Nokia 801: It's the Lumia 800, but running Symbian instead

It’s bad enough that the Nokia Lumia 800 looks exactly like the Nokia N9, now rumors suggest that Nokia is going to release a Symbian running device called the Nokia 801. Said smartphone is a picture perfect image of the N9 and Lumia 800, except that it has a 4 inch screen that does 640 x 360 pixels, 12 megapixel camera, and will be the first Symbian device that can record 1080p video. Under the hood there’s a 1.4 GHz processor paired up with 512 MB of RAM, though we have no idea if it’s going to be the same 1.4 GHz processor in the Lumia 800 that’s made by Qualcomm or an overclocked version of the 1 GHz processor inside the Nokia 701. Now some might argue that Nokia should use one of their more recent popular designs to sell more smartphones, but we think that Nokia should be put in an insane asylum if they’re seriously considering bringing the 801 to market. Not only would it create confusion among consumers, but it would dilute the flagship status of the Lumia 800. We know HTC and Samsung have no qualms about releasing Windows Phones and Android smartphones that look exactly alike, but this is Nokia we’re talking about. They have plenty of talented hardware designers, so why not make something new and different?

This Nokia 801 leak doesn’t jive with the rumors we’ve been hearing. Yesterday we reported that Nokia would release just one more Symbian smartphone before throwing the platform into the trash. Said smartphone would be the successor to the Nokia N8, the company’s flagship cameraphone. In mid December 2011 an image (above) from a product manual of an unreleased Symbian smartphone called the Nokia 803 hit the internets. It looks absolutely nothing like the Nokia 801. In fact, it looks more like the N8 than anything else, which makes a ton of sense.

Anyway, we’ll find out if the 801 is real or not at MWC later this month.

Update: Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog also covered this story, and he points out that the Nokia Lumia 710 running Windows Phone is basically an exact copy of the Nokia 603 running Symbian Belle. That’s a good point, but still, we’d rather not see Nokia put Symbian on a device that’s already been used to run two other operating systems.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

Guest

So you’ve turned what is obviously a fan made image into a non-story just so you can have yet another dig at Nokia. Bravo Stefan, you’ll soon be in the same troll league as your best buddy Eldar.
[email protected]

Yeah, a non-story cooked by that stupid russian troll.
The N8 succesor doesn’t look like Lumia 800 at all.
Anonymous

I liked the story! Besides….he notes that it’s probably rumor!

Get a Grip Nokia fanboy’s…all the other companies are subject to the same speculation!
- http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
  
  Thanks!
Xadges

Just shows how poor Stefan is at his job when it has to be pointed out to him that a model announced in October looks similar to another model that was announced before it. Yet another utterly pointless article from Stefan, really drags this site down into the gutter.

P.S. I’m an iOS/Android user before any nokia fanboi comments are thrown this way.
- http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
  
  Apologies for not remembering every single smartphone that Nokia released in 2011. Will work on that!
  - Xadges
    
    Not exactly difficult for someone in your line of work. Perhaps apologise for the quality of your articles lately instead?
    
    If your intentions were to turn intomobile into a gutter press tabloid style site then congratulations, you have achieved it. I’m sure your mate Eldar would be proud of you!
    
    Feel free to reply with witty comment……..
    - http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
      
      That Lumia 800 review must’ve really pissed you off.
Moh-xtc

I’m also disappointed to see Stefan being allowed to use intomobile as an outlet for his own ego and vendettas against Nokia. Please consider the other writers here and the sites reputation. Reviews here helped me choose my last galaxy phone.
- http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
  
  My dream is to see Nokia’s blood run in the streets! All kidding aside, a vendetta? Are you kidding me? A vendetta is something someone holds against the man who slept with your girlfriend. A vendetta is something I’d hold against someone if they burned my house down. Whether Nokia sells 19 million or 17 million smartphones in Q1 2012 … do you honestly think I care about that enough to lay awake at night?
  
  Oh and I’m glad you’re enjoying your Samsung Galaxy and that we helped you pick it out.
  - Moh-xtc
    
    I trust the words of the other intomobile guys but you are clearly corrupt now. The fact you have to defend every comment shows how low you’ve fallen. Time you got a new job, I here Eldar is looking for a professional butt licker, you suit that role so well already.
    - http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
      
      Excuse me for trying to engage in some active discussion with the community. I’ll just shut up now and let people slander me in the comments section.
SiXi

Unprofessional article. Intomobile’s quality drains down because of this kind of articles.
- http://www.intomobile.com/ Stefan Constantinescu
  
  What would you have preferred I said?
http://twitter.com/rsametband Ricardo Sametband

As someone in The Nokia Blog points out, the 801 is missing a hardware button to access the list of open apps to multitask (long press of the home button in any symbian device), an observation that adds a point to the “this is fake” team…
- Steve
  
  Good point… but then I am sure ‘long press’ functionality could be added to the screen based menu button in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Anonymous

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Nana100

Sucks
Steve

Personality, I hope this rumour is real, although it would be nice if the ‘rumour’ included a xenon flash ! The design is no doubt the most attractive out there, and perhaps Nokia Belle’s Androidesque appearance might do well for Nokia in shops since so many have accustomed themselves to Android’s appearance. Yes WinPho is fresh and different, but I do like how Belle runs on my N8, and I am sure there could be further (even if limited) improvement. Marketed well, this rumour phone could do better than everyone expects of Nokia these days.
- Steve
  
  OMG… auto spell correct changed “personally” to “personality” ! Oops…
Jean2009

This article is silly and clearly written by an amateur. None of the devices using Symbian are even close to that using MeeGo or those using Windows Phone. All the hardware used in the Lumia 710 is different from the 603. It’s only the casing that looks similar and still not the same.
The CPU and GPU and the network chips of the Symbian, MeeGo and WP7 devices are from another brand each, and developped regarding so, This, meaning you wouldn’t been able to run one system on another device. Furthermore, for instance, you have 2GB flash on the 603 plus a microSDXC slot (up to 64GB or more – undocumented feature 32GB officially), and 8GB but no microSD on the Lumia 710, the camera of the 603 is 5MP Full focus (enhanced fix focus), that of the 603 is 5MP autofocus (better except for movies), the screen is LCD 3.5” IPS 360×640 on the 603, LCD 3.7” 480×800 on the Lumia 710. The USB port of the Nokia 603 also used as USB on-the-go (used to attach devices as USB Flash or hard drives or a mouse or a kayboard…), can behave as an mass storage device when connected to a computer, or used as a modem, like over the bluetooth.
Also the Noka 603 can be used several days without recharging when the Lumia 710 is only safe for one day. Symbian has also plenty of gadgets into their OS (like DNLA) and have many more applications than WP in their store and elsewere where they are sold or for free (Symbian is compatible with GNU and Free and Open source software when WP is not).

The Nokia 603 is in fact a clear winner when the Lumia 710 is a product that met a lot of publicity !
This is true about any recent Symbian on market. They are clearly very interesting, beating any Android, iPhone or WP including their own. For instance the N8 has no contender yet in february 2012 regarding many of its features.