back to article Nokia's comeback is on: The flagship 8 emerges

To understand the appeal of the first "Nokia flagship" in three years, the Nokia 8, think of what Google was doing with the Nexus line until it caught "Pixelitis"*. Stock Android, monthly updates, decent imaging, and competitively priced. And really no other frills or gimmicks. The phone does have some Nokia DNA, as it was …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Same old, same old

    "cheaper-than-flagship is an unforgiving place to be"

    Particularly when "Nokia" decide to have the now de rigeur sealed battery. Twats. As a sub-premium buyer, I'm value conscious. A device I have to chuck away after two years because the battery has faded isn't good value, particularly if I've paid a few bob more for the camera and DAC.

    The new Nokia phones tick all the boxes of my requirements (decent smartphone, screen quality, decent camera, good audio)....and then they throw it all way with a sealed in battery to save 1mm on the thickness.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Same old, same old

      Catering to the overwhelming majority of the market who hugely prefer the longer life, stronger construction and thinner profile of a sealed battery hardly makes someone a twat.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Same old, same old

        Catering to the overwhelming majority of the market who hugely prefer the longer life, stronger construction and thinner profile of a sealed battery hardly makes someone a twat.

        No? There's any number of credible, mid range phones with all the capabilities of Nokia's new handsets. "Me too" has never been a path to profit, so where's the differentiation? How do these fundamentally differ from the latest Moto handsets, or a legion of Chinese competitors? The Zeiss name means a lot to people who are interested in optics, but to the wider smartphone buying world, it means absolutely nothing. So come on then, where's Nokia's USP?

        Oooh, and "longer life"? WTF are you on? A sealed battery device with a commodity battery has a circa 30 month lifespan. If it has an absolute premium battery (unlikely in the Android market) you might get 36 months, but to tout "longer life" as an advantage of a sealed handset.... well.

        1. Bad Beaver

          Re: Same old, same old

          With the current lineup, the USP is that it's a NOKIA ;) Also, with the 5 and 6, you get very nice design and build at a very decent price -> high style, low price

          The 8's HQ audio is also a very, very decent USP.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbLFtF50y9A

          1. Graham Dawson Silver badge

            Re: Same old, same old

            Honestly that's a preetty big USP for me, though it'll likely never live up to the N900. Or the N9.

            Such a wasted opportunity...

            However, since I'm shortly in the market for a new phone, I will likely consider this one.

            1. Bad Beaver

              Re: Same old, same old

              I cannot even part with the broken carcass of my N9. Such a neat thing, the fabula-design so incredibly polished and clean, even all the accessories spoke the same design language... the things that could have been.

              1. J. R. Hartley

                Re: Same old, same old

                Yep. Nokia really screwed the pooch.

              2. psychonaut

                Re: Same old, same old

                i had the n900. as you say, the things that could have been

              3. wyatt

                Re: Same old, same old

                I've still got mine, if it wasn't for the phone bit of it not working I'd still be using it now. Lovely little phone (64GB version).

              4. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

                Re: Same old, same old

                "I cannot even part with the broken carcass of my N9. Such a neat thing"

                Now witness the upvote...from a fully functional N9!

                1. Dave 126 Silver badge

                  Re: Same old, same old

                  > I just had my Nexus 5 battery replaced by a LG approved service centre for 40£

                  Mate, you can do that job on a Nexus 5 in a quarter hour with nothing more than a small Philips screwdriver and a guitar plectrum.

                  I'm not sure of the provenance of my £8 Amazon replacement battery, but it hasn't exploded yet!

        2. Mark 110

          Re: Same old, same old

          You can always get the battery swapped by the manufacturer for a small fee. You can with HTC anyway.

          Your mileage may vary for others.

      2. Bad Beaver

        Re: Same old, same old

        Naaa, don't be mean. It is a valid point. My trusty Nokia E6-00 is on its 3rd battery (first replacement was a dud and dead in a short time, so it is rahter the 2nd) and it is much nicer to just pop in a new one than having to resort to DIY-battery-surgery or give the phone a away for service.

        People don't care because phones a cheaper now or come with the illusion of cheapness via monthly payments.

      3. werdsmith Silver badge

        Re: Same old, same old

        Catering to the overwhelming majority of the market who hugely prefer the longer life, stronger construction and thinner profile of a sealed battery hardly makes someone a twat.

