The Nokia N8 looks great, but also sounds fantastic, with Dolby Digital Plus inside to fine-tune audio output, whether it’s from music, movies or games. Read on, and head how the Nokia N8 price your ears above all others.
Pre-order the Nokia N8 at Vodafone
Surround sound (where available)
The Nokia N8 can pipe home theatre-class surround sound to your TV when connected using its HDMI socket. It’s a feature that elevates the N8 from humble smartphone to portable entertainment centre.
What’s more, squeezing surround sound from your TV is dead simple. So simple, it just takes one cable. Hook it up to your TV or surround sound system using the HDMI socket in the top of the phone and the included adapter. Just like hooking up a Blu-ray or DVD player, the N8 will send HD pictures and video down the cable, giving you a true home theatre experience, without any of the hassle of swapping discs.
We’re talking HD output and full 5.1 surround sound, backed by Dolby processing so it sounds amazing, and as tasty as that is, it’s just the appetiser.
Supercharged stereo
The Dolby technology inside the Nokia N8 doesn’t just spit out luscious surround sound audio for home theatre systems. Say you’re watching a surround sound movie on the move, using standard headphones. No problem, you won’t miss any of the audio tracks, since Dolby Digital Plus is smart enough not to simply select the front left and right tracks, instead you’ll get something more special.
Dolby Digital Plus analyses the audio tracks and creates a down-mix to combine them all. It does this in real-time, using the power of the Nokia N8, to make sure the sound you hear is rich and realistic. You’ll be able to pick out dialogue without effort but still hear sound effects and music.
Musical maestro
When the Nokia N8 is playing music through headphones, Dolby Mobile technology is hard at work inside. It smooths out the volume of tracks so there’re no jarring leaps in loudness, and even enhances stereo separation, to give you the feeling of being sat in the middle of a concert hall, rather than on the bus.
Of course, the Nokia N8 has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can use your own cans, and Dolby Mobile technology works to make sure every audio signal leaving the phone sounds a good as it possible can.
And surround sound abilities extend to the N8’s music playback too. Audio purists will be glad to know the N8 can play music files encoded with Dolby Digital Plus, meaning they’re packed with surround sound data, not just the standard stereo channels.
A movie library in your pocket
You’d be forgiven for thinking that, because they’re full-blown surround sound movies in HD, the films stored on a Nokia N8 would swamp the phone’s memory. Not so. Dolby Digital Plus is a more efficient storage method for surround sound audio than Dolby Digital 5.1, and means more data can be crammed into the Nokia N8’s internal storage.
How many movies can the N8 carry? Around 30, with full surround sound and 720p HD visuals. It’s like carrying a movie library with you everywhere, with the added advantage of being able to pitch up at a friend’s house and put on a show using their TV!
Neat card trick
The Nokia N8 is even smart when it’s switched off. Say you’ve got a file encoded with Dolby Digital Plus saved to a memory card slipped into the N8. Even if you don’t want to watch it through the N8 itself, you can use the Nokia smartphone as a USB drive, even if it’s switched off.
Just hook the Nokia N8 up to a PC or Mac, or even a set top box or games console, and its memory card will become available, ready to offload all that surround sound-encoded goodness.
Future proof sound
The Dolby Digital Plus technology inside the Nokia N8 currently outputs audio in 5.1 surround sound. That’s enough to make the most of most home cinema set-ups, with two speakers for the front left and front right, two rear left and right speakers, a centre speaker and a subwoofer. But that’s just the start.
The Dolby Digital Plus system supports more channels, all movie makers need to do is add the extra audio to movie files, so when you load them up onto the N8 and connect it to a home theatre with enough speakers, everything works just fine.
With all that technology inside, the Nokia N8 is in some ways better future-proofed than a home cinema system packing Blu-ray. It’s got tons of storage space, is ready to slap HD images all over your TV, outputs in the best possible surround sound, and is upgradable in the future without any effort on your part too! All you need to enjoy it is your very own Nokia N8.
Read more N8 HD Entertainment Guides
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