Recently… Just when Airtel and Aircel launched the Apple iPhone4 into the Indian markets, Nokia came out with a campaign – iDoalotmore.

This campaign was timed to perfection and it got so much press that it got listed all the way up to Engadget and others.

This is around the same time when I had just finishing my review of the Nokia E7 and was looking at the next wave of devices to hit Indian shores.

Things sure have changed since I reviewed my first cell phone. There were clear issues to talk about, more people who would look and read what you were writing. Heck things weren’t so competitive and there wasn’t so much back slapping as much as we see today between bloggers and manufacturers.

I had a Nokia N82 back then, one helluva camera phone! Nothing could beat it, it was more than capable of taking apart competion when it came to clicking photos! The Apples, HTCs, Samsungs etc. weren’t even close to close back then. The N82 held itself well and to this day remains a prized possession for me, the camera and the simplicity in it’s design – something I like in  it even today.

Enter the Nokia N8, the one device that had the potential and capability to enter as the successor to the N82. Camera optics that were great, a design that wasn’t too bold and radical, but simple & understated… the colours adding spice to the device. I had the chance to preview the device well before it’s launch, got to review it and later on even went ahead and bought it, despite everyone telling me to not buy it. It’s now been 4-5 months since I bought it. The device despite it niggles (no device, iOS or Android is immune to it), is one of the best ‘investments’ I’ve made.

The camera on the N8 is something that has amazed me and really allowed me to enjoy clicking. I haven’t had the chance to click so many photos (a mundane office to home lifestyle is to blame for this and the lack of anything interesting), but I’ve never felt like I’m handicapped when I wanted to click a photo! The Carl Zeiss lens, the 12MP optics, xenon flash – they’ve been integrated so well to give an imaging solution that can truly be hailed as one of the best that’s available this side of the planet. Whether it’s clicking photos of people, landscapes, devices and what not, I’ve never been disappointed by it’s output.

(See the image in full size)

I’ve yet got to see a camera module on a phone that can perform that well or surpass it. No matter what your poison when it comes to OS, the N8 remains the cameraphone to beat. While settings and filters for cameras on other platforms have grown allowing you to ‘customize’ a shot. When it comes to true brilliance and actual pictorial quality – the N8 is quite simply the best.

Everyone today is trying to cram the sensor with tons of features and what not… it’s amazing how far the camera too has come. We are now talking of 16MP and 21MP devices which will blow us away. And to think it was all the humble 7650 that started it all!

So if you get to hear about the awesome photos from your device. Do remember, your device got there because somebody thought of making cameraphones in Espoo.

Below is a photo that Nokia had released which sealed the deal for me to get the N8.

So what do you like about your Nokia phone? Tell us and let everyone know.