Following the somewhat underwhelming announcement of the Apple iPhone 4S, rather than the iPhone 5 many were expecting, the big question we’ve asked ourselves is ‘well, what can the iPhone 4S do that the Nokia N8 hasn’t been able to do for over a year?’ With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at just how the Apple iPhone 4S compares to the Nokia N8 and the results may surprise you.
Nokia N8 one year on: 10 features that still define this flagship smartphone
One of the main things that Apple is touting about the iPhone 4S is its all-new 8-Megapixel camera, stating that it may be the best camera ever seen on a smartphone. As we know, the Nokia N8’s 12-Megapixel camera not only comprehensively trounces the iPhone 4S camera, but it has done so for more than twelve months, highlighting just what a non-event the new Apple camera really is.
As well as its market-leading 12-Megapixel resolution, the Nokia N8’s camera also features a high-quality Carl Zeiss lens, full auto-focus for recording the sharpest, high-quality HD video, and even a stunning macro-mode for capturing the most finely-detailed close-up photographs currently possible on a smartphone camera. In short, the iPhone 4S camera can’t even come close and the Nokia N8 is still by far the best camera-phone you can buy.
And when you want to connect your phone to your HDTV for viewing your high-resolution photos and high- definition videos on the big screen, the Nokia N8 again hammers the Apple iPhone 4S, with its out-of-the-box connectivity. While the iPhone 4S requires you to pay for a £35 (inc. VAT) converter cable, on top of the cost of the phone itself, the Nokia N8 has a built-in HDMI port and an HDMI cable in the box, for you to get connected straight away.
It’s not just your own photos and videos that will look better on a Nokia N8, either. Offering full support for DivX video, you can also enjoy a far greater choice of movies and TV shows on the N8 – and all without having to first spend hours converting them to a suitable format, as you do with the Apple iPhone 4S and its iTunes software.
With its on-demand WebTV support built-in, the Nokia N8 is even the better choice for TV fans too. Letting you keep up to date on the news and watch your favourite shows without having to find and install a new app, watching TV on your smartphone has never been so easy.
And rather than being tied into using Apple’s iTunes multimedia software to manage your music, movies and photos; backup your files; and share files with your friends, the Nokia N8’s USB On-the-Go technology provides significantly more freedom for working how you want. Letting you connect any USB device to the N8 wherever you go, you can share and protect your files however you like – and you won’t need to go all the way home to your main PC to do it.
And let’s not forget the Nokia N8’s free satellite navigation either. While you’ll need to splash out for maps and software to enjoy full sat-nav functionality on the Apple iPhone 4S, the Nokia N8 gives you everything you need free, straight out of the box, adding yet more value to this market-leading Nokia smartphone.
Considering the Nokia N8 has had all of these features as standard for over a year, the Apple iPhone 4S really isn’t as impressive a smartphone as some may have you believe. Not only that, but it is also far more expensive than the Nokia N8, costing at least £200 more when bought contract-free. Since you get far more for your money with the Nokia N8 and can save loads of cash in the process, we know which smartphone we think is still the smartest of them all.
What do you think of the Apple iPhone 4S launch? Is it just another successful marketing ploy or do you think it really is as strong a smartphone as some would have you believe? Why not let us know your thought in the Comments below.