The future of Symbian and what does it mean?
 

I'm looking for some answers regarding the future of Symbian and specifically the Nokia Pureview 808.

Right now i own the Galaxy S2, I have 1 yr left on my contract before i can buy a different phone. It has been an interesting experience owning a smartphone, but overall I use it for just calls, txts, photos, photo editing (like nice effects) and finally uploading to fb. The odd app here and there are a welcome edition but not crucially important. No emails, no browsing.

In a years time i'd like to replace my s2 with a smartphone equipped with a better camera, more megapixels, better low lighting conditions, burst, better macro etc.

Currently my point and shoot is a Sony DSC-TX5, it does 1cm macro and 10 burst pics in 1 second. It's a decent camera. If i can get a smartphone with close parameters to that I will be chuffed.

So... what is the camera software like on the Symbian? Does it allow for post editing, croping, brightness, contrast and even silly effects?
Does it allow for sharing/direct upload to fb?

With the future of Symbian looking doomed, in a years time (when i am in a position to actually upgrade from my current phone) what will be Symbian's position (what are the future implications)? Will it be a case of no updates, could things like fb uploading cease to work (as fb has moved on in terms of updates and Symbian left behind with no support...)
What is the future prognosis for this camera phone with an obsolete OS?

I'm just looking to replace my point and shoot with a camera phone, and the 808 is tipped to be best, i'm also not made of money, as I type this I can get one for $497AUD, hopefully in a years time it will be even lower, I'm not sure I can afford the latest and best Nokia win 8 phone http://my-symbian.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_sad.gif

Cheers for any feedback,

Bruce

One of the things that the TX-5 seems to have going for it is it's rugged personality (dustproof, waterproof up to 3 meters, coldproof down to -10°C (14°F) and shock-resistant for drops of up to 1.5 meters). Don't see a phone meeting those specs. But if you find that you're not using them....

Steve

My last camera died due to wear and tear, so that factored in my choice for the DSC-TX5, its been nice not to worry too much about water etc, but the lcd screen did burst (like liquid bubble) just a few weeks after owning it, I don't know how this happened to this day. I think I must have had it in my back jeans pocket, sat down in car seat and stressed the screen too much (but im not even that heavy a guy :S It still works fine, just cosmetically not as pleasing to look at.
So it's not as rugged as they like to think it is.

But yeh, sick of taking an s2 and compact point and shoot with me, would like to replace with an all-in-one device. The 808 seems to fit my needs, but i don't want to grab some piece of tech in the near future with a dead OS and things to not start working anymore on the device (due to lack of support. But maybe i'm being silly...

EDIT: Can use one of these to give it that 1.5m shock absorption lol.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2quujbl.jpg

Nokia is releasing an updated WP8 phone later this year. The camera is said to be more towards the Pureview 808. Wait & see what Nokia has up their sleeves,...

That is true, I'm just not expecting my funds to stretch to that kinda 'new model' price. I'm hoping to grab the 808 for even less than $500AUD by December 2013, basically this will be my xmas pressie next year :D
I read a comment that Symbian will continue to support till 2016...

The 808 is larger then a lot of point and shoot cameras, and by many accounts virtually unusable as a phone due to its buggy firmware and Symbian's shittiness.

Not really sure I see the point. I'd wait for the WP version, or just get a slim model point and shoot.

Yes and no. There's strong argument that Symbian (since it's latest updates) is performing adequately. Yes its OS is not as loaded as IOS or Android, but having already got a smartphone running android I find myself really not using 80% of the features. I txt, call and take pics, I'm sure Symbian will be ok in this regard. I understand its not going to cut the grade for the majority of smartphone users. My wife and I (due to living different work/lifestyles) want very different new smartphones come Q4. She's eying up the Note 2 as a potential candidate, whereas my dream smartphone would be as small as possible with ridiculously awesum camera.

Yes it's larger than some point and shoots, but i already have a decent point and shoot, i dont want to cart two things around.
I'm almost looking at the 808 as a camera first and phone second. Find me a camera (any camera) that costs $500AUD and gives u 41 megapixel, or at the very least takes 8 mega pixel pics with incredible detail (allowing for cropping and zooming etc).

Do not buy a symbian phone. The OS is sufficiently shit that you have to be a pretty hardcore photography enthusiast to take the usability hit. At the end of the day taking photos is not what you will likely be doing 95% of the time with your phone. The 808 is also a brick.

Either settle for a "close enough" android (there is nothing wrong with the cameras on high end android phones) or wait for nokia to make a refreshed version of the 808 with better specs, running windows phone 8. Or look at the lumia 820 and 920.

Ultimately every phone camera will disappoint you to some extent in real world use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HGrZDynHCw

There is also the "Samsung Galaxy Camera"

Symbian was ok in 2007 with the N95 but not since, and now it's practically dead.

I don't see any point in the 808 - it's a decent camera tacked on to a crap phone. just buy a good camera. I certainly wouldn't pay anymore than $100 for a used Pureview.

Actually yeh taking photos was what i was doing 95% of the time lol, no joke. As i said earlier, the odd txt, call and pics (and pics editing) was what I was doing. In a year I have used Google Maps as a car nav only a handful of times, so percentage wise taking pics is right up there. No matter how bad Symbian is i imagine it can still txt and handle a call. I heard the latest release of Symbian came with a much improved keyboard.

