Needing to break new ground all the time?
Well, this is what I'm considering to replace my now nearly four year old N8, so thanks for the review.
I'm interested in the comment that it's "more of the same". Well, there wasn't really anything lacking on the previous 925, so just an incremental update is enough. Apple's been treading water for a couple of years doing the same thing, and any of the latest Galaxy's "headline" features are just gimmicks (eye tracking??). I'd prefer effort spent on refining the core product functions rather than just throwing random apps at the wall and seeing which ones stick.
If audio and photo/video is "only slightly better", that does still put it at the top of the class (for audio in particular), even if the photos I've seen still fall short of the big-sensor N8 -- but the days when customers would accept a phone as fat as that camera required are long gone.
I'm very wary of specs comparisons across different operating systems - Some are meaningless (360dpi or 420dpi -- nobody cares, nobody can see it), and when it comes to CPU/RAM, Android has higher specifications for acceptable user experience than either iOS or Windows Phone, much as an SUV needs more power to match the 0~60 times of a small car. Also, the Indian no-name phone market has shown that while you can achieve a fantastic specsheet at a low, low price, it doesn't mean the thing will still be working properly in six months: there's more to a good product than the chipset. I don't think Nokia have ever released a phone with top computing specs; that's never been where they spend their money.
The major thing that is putting me off this phone is actually that the display is an active type with no dedicated memory, which means that Nokia's "Glance screen" won't work on it (basically, this is an always-on clock and notifications screen)..
Incidentally, Clove have this as £435 SIM-free pre-order with a £120 accessory bundle thrown in, which compares favourably with Andrew's £330 option of the 1530 option if you don't want such a large "phone"...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