        Indeed. Especially considering changing a sealed battery is a quick and easy job for anyone with reasonable eyesight (OK a bit harder on waterproof phones) or a quick and cheap service. It would take a genuine twat to discard a phone just because the battery is old.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Same old, same old

      Plenty of companies will replace a battery with a genuine OEM replacement for a very reasonable fee.

      I just had my Nexus 5 battery replaced by a LG approved service centre for 40£

      If you are throwing phones away due to aging battery, you are a mug, and deserve to own an iPhone

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Same old, same old

        Plenty of companies will replace a battery with a genuine OEM replacement for a very reasonable fee.

        On a premium device that sort of deal is probably good value, although most owners will be hankering for the newest shiney by then anyway. But if you're buying a non-premium phone as a "keeper", why would you want to pay £40 to replace a £10 battery every couple of years? That rather undermines the value credentials in my book, although YMMV.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Same old, same old

          "... although most owners will be hankering for the newest shiney by then anyway."

          No they won't, times have changed and people are wising up finally. Which is the reason why I believe Nokia should of went a different path entirely, maybe even hold off on mobile phones entirely until they could come to the table with more than just... blah. It's blah, we might want Nokia to prevail for many reasons, but this phone is simply blah.

          As fat as no market for it, I disagree. It's just another price point to fill, makes sense. Sadly, it's still blah. All these phones do such similar things that even the smallest feature has to be marketed as amazing to mind wash people into believing it. Even using the word 'nice' to describe current 'killer features' is starting to stretch truth.

          1. Jan 0 Silver badge

            Re: Same old, same old

            Hey MyBackDoor, who is this "Should of Went geezer"? Are there aristocrats working at Nokia?

      2. d3vy

        Re: Same old, same old

        "If you are throwing phones away due to ageing battery, you are a mug, and deserve to own an iPhone"

        Strangely iPhone batteries are by far the easiest "Non replaceable" batteries I have ever seen, two screws a ribbon cable and a bit of peelable glue.. and you're done.

        iPhone 3/4/5/6 battery replacements take around 5 minutes each if your not in a rush, not done a 7 yet but cant imagine that its that difficult.

        Compare that to my HTC One M8, Ive had that apart to replace the camera before and now that the battery is fading I can honestly say I'd rather just let it die and but a new one than take it apart again - the battery is at the back under (But taped and glued to) every other component. Just getting the screen out of the case is an undertaking in its own right, four screws, a sucker, brute force and a handful of plastic spludgers its a wonder it didn't snap.

        That said, I'd still rather have the HTC - I've had it four years now its stood up to being dropped, stood on, thrown round the gym, frozen overnight in a tent in wales. The back is so scratched an dented it could easilly pass for a decade old and its working perfectly* and the screen is like new.

        * other than the battery fade that is to be expected - and the camera failure - but that's because I dropped it it a puddle, still the only thing to break was the camera!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Same old, same old

      Nokia should bust out some new Windows phones. They'd probably suck, but nothing sucks more than the complete stranglehold by Google and Apple.

      Someone needs to mix it up a bit. There's no reason to read phone reviews now. They're all the same.

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Same old, same old

        If Nokia busted out some new Windows Phones, they'd just go bust. Not even Microsoft is bothering to pretend that they're at all interested in their own mobile operating system now.

        At the moment we are condemned to have Fucking Android, not least because reviewers and tech bloggers of the time seemed to dislike mature secure non-slurpy smartphone OSes which were secure, ran well with relatively little memory or CPU grunt, and could give you a week's battery life because that was old and Android was new and shiny. Even if an alternative smartphone OS was proposed which was compatible with apks (Blackberry, Sailfish), there was always the element of doubt in the review that Fart App 1321 wouldn't run.

        Perhaps one day we will get a newer take on the N9's simple swipe interface with Sailfish's under-the-hood improvements and an API compatible with Play Services (Amazon did it, Nokia itself had one for Nokia X). Until then we buy phones from hardware manufacturers that look like they might be able to bring that happy future about, and that's not coming from any Asian manufacturer... Tizen is a disaster, the rest have spent years slapping a re-skinned Android on their devices.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Same old, same old

        What you mean is you want someone else to buy the crap with does phones, while you buy the superior android and iOS products.

        Isn't that a little bit messed up? You want others to suffer with crap products for your benefit... Windows phones died for a reason, they were garbage. Keeping products artificially alive for competition is not only selfish, but itself stifles innovation...

      3. Dave559 Silver badge

        Re: Same old, same old

        Is there now room for a third mobile OS, that's perhaps the question? Windows Phone clearly wasn't the answer.

