Nokia
N8

The N8 was a critically important product for Nokia when it was announced. It was the first major product to ship after the disastrous Nokia N97. The N8 was designed to help Nokia regain the initiative with its hardware given that it was no longer synonymous with aspirational high-end (and high-margin) phones. The N8 was packed with advanced features such as a 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash. It came in striking colours (see below) and a quality aluminium casing. At the time it was considered that the N8 would be the benchmark by which Nokia's recovery will be measured. At launch it had a retail price of €370. Nokia declared the N8 marked the introduction of a new philosophy inside the company as it tried to focus on a "software first" approach, rather than letting hardware lead the definition of a device. The phone appeared in the 2010 movie TRON: Legacy as Sam Flynn's portable hacking device. He uses it to download the latest Encom operating system, due to be released the next day, from the company's servers. He then proceeds to upload it to the Internet, claiming all software should be free, before heading to the roof and jumping off it. You can see the scene below. Nokia created limited edition themed N8 packs and sent them to social media influencers to promote both the launch of the movie and the phone. They also released a TRON-themed game, which unlocked exclusive content such as wallpapers, ringtones and a chance to win other Nokia devices. Photo Credit: Nomad Design Associates Sadly, when the N8 eventually shipped the software was its Achilles heel. A beautifully designed product with a quality finish and excellent camera ended up being completely derailed by its Symbian operating system and associated software.