Review: Nokia N8
Calls
Making and receiving phone calls on the N8 is about on par with other touch-based phones. It's a bit more menu-driven than just-type-on-the-dialpad-dummy. The software Call button persists on the three home screens. If you are anywhere else in the phone's UI, however, you have to exit out and get back to the home screen before you can make a call. Incoming calls interrupt whatever it is you might be doing, and the software controls allow you to ignore it, answer it, etc.
Given the size of the N8's screen, I would have preferred a larger software dialpad, but typing in numbers on a touch phone is slowly becoming less commonplace. Most people will initiate calls directly from their contact database. Start to type a name or number, and the N8 searches your contacts for matching letters/numbers. This search can actually be turned off, if you wish, though I can't imagine why.
In-call options are all accessed via the software Options button. It offers a robust number of features, including three-way calling, access to other apps, and so on. I was able to merge calls easily, as well as switch between two separate calls.
Contacts
The only way I was able to sync my vast contact database with the N8 was to set up an Ovi account and use Nokia's account sync tools. They are clumsy, and not as simple as those offered by others. For example, it took efforts across multiple days to even create an Ovi account. The phone just didn't want to let me do it. Without an Ovi account, it's pretty hard to back things up, especially as a Mac user.
As for the contact application itself, it appears to be almost identical to the S60 contact app. It's barren and boring, but offers plenty of fields for contact data. It offers minimal rich cross integration with social networks, for example. It's a silo'd application that interacts only with the phone and messaging apps.
Hands-On: Nokia N8
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