        It would be nice if Nokia could find a way to re-adopt their orphan child Sailfish OS (which, as MeeGo, probably stood a reasonable chance of having had the possibility to make some impact back then), or at least maybe pay some sort of child maintenance payment to help it, but, although it is quite a nice OS it is still a little rough around the edges (like early iOS was), and unless and until Jolla introduce a proper paid app store, it will still struggle to move beyond a small niche, sadly.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sealed battery but no wireless charging and no waterproofing? Disappointing, really. They so very nearly had my cash. Between them those features are easily worth the relatively minor price bump to one of their competitors.

    1. Martin Summers Silver badge

      I agree. All I can really think about this phone is "meh" and "oh well".

    2. Ryan 7

      As a Lumia 920 & 930 owner... wireless charging can jump off a bridge.

  3. gsf333

    Why does a phone need to be thrown away? Just because its a sealed phone does not mean the battery is unreplaceable. To change a sealed battery for example on an iPhone is relatively straight forward procedure which could be done by any half competent person.

    As a side point batteries seem to be higher quality now. I have had my iphone 6s plus for almost two years and have seen little degredation. Battery app shows 89% of original capacity and its been charged most days as i wear it down from 100% to mid 30% most days.

  4. Bad Beaver

    Try to be a bit more negative, will you?

    Since the old HQ audio tech was phenomenal, OZO audio sounds awesome.

    Also, for some absurd reason, I actually LIKE having a Nokia phone, so paying more for a few gimmicks from a brand I do not care about is not really that attractive. There might be more people like me.

    I concur on the sealed battery issue given the price point.

    Speaking of price: I just received a Nokia 5 – splendid! Nobody believes it's just €200.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Try to be a bit more negative, will you?

      The lack of wireless charging is a bit of a let down though. It's a bloody expensive phone. Yes you can pay more, but that doesn't make it cheap.

  5. Bob Vistakin
    Holmes

    I wonder if any ms execs have seen this film?

    I spit on your grave.

    It's great. An innocent girl gets brutally raped and left for dead. Slowly she recovers, only to carefully and meticulously exact her revenge on those who wronged her. In the end, her triumphant comeback is finalised when the evil bastards who did it to her are wiped out completely.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I wonder if any ms execs have seen this film?

      Hmmm... I think some former Sendo people would like that film.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: I wonder if any ms execs have seen this film?

        Above link leads not to an IMDB entry for the original film, but to a YouTube trailer for the 2010 remake.

    2. RyokuMas
      Facepalm

      Re: I wonder if any ms execs have seen this film?

      The question is, did she sell her soul to the devil in order to gain that revenge?

      1. Bob Vistakin
        Facepalm

        Re: I wonder if any ms execs have seen this film?

        I suppose some balance regarding how much times have changed is needed. Like the marvellous quote from a Nokia exec that using Android is like peeing in your pants to keep warm.

        Lovely, and would make a great tagline on the marketing campaign for this new model.

        1. RyokuMas
          Coat

          Re: I wonder if any ms execs have seen this film?

          Yeah, it's amazing how people will abandon their principles for a suitable incentive, or to save their own skin...

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "[...] but you wonder how many others care about taking split-screen (front and back) images or movies."

    The pr0n sector will probably find a use for it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      To see one's own face while slapping that ass is the future.

      1. samzeman
        Thumb Up

        Made me spit out my tea. Well done.

  7. Daniel B.

    Lumia

    Please don't talk about those. I consider them the reason why Nokia nearly died, as they were the ones made after the Elopocalypse.

    1. Chris 155

      Re: Lumia

      Nokia died because they ran themselves like they were a monopoly. They had 3 different UIs they were paying to develop simultaneously and they doled out the good stuff only to their top of the line phones.

      That worked when Nokia was the biggest player in the market, just like it worked for Microsoft when they were the undisputed king, but when the iPhone came out and started eating their lunch they couldn't compete.

      Nokia's fall starts before Elop and matches exactly with the release of the iPhone. Yes, the Windows 7.5 phones getting released and then getting an end of support from Microsoft within 6 months didn't help, but they were on borrowed time before they even signed the Microsoft deal.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Lumia

        People talk about how Nokia fumbled projects that would have beaten the iPhone to market, but often neglect to mention how mediocre their mass-market phones were at that time.

        After their 6210 era, their colour-screened candy bar phones weren't durable, or as interesting as Sony Ericsson or Samsung's offerings.

