Since Nokia are putting less effort into Symbian these days, we cannot expect to see much in the way of new features in the OS. PaderSync FM, myExplorer, or Davi) to access remote file shares. This means that you need 3rd party software (e.g. * WebDAV support has been removed from the File Manager. Workarounds exist, but they are a bit klunky - similar to how you would do it on an Android device. This means that synchronizing your phone with the Mac Address Book, Calendar, iTunes and iPhoto is a bit more cumbersome than before. Also, Nokia Multimedia Transfer does not seem to receive updates anymore, and so does not recognize this phone. * Dwindling Mac support: Since Apple have removed the iSync application from Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion), Nokia no longer builds iSync plugins for their phones (even for those of us who run older versions of OS X). That said, the 808 brings with it a couple of disappointments compared to previous Nokia phones: * As soon as you pair with your computer, you can instantly browse the phone's filesystem just like any other storage volume. * Bluetooth HID for keyboard and mouse support since the N95. * When playing music to your car stereo, track information is also shown (if supported by your stereo) It also has the most complete Bluetooth stack found anywhere: For instance, as previously mentioned, it supports TV connectivity via HDMI, DNLA or plain old TV-out. Symbian has always been ahead with regards to connectivity options. Should you be somehow a reasonable person you will admit Tor is right and you may no longer spread hatred on the forum. Given that, for what it is, I could not be happier with any other device than what I am with this phone today! So admittedly, I am likely in a small to moderate size niche for which this device will appeal. Most of those users will likely also be "OK" with the camera quality in other smartphones, and are likely to care more about CPU frequencies, screen sizes, application support, etc. For instance, both Apple and Google seem to be deliberately taking advantage of the fact that most users do not care much about privacy, or "power" features such as proper multi-tasking. I realize that a lot of what I have been describing in this review is not going to matter to your typical "causal" phone user, the kind that Steve Jobs managed to wean off their RAZRs and into the "smartphone" world (if you could call the original iPhone a "smartphone", that is). * Nokia Battery Monitor, which among other things keeps track of which applications consume power (when active and in the background). Can be set up to launch automatically once connected to your Bluetooth car stereo. The main screen consist of only 3 large buttons: Call, Drive and Music. Makes the phone easier to use while driving. In combination with the Sports Tracker application (also originally developed by Nokia, but now available for iOS and Android as well), this provides an excellent way to keep track of your physical activity. Once it is installed, it uses the accelerometer and some nifty logic to count your steps, similar to a pedometer, and records a diary for you. If browsing the OVI Store from your computer, for instance, just select "Install on Phone", and it happens automatically. It comes with an accompanying plugin for web browsers such as Firefox, and allows you to "drop" files, URLs, etc to your phone in one click. I have my phone set up to automatically turn to "Meeting" mode (muted ring tone, vibrations) while in meetings, and Offline once I arrive at my home. This switches your profile, desktop background, sound themes, etc based on conditions such as GPS Location, WiFi access point, calendar entries, time of day. * Nokia Situations, available from Nokia Beta Labs. That said, many of Nokia's own applications are very nice, and often unexpectedly useful. Meanwhile, there is always Fring or Nimbuzz. MAYBE this will happen now that Skype is owned by Nokia's new sugar daddy, but I would not hold my breath. * Skype supports voice calls, but not video. Google search works somewhat, but is a bit klunky. * There is no IMDB, Fandango or other application to browse movie listings and show times. There WAS a Netflix Queue manager, but after Netflix changed their API, they could not be bothered to change their Symbian application to match. There is 1 flavor of "Cut the Rope", not 2 as on iOS and Android. * There are 3 flavors of Angry Birds, but despite being a Finnish company that initially developed for Nokia, ROVIA could not even be bothered to deploy Angry Birds Space on this platform once Elop had made his announcement. Some example of how lackluster developers have become: As you would expect, once Elop announced the end of Symbian, and moreover, that the Qt application environment would NOT be ported to Windows Phone, he also completely removed any remaining incentive for application developers to support this platform.
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