Thursday, 17 August 2017

Nokia 8 Official Price is €599 Euros or $700 USD : Continuing The Great Nokia Cameraphone Legacy

Tech enthusiasts who are familiar with Nokia's long history as a handset maker would know that the Finnish Giant was particularly popular and respected for doing two things:

1. Crafting very durable phones
2. Making the best cameraphones

The old Nokia 3310 is a testament to the first phrase while smartphones like the Nokia N8, Nokia 808 PureView, and Nokia Lumia 1020 - to this day - speak about the company's capabilities when it comes to creating mobile devices that can work as an alternative to your traditional digital camera.


Although the all-new Nokia 8 Android smartphone by HMD Global merely bears the name of the Finnish Giant and is not really crafted by "the Nokia of old", I'm still hoping that it can somehow be a decent follow-up to those models. I mean, it's been so long since a good cameraphone with the name Nokia printed on it was released in the market. It would be a shame if it won't be as good as advertised. Heck, I want this model to be commercially successful.


Anyway, what's great is that Nokia 8 has several things going for it.

For one, 8 - historically - is a magic number for Nokia. During its heydays, Nokia would always affix the number 8 to it handset models sporting the best imaging features. So I'm sure fans of the brand would immediately associate "great camera" with this release without HMD Global having to explain too much.


Second and more importantly, Nokia 8 is the first handset by HMD Global to have Carl Zeiss optics. You see, what made all those Nokia cameraphones that I mentioned above the absolute best during their time was in large part because of the Finnish company's partnership with German optics maker, Carl Zeiss. For those who are not familiar with it, Carl Zeiss is one of the oldest and most respected optics manufacturers in the world.


And finally, of course, compared to its predecessors, the Nokia 8 already incorporates today's leading innovations in terms of internal hardware, display quality, audio technology, and even design and build -- all to better deliver a vastly enhanced mobile imaging experience.


I've just seen several videos on Youtube about the Nokia 8 and off hand, here are eight features highlighted in the clips that got me really excited to see this cameraphone in the flesh and to play it:

1. Dual Camera Module incorporating a 13 MegaPixel RGB camera with Carl Zeiss lens plus another 13 MegaPixel monochrome shooter - This set-up is largely the same as that of Huawei P9, P9 Plus, P10, and P10 Plus and should result in shots with better contrast and clarity in various lighting conditions.

2. Nokia OZO Audio with spatial 3D recording, which even better than stereo and should deliver a more immersive and enjoyable AV experience.

3. Full-length graphite-shielded copper cooling pipe for the 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor ensures better heat management and lag-free performance when you're playing the most specs-intensive games that you can download from Google Play Store.

The powerful and energy efficient processor is complemented by two sets of internal hardware that consumers can choose from: 4GB RAM / 64GB ROM combo for the Tempered Blue, Steel, and Polished Copper variants and 6GB RAM / 128GB ROM combo for the Polished Blue version

4. 13 MegaPixel front-facing selfie camera with 4K 30fps video recording capability, which is great for those who want to start recording and uploading vlogs on Youtube and Facebook.

5. 'Bothie' shooting mode where you do split screen video recording using both the front and rear cameras simultaneously and go live on Facebook or Youtube!


6. IP54 splash-proof build and availability in four elegant colors, namely, Polished Copper, Steel, Tempered Blue, and Polished Blue. Nokia 8 can be a great companion be it outdoors while you're on adventure or when you're inside the boardroom for your corporate role.

7. Nokia 8 is the first Nokia-branded smartphone to have a pixel-dense Quad HD display! This model has a 5.3-inch 1440 x 2560 pixels IPS display that guarantees an enjoyable experience whether you're browsing photos or watching videos.

8. Not only is the non-removable 3,090 mAh Li-Ion battery rather big given Nokia 8's display size but it also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 that greatly shortens the time it takes to fully charge the pack.


That's a lot to look forward to, right? Again, I can't wait to take Nokia 8 for a spin -- just to see for myself if it's a worthy addition to the long line of great Nokia cameraphones.

The official suggested retail price of Nokia 8 with Dual Carl Zeiss Optics is 599 Euros or Php 36,200 with current conversion. On the other hand, its release date in several key markets around the world will be on September 23, 2017.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name : Nokia 8
Type : Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category : High-End (Flagship Level)
Dimensions : 151.5 x 73.7 x 7.9 mm
Weight : 160 grams
Available Colors : Tempered Blue, Polished Blue, Steel, Polished Copper
Operating System : Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Display : 5.3 inches (~69.4% screen-to-body ratio), 1440 x 2560 pixels (~554 ppi pixel density), IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Processor : 10nm 64-Bit Octa-core (4 x 2.45 GHz Kryo) + (4 x 1.9 GHz Kryo), Adreno 540 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 chipset
RAM / Internal Storage Options: 4GB RAM / 64GB ROM - Tempered Blue, Steel, Polished Copper
6GB RAM / 128GB ROM - Polished Blue
MicroSD Card Slot : Yes, via Hybrid Secondary NanoSIM Slot, not Dedicated
Camera : Back: Dual 13 MegaPixel, Carl Zeiss Optics, f/2.0 aperture, Laser and Phase Detection AutoFocus (PDAF), Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Dual Tone LED Flash
Front: 13 MegaPixels
Video Capture : Front and Back: 4K 2160p 30 frames per second, Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second
Audio and Video Playback : MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports : USB Type-C 1.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, EDR, 3G HSPA+; 4G LTE-A
GPS : A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
FM Radio : Yes
Sensors : Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Scanner, Heart Rate
Network : 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2,
3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
SIM Card Type : Dual nanoSIM
Battery : Non-removable 3,090 mAh Li-Ion battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 (18W, 5V/2.5A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A)
Uptime : TBD
Value-Added Features : Dual Camera Module (RGB and Monochrome), Nokia OZO Audio, Bothie Mode, IP54 Splashproof Build, Aluminum Shell, High-Gloss Finish for some variants, Copper Cooling Pipe, Quad HD Display, 4K Front Video Recorder
Announcement : Global - August 17, 2017
Availability : Global - September 2017
Price : Official SRP - 599 Euros

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