Nokia has announced that they’ve started shipping the N8—the company’s Symbian^3-powered flagship—to compete in a world market that’s quickly filling up with iPhones and Android devices. It’s currently shipping to the people who signed up for early pre-orders though, so it’s not quite there for everyone just about yet, but Nokia expects the N8 to be widely available in the coming weeks, depending on the carrier and country.
That’s according to Nokia’s outgoing mobile executive VP Anssi Vanjoki, who told the Financial Times in an interview that switching to Android won’t stop the company’s falling market share. According to the report, loading Nokias with Android operating systems would simply be a stop-gap solution that wouldn’t help in the long term, and likened it to Finnish boys who “pee in their pants” during the winter to keep warm. (Yeah, that only works for a few seconds, and then it gets bad when your wet pants freeze over after a few minutes. Don’t ask why we know.)
Besides the fact that we can read the official statement from Nokia in English this time, there’s nothing new here. Just an official, public clarification after word got out that the N8’s release would be pushed back to October (thanks to an unspecified software problem that needed to be corrected), basically saying that yes, they’ll be out and in your hands by October… at least for those of you who preordered. The specific arrival dates should very though, since it all depends on where you’re at and when your local operator plans to make it available, but again, October, you guys. Just a few more weeks of waiting past when you originally expected to get it, and you’ll finally get to muck about with Nokia’s flagship12MP-cam-packing, 720p-video-recording, Symbian^3-running smartphone. Official word after the break.
Here’s a quick update on the Nokia N8 that was first unveiled way back in April and was (supposedly) set to launch in late September: the launch will be moved back again, this time to “sometime in October” because of some software bugs that need to be patched up. Now, we’re sure Nokia’s doing the right thing here; no one wants a half-baked product, especially when the product is expected to be as big as this. But honestly, our level of excitement for the Symbian^3 flagship is beginning to slip. This post at AllAbout Phones (Dutch, translated) mentioned that the launch could be delayed to November, but Nokia later corrected the report and mentioned that it’ll be out by October. Just so we don’t get too hyped up about it again, we’re calling ‘November‘ on this one.
Nokia’s Symbian^3 line of smartphones just grew larger after they officially unveiled three new touchscreen-equipped phones running on the brand new OS to follow the long-awaited N8 (which, by the way, still hasn’t started shipping). The list starts off with the C6-01, which we first caught a glimpse of thanks to a leak; a more upscale C7 that packs an 8MP cam and 720p recording capabilities; and the E7, which Nokia touts as the “ultimate business smartphone.”
