The Nokia 8 is generating a lot of hype for good reason. The company's flagship phone has a blazing fast processor, custom camera software and, perhaps most importantly, the Nokia brand name.
What it won't have? American buyers anytime soon.
"We are not planning to bring the Nokia 8 to the US at this stage," Florian Seiche, who runs Nokia parent HMD, said in an interview on Wednesday. Seiche's statement contradicts reports that a special RAM supercharged version of the phone would launch stateside.
Nokia once ruled the cell phone market and its distinctive ring tone could be heard on streets and in offices around the world. The company didn't keep up with a changing market and it was eventually sold, first to Microsoft and then to HMD. The decision to sidestep the US market, at least for now, comes as competition in the high-end phone market reaches a new crescendo. Samsung recently unveiled the Galaxy Note 8 and Apple is expected to launch as many as three new iPhones next week.
On Wednesday, Nokia launched the 8 in Australia for AU$900, which will be followed by a Sept. 13 release in the UK, where it'll retail for £599. Americans who desperately want the Nokia 8 should consider buying it from Australia, where the price converts to just under $720. The UK price translates to around $780.
Why would you pay all those dollars for a phone? The Nokia 8 has a lot going for it, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the same CPU you'll find in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Like most new flagship phones, it has a dual camera -- but a fun plus is software that allows you to take pictures with the front and back cameras simultaneously. The software, Seiche said, is designed with the youth market, which was born too late to have nostalgia for Nokia, in mind.
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