Earlier today, I had an opportunity along with other bloggers to ask Nokia folks some questions about the upcoming Nokia N8. If you missed the live session and have some questions to ask, check the list below to see if they were answered.

Since the battery is not removable by user, is there some type of kill switch when/if the device freezes?
Yep, you can switch phone off with 8s press of power key. The same thing than with laptops

Who did you have in mind when you were designing the N8?
The Nokia N8 is aimed really for people who want to create amazing content, such as HD videos or photos, log on to their social networks, enjoy WebTV and apps

Will it have touch focus?
There is no touch focus. You can focus with 1st step of camera key.

Will threaded SMS be supported on the N8?
Yes, the Nokia N8 has the conversational view in SMS

Does it have dual led for video recording?
There is no dual led for cam but xenon

Do we have the usual NAM and global versions? People have been speculating that there is only one version for all 3G bands.
The Nokia N8 supports five 3G bands, so works also in the US.

With regards to Symbian^3, can you briefly speak to the benefits of it being open source from a user perspective? How does it differ from MeeGo in this regard?
Symbian^3 being open source has made it much easier for us to incorporate all sorts of innovations from the world much faster, which is why you see quite a significant amount of existing apps improved and some totally new apps in the device. Similar benefits as MeeGo.

How about N8 computing power? Tell more about processor
The Nokia N8 has 680Mhz processor coupled with graphics accelerator. This means approxinately 60 frames per second on the UI resulting in a very competitive performance.

A lot of people have questioned Apple’s design by making the battery non-removable to users. Was there a reason Nokia decided to go along this route when before they have always made a removable battery.
It is mainly about the design: we wanted to create a robust device that feels good in the hand, so with one-piece aluminum body we get a range of colors but also a great package with real glass display

Is that a microphone in the front below the camera lens? If so, then excellent for video recording. Mic on the front means not having to use my cupped hand trick to capture voice in a crowded room.
..and two mics means stereo audio recording..better ambient sound capture

USB on the go means I can plug in my flash drive directory into the phone via a cable and transfer data?
We got inbox adapter and you can plug in USB sticks & hard drives. There is obviously a limit what kind of current N8 supply so it means that with some hard drives you need an external power supply. You can transfer easily big files without PC

Is it true that the N8 will be able to play .mkv files?
Yes, the Nokia does play .mkv files

Why did you remove the green and red keys?
It was a design thing

What size are we looking at for one minute of HD video?
One minute is roughly 60MB. The max filesize limit is 4GB, it comes from FAT32 filesystem

Is the camera button the only way to snap a photo, or will the N8 be using the touchscreen to be able to snap the photo?
Camera key is the way to take the photo

How fast is the Sequence mode in the camera?
We don’t have the sequence mode in N8. We optimized for the cam for still shot quality

Does S^3 have any dual-boot or virtualization functionality?
N8 boots to the brand new Symbian^3 so no dual boot

Does the N8 support Divx/Xvid playback?
We can’t comment at the moment

Will it come with music?
In select markets, yes

What special modes or features does the N8 bring – such as the face detection of the N86?
Face detection is there, and e.g. red-eye removal

Drawing/paint app?
No drawing/paint app, I hope there’s one in Ovi Store

How does the facebook integration works? Is it integrated to the phone book? Calendar and so on? How deep is it?
People can update their status, share location and photos, view live feeds from Facebook directly on the home screen, transferring events from social networks into the device calendar is also easy, the Facebook profiles can be linked to the device phonebook

Is the pinch to zoom on the N8 smooth? Similar to the iPhone? The promo video seems to show a jerk and then zoom, not progressing with the fingers.
Very smooth in my opinion, and animates when zooming in Photos, E-mail and Browser. Very useful for e-mails. The video is a bit old in that, so I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see the real deal.

Can we expect any significant improvements to the PIM and email apps on the N8 compared to current N and Eseries devices?
The e-mail is completely redone. Super easy to set up multiple accounts without knowing any server details. Works with Exchange. Displays HTML mails with nice fonts and pictures in place. Fast switching between mailboxes. Tap-and-hold for contextual options… it’s totally redone.

Love the phone…. what are the syncing options ie music and contacts for a MAc user
Currently Nokia Multimedia Transfer is the app — videos, music, photos, bookmarks, files. We’ve been developing Nokia Ovi Suite for Mac for a long time but will want to have it really polished before putting it out

What’s the size of the camera sensor?
The size is 1/1.83″

Will it ship to most major markets on day one? I’m in the US, and we’re generally slow to get things from FI…
We know this better closer to the sales start

How long you warranty the battery for?
The battery is covered by Nokia warranty for 12 months after purchase

Will more camera functions like focus & snapping use the touch screen UI/UX in a future software release? Android & iPhone use the touch screen for the majority of the camera actions/work flow.
there is something we really like about a real camera button when snapping pictures. pressing one on the top gives you a nice, firm grip like in a real camera, whereas tapping on the screen can make you change your direction. This might sound like a silly detail, but the N8 camera button has got the most satisfying “click” I’ve ever felt on a phone. It feels like a real camera button.

How are you positioning the Nokia N8, in 3 words?
Connect, create and entertain!

No multitouch in the keyboard?
No multitouch keyboard at this stage

Thanks

Thanks WOMWorld/Nokia for setting up the session and thanks Esa, Aapo, & Maija from Nokia for answering our questions! If you have questions not listed above, ask away in the comments below. I’ll forward them to Nokia for their response.

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