        1. Lee Taylor

          Re: Lumia

          Theres only one answer to that statement

          N95

          The best symbian cady bar Nokia ever made far superior to any S.E or Samsung offering at the time.,

          1. Dave 126 Silver badge

            Re: Lumia

            > The best symbian cady bar Nokia ever made far superior to any S.E or Samsung offering at the time.,

            The N95 was a slider not a candy bar, and was not a mainstream model due to its high price and (by the standards of just phones at the time) large size.

      2. JeffyPoooh
        Pint

        Re: Lumia

        Chris suggested, "...Nokia died because [in part] they had 3 different UIs..."

        Back then, it shouldn't have been that expensive to have some children bang out a new UI over the weekend.

    2. Terry Barnes

      Re: Lumia

      They were already dead. Elop was the paramedic sent to administer CPR, but it was too late. Nokia survived hooked up to a machine for a little longer but just like a brain can't survive without oxygen a tech company can't survive without productive, directed R&D.

      There are parallels with the demise of Commodore. Hugely succesful tech company with best-selling products neglects to maintain a product pipeline and watches rivals bite its ankles, failing to appreciate that the ankle biting is a hobbling tactic to allow for easier consumption of the whole.

  8. Len Goddard

    Updates

    I'm stull using my old HTC One. The only thing I miss is android updates. One of these days I might get around to jailbreaking it, but probably not.

  9. LosD

    Non-software buttons. Ew.

  10. Zola
    FAIL

    No wireless charging? No sale.

    20 years ago I bought a TiVo Series 1 (still have it, in daily use) and tried to explain to people the convenience of HDD recording, the typical response was "Why would I want that when I can just put a tape in my machine?" It only took them another 5-10 years until Sky (I'm in the UK, after stabbing TiVo in the back) "invented" HDD recording and for the penny to finally drop among the masses.

    Similarly, a lot of people just don't "get" wireless charging, but it really is so much more convenient and puts an end to "battery angst". Once you've tried it, why would you want to go back to fumbling around with USB connectors?

    And for that reason, any device that can't be bothered to include the £2 coil for a wireless charging receiver loses my entire business/interest. Which is a shame, as the Nokia device is quite attractive in all other respects.

    A replaceable battery would also have been nice, but I can understand from a design point of view that that is a trickier proposition.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

      I was also a series 1 Tivo owner and it blew the socks off anything around at the time and for a long time afterwards.. Virgin Media wanted an exclusive I believe with Tivo so those who'd paid for a lifetime subscription were just dumped. Annoyingly my box died shortly after this happened and it wasn't something I could fix with a new hard drive despite my attempts. I know there is a community effort if your box still functions to make it work with a broadband connection but mine really was dead. I haven't forgotten or forgiven Virgin Media for this.

      1. Adam 1

        Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

        Also, some newer cars have a Qi pad built into the little nook where you chuck the phone. Sure there's USB ports in there too, but we're talking about the 15 seconds of nuisance every time you hop in and out. Shirley the harder needed would be under a dollar. There are plenty of things I'd lose* before wireless charging.

        *Sadly, my Nexus 5 finally succumbed to a dead screen. I could deal with the broken power button, the broken mic, and 2 hour battery life, but I had to say bye when the screen died replacing the battery. New cheapo doesn't have wireless charging. First world problems totally, but I do miss it.

        1. Mark 110

          Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

          "but we're talking about the 15 seconds of nuisance every time"

          Itf takes you 15 seconds to attach a cable to a phone . . . I realise it might for some people for various physical reasons but for the average it should be done in less that 2 I would have thought?

    2. The Original Steve

      Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

      I was in total agreement with wireless charging...

      Right up until my Lumia 950 XL had a USB-C port. As it can go in any way round you want, and it has fast charging I no longer bother with wireless charging.

      To be fair, if I still had my previous car (where I refused to pay > £500 for inbuilt Sat Nav) then I would still need to use a holder in the car to show my phone's display for it's Sat Nav.... my holder did wireless charging which was amazing in the car and something I'd still demand if the current car didn't already have Sat Nav built in.

      The advent of fast charging where wireless charging is still a trickle plus having the ability to insert a USB-C cable in without looking at the port has me thinking that wireless charging may end up similar to 3D TV - not a bad idea but the world has moved on.

      1. Zola

        Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

        Too many times I've received a call on a phone charging while tethered to a USB, picked it up and had the phone shoot out of my hands once the cable reaches its full extent. User error? Most certainly. Annoying as hell? Absolutely. USB-C might make charging ever so slightly easier but it's still no match for put down, pick up convenience.

