Nokia's Symbian^3 N8 Phone Packs A Punch

The Nokia N8 features a video and still camera as well as a touchscreen, and can function not only as a phone, but also as a movie screen.

The device is the first offering from the manufacturer to run on the Symbian^3 OS, which supports gestures such as multi-touch, flick scrolling and pinch-zoom. It includes a 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss (a German manufacturer of optical systems) optics, specs that are competitive with compact digital cameras. Further, users can make HD-quality videos and edit them with a built-in editing suite. It has 16 GB of internal storage, plus a microSD card slot that accepts 32-GB cards.

The Nokia N8 accommodates HD-quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound, and lets users plug the device into their home theatre system. The phone provides access to Web TV services that deliver programs, news and entertainment from channels including CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic. Other Web TV content is available from the Ovi Store.

The N8 works with Ovi Maps for free voice-enabled GPS navigation, and will come with social networking tie-ins: Users can view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen.

According to Nokia, the N8 will be available in "select markets" during the third quarter of 2010, with an estimated retail price of about $500. Reportedly, a U.S. version will debut shortly thereafter.