? It will say SIM CARD RESTRICTION OFF

Be sure that you do not try to unlock your phone more than two times because after the third attempt, your phone will be permanently locked.

If your service provider does not allow you to unlock your phone for free, you can get unlocking services from the internet for around $5.

VIDEO: N8 shipping discussed by Nokia EVP

Keep the N8 Forum?

We've been toying with the idea of a Nokia N8 forum on this blog. If you have been casually passing through this blog and you are likely to be hanging around more, please leave a comment below about this suggestion or if you do support the forum idea, click on "Your Comments" at the top and join the forum. If there are at least a few of you, we'll keep it but until November, we'll see what your response is like to the idea. Forum yay or nay?

Pros and Cons from Real N8 Owners

Well if you have been eagle eyeing the Nokia N8 online, you will notice a few unboxing videos and photo comparisons between the Iphone 4 and the Nokia N8. Online discussions have mainly centred on the veracity of these comparisons and discussion about when the N8 will be shipped. This blog will be where you can find out interesting little things about the Nokia N8 and we'll try to save you from drowning in the number of press releases. If you are a Nokia N8 owner, or hope to be one, we encourage you to share your thoughts about the Nokia N8. For now, maybe let us know when you have received your N8?