        Does wireless charging take longer than a tethered fast charge? Sure, probably. To be honest it's hard to tell as my phone is now almost always fully charged most of the time thanks to having multiple charge plates at home/office, and putting a near empty phone on my bedside cabinet at night I awake to a fully charged phone in the morning as if by magic! Fast charging becomes irrelevant when charging is something you no longer have to even think about (and if I ever did need it, I can always find a cable somewhere).

        1. wolfetone Silver badge

          Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

          A HDD recorder is alright, but it's a pain in the arse when you're upstairs and you want to watch something recorded on the downstairs HDD recorder. But you can't watch it downstairs, because the partner is watching Eastenders or A.N. Other Shit Show starring a nobody.

          It's times like that where I miss the convience of a VHS tape.

          1. AndrueC Silver badge
            Thumb Up

            Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

            It's times like that where I miss the convience of a VHS tape.

            Well if you don't mind paying (possibly too much) for your TV then Sky Q has their multiroom product. Going by their forums it seems a bit unstable unless you take the time and trouble to use a wired connection instead of Sky's mesh network but apparently works for most people.

            Sky Go is another option. It can stream recordings to any device of your choosing and is free as part of any subscription.

            Of course all of that that does mean paying Sky for a service, but it's a possible solution to your dilemma ;)

            1. wolfetone Silver badge

              Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

              "Of course all of that that does mean paying Sky for a service, but it's a possible solution to your dilemma ;)"

              But if I buy two VHS recorders I could just remember to record the programs, then watch them upstairs or downstairs without having to give Rupert Murdoch and Rebeka Brooks any money. That seems to be the only solution :)

              1. Down not across

                Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

                But if I buy two VHS recorders I could just remember to record the programs, then watch them upstairs or downstairs without having to give Rupert Murdoch and Rebeka Brooks any money. That seems to be the only solution :)

                What about MythTV? One decent PC (wtih tuners) to record on and then scatter some Pi's or something around where needed.

              2. JimboSmith Silver badge

                Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

                I've got a satellite receiver that lets me record the transport stream of the channel with the programme that I want to watch. I then watch via a laptop connected to any tv via HDMI if not watching in the living room where the sat box is. I'm going to use a Pi solution shortly in each room. It records exactly what is broadcast with no compression applied by the receiver. Don't need to give Mr Murdoch any money and never have.

            2. plasmoid
              Linux

              Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

              Disappointed to read on a supposed tech site that you didn't make the obvious suggestion of making your own PVR using an old computer and mythtv. You can then watch anything you like anywhere on your network as long as you've got a raspberry pi or something similar. I first did it over 10 years ago (sans pi, clearly) and I'm no tech expert.

              Why give money for Murdoch for something as easy as that?

              (I know you can't record Sky programmes, but you can't do that with a VHS very easily)

      2. SiempreTuna

        Re: No wireless charging? No sale.

        I guess it's whatever rocks your boat. For me, the 2 seconds wireless charging saves me by not needing to plug in a cable is totally meh. I completely fail to see the point. Like you, I also love the speed my 5X charges via USB-C.

        But that's just me and I probably have different priorities to many. For instance, I'd definitely trade the split screen video and fancy sound on the Nokia for toilet-drop-waterproofing. The number of times I'm at a rock concert (zero) versus the number of times I've dropped a phone in the loo (two) makes waterproofing an infinitely (literally) more useful feature.

  11. menotu

    ok.. a company that hit the skids.. now coming out with a premium $$ phone.. .sure....LOL

    how about building a decent budget phone ... I wouldn't pay more than $200 for any phone.. they are just a tool...

    except for the addicted... then the skies the limit... idiots

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Er, then look at a 3, 5 or 6. Or even a 3310...

      As you say, LOL.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Epic fail

    Straight to Android landfill

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Split screen market?

    For DIY broadcasters this is great, but you wonder how many others care about taking split-screen (front and back) images or movies.

    Add that with the sound and cameras and you have a proper multimedia phone, and that may well be what they sell it as.

    I say that is a bloody huge market, it's just the reg readership is completely the wrong demographic. This for those things called kids and Millienials

    Reality check.

    99% of "normal" people don't give a toss about sealed batteries, as they will swap it out at end of contract. If they did, none of the best selling phones would y'know, be best sellers.

    Most people don't need waterproofing unless they do have the habit of dropping it down the crapper. Splash proof is fine for most.

    Oddly most people do care about that 1mm, no idea why as they then stick a bloody great case on it wiping out any savings, but it seems they do.