There are some other higher megapixel cameras than what the S2 (my current fone) has on some Sony and HTC models i believe (both running android), that's something to look into I guess. My initial dissapointment was that one (a Sony I think) had a built in battery and battery life wasn't supposed to be stellar, that put me off. The 808 does have fantastic battery life apparently (as well as removable battery and the option to buy bigger ones etc).

But you make an interesting point about its weight, I have never had it in my hand to see for myself...

Oh and yes I have seen the Galaxy Camera, but i stated before, my current point and shoot (albeit a couple yrs old) is probably still a better camera.
I'm looking to replace my point and shoot in a years time with an all-in-one device, not interested in carting two things around, that's the goal.

'decent camera'? Bit harsh no? regardless of symbian and the phone side of things u ain't gonna find a 41 megapixel camera for even $500 let alone $100!

Perhaps I have not stated myself clearly enough;

I really only call, txt, take pics, edit pics, upload to fb (but dont actually USE fb, i do that on the pc). No email, no web browsing, no app use.

So coming from THAT perspective (and not yer own use of smartphones), try and judge the 808 fairly.

It's not that I will likely even take that many 38 mega pixel pics with the camera, its more that i want the 8 megapixel crispness and extreme detail.
Plenty of times I have taken pics with the S2, done some cropping but now the background and general pic is too noisy or pixelated, the 808 apparently does this job so much better.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to argue with any of you, i'm just trying to explain what is a bit of a bizarre choice for a phone camera in a little more detail.

If yer not familiar with my current Point and Shoot please read about it here. It got a 'Dave's Pick' something not easily attained, and i can testify it is a wicked little camera.
Things I like that it does is 1cm macro and full high res burst at 10pics in a second, you can stretch those 10 shots to be taken over a longer period than just one second. This has been an invaluable tool to catching the right facial expressions of my kids at parties or whatever (group photos etc). So perhaps even more important than crispness of an 8 megapixel photo is the actual features and ability of the lens/software.
If anyone owns an S3, Nexus 4, HTC, Win8 fone etc, please let me know how it performs, I mean I saw an add for the s3 taking bursts but i'm imagining it was taking far lower res pics?

No one has really answered the question if they think I will encounter problems down the line with Symbian now that it has become a dead OS? Is that being paranoid or forward thinking?

Well I haven't used it, but:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/25/31...ureview-review

That does not seem to be a good assumption. To be clear, one of the main complaints raised in that review is that it can't do these things without frequent reboots. I don't think its a matter of Symbian lacking features so much as it being an ancient operating system shoehorned into a buggy camera phone without really working properly.

No disrespect but i take any review by any gadget/mainstream site with a massive grain of salt. This includes sites such as engadget and gizmodo. If its a product you know well and they review it, its hilarious how wrong they can get it. Now that's not to mean theverge are bad per se, but i rarely take anything said in such reviews seriously.
That's one thing that drew me to ABI, the reviews are actually fair, balanced, detailed with an added forum element allowing for verification of certain issues.
The other thing about reviews like this is they often rush it to be 'the first' to get a review out of a certain device. Since Gizmodo reviewed the 808 (for example), its price tag was $799AUD (from mobicity.com.au), it is now $450, so goes to show how long ago that review was, and since then Symbian has had a few updates to fix certain bugs. It would be nice to have a review that is later, or a revisited review...
BUT... and this is most important, reviews like this encompass EVERYTHING to get a final rating/conclusion. I'm not fooling myself here, i'm well aware certain features of this 'smartphone' are gonna be dumb as f**k, calling it a smartphone is probably a joke, cameraphone is more realistic. But i don't think i'm necessarily needing a smartphone anyway... I want a phone and good camera in one device, this phone seems to be tipped the best at those two jobs job. (but my all means if u have another suggestion point away!)

I have read elsewhere that the 808 uses Symbian better than any other device to date i.e. the hardware and software are working really well together. On other forums (where i have posted similar question), I get mixed opinions, some say go for it, others say wait...

I'll be honest, in the little time i have spent asking these questions about Symbian yer the first to tell me that it can't even do basics adequately (like calls, txts without reboots). But i take yer point, i am jumping to assumptions and more research is required. I did read that the latest update of Symbian has allowed for multitouch keyboard input (something that is very basic by android and IOS standards), but i wonder if any mainstream reviews had this update included? Maybe it did and it still sucked lol. Perhaps I can live with it...
This is why I prefer to post within forum communities rather than go by any major glossy review.
But still I point you to the actual review you gave me and list the verdict 'Good and Bad Stuff.'

Good Stuff:
1) Beats every other cameraphone by a wide margin (this is numero uno importance to me). It's not just good, its silly awesumly good.
2) 38 megapixel photos are surprisingly good
3) Great call quality (well that's a turn up for the books as this is actually fairly important to me).

Bad Stuff:
Web browser unusable (np i never use mine on my S2, maybe once/twice a year)
Symbian Belle feels like a terrible imitation of Android (maybe i can live with that)
Low-res display (not a problem, not gonna watch moves or anything on it)
Camera hump is a hindrance (can live with that, infact i might buy the larger battery and make the rear section flat).

I guess my thinking is this. Yes later on Nokia is gonna release another pureview 'smartphone', it's prolly gonna be better than this 808. BUT it will cost like $800 new (or more), that's outta my budget. Hopefully the new release will push the price of the 808 down (maybe some second hand ones popping up later this year). If i can grab it now for $450, later surely less, and it might actually do everything i need it to do (adequately).

So far (and i appreciate everyone's effort), i'm not getting anything that's actually flagging up a red flag. What i must do now is find out how stable it is for calls and txts.