    At the end of the day it comes down to marketing. Crap marketing, Crap sale. Good marketing, good sales (I really can't believe I'm saying this).

    I think it will do OK. No amazing, but ok.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Split screen market?

      I largely agree with your points, and your conclusion.

      Waterproofing is for peace of mind, like insurance. On this phone, the lack of full water proofing may be related to its audio recording capabilities.*

      Said capabilities will be handy or invaluable for some people, but not all. (Most MiniDisc players could record analogue audio, but few MP3 players can). The idea of not having to adjust recording levels beforehand sounds lovely!

      Not just kids and millennials want to record audio, but maybe the greybeards have already treated themselves to a pricey audio recorder (Proper Sony: knobs and dials all over a magnesium chassis)

      Thin phone plus case will still be thinner than fat phone plus case.

      *Last Chance to See, by Douglas Adams. Douglas accompanies a BBC sound engineer to attempt to record the Yangtze River dolphin. He enquires about special BBC underwater microphones, and is told the standard BBC procedure is to use a standard microphone with a condom stuck over it. Cue 6'7" Mr Adams walking around a Chinese town asking shy shop assistants for condoms, only for them to fetch their managers who try to sell him contraceptive pills instead.

      1. Warm Braw

        Re: Split screen market?

        greybeards have already treated themselves to a pricey audio recorder

        Musicians of all ages buy audio recorders in quite significant numbers - for rehearsal and to record (their own) concerts. Non-musicians buy them to record concerts (other people's). I'd be very pleased to get access to HAAC recording because even specialised audio recorders tend not to cope very well with high sound pressure levels or wide dynamic range - and you generally can't keep an eye on the levels if you're performing at the same time. I'm not entirely sure I'd want it in an expensive phone - one that's a tempting target for the light-fingered while it's outside your immediate control, but having it in a mid-range phone would be very convenient - something less to carry.

        I did consider getting a Lumia for that specific purpose - but the combination of fixed internal storage and firmware updates that successively crippled the audio capabilities knocked that on the head.

  14. gryff

    I wish I could be bothered to care

    Dogs bark, the caravan moves on.

  15. Jove Bronze badge

    I don't take calls in the shower, so a GBP 150 discount on snowflake glitz is good enough for me.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Sometimes you find yourself needing to use the phone's flashlight in a rain storm.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's fine.

  17. Danny 5
    Mushroom

    Finally

    This device will most likely be my next phone. My Lumia 950 has been steadily degrading to the point where it's close to becoming unusable (but it's just over a year old, so the decline was expected /end sarcasm) and I'm looking forward to getting something new.

    I have already planned the destruction of my current device. I'm not going to save it, I'm not going to sell it, I'm going to destroy it and I'm going to enjoy the experience to the fullest. I'm first going to throw it against a wall and will take care of what remains with a hammer. I'm REALLY looking forward to this, it's been a long time coming!

    I'm considering filming it with my new phone and sending the result to Microsoft, because I am indeed that spiteful.

    1. hopkinse

      Re: Finally

      Why would you expect it to die after a year? My 1020 is still going strong and was bought in September 2013! The battery isn't quite as good as new but it still gets through a day without needing a top-up.

      1. Danny 5

        Re: Finally

        I was being sarcastic, hence the /end sarcasm ;)

        My first smartphone was a Nokia Lumia 900, i still have it and the battery is still fairly decent. I had a 1020 too, but the screen shattered, prompting me to get the 950.

        The 900 was a treat, the 1020 was absolutely fantastic, but the 950 has been crap from day one. I'm glad Nokia is back and hope the 8 will be as good as the 1020 was.

  18. Outcast

    Nah

    I'll stick with my "No Name" XGody Y16

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Shame the camera doesn't sound like its top rated.

    In these days of snapchat/instagram, having a camera that isnt rated as being up there with the iphone/S7/S8 camera doesnt stand a chance with most of the youth of today.

    I'm fairly sure thats one of the reasons HTC have been left behind as well.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I want one

    Is the bootloader unlocked? Everything else looks amazing.

  21. Mark Jan

    What About the Nokia 9?

    Any news on the alleged "real" Nokia iPhone, Galaxy killer, the Nokia 9?

    I had read rumours that news on the (alleged) Nokia 9 was going to be announced at the same time as the Nokia 8.

  22. Mark Jan

    What About the Nokia 9?

    Any news on the (alleged) real Nokia iPhone, Galaxy killer, the Nokia 9?

    I had read rumours that the Nokia 9 was going to be announced at the same time as the Nokia 8.

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