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GLOBAL – The Nokia N8 is the first device in the world to sport the all new Symbian^3 operating system. And boy, does it show it off. This latest iteration of Symbian sports a re-written graphics architecture designed to make the most out of hardware acceleration resulting in a fast and really responsive user interface. The addition of support for new gestures such as a single click interaction, flick (or kinetic) scrolling and pinch zoom make interaction a breeze and navigating the device a pleasure. That’s not where the improvements stop though. Read on after the jump for the full lowdown.

Fire up the Nokia N8 and you’re met with a choice of three, customisable homescreens. Jumping between each requires a single swipe of your finger across the Nokia N8’s capacitive touchscreen. Getting elsewhere in the device is a breeze, too. Want to fire off an email? Two clicks from anywhere on the device and you’ll be typing your next missive. Want to listen to music (whilst doing something else)? No problem as you’re only ever three clicks away from listening to a track. And, with true multitasking, there’s no need to quit any programs to start playing — the Nokia N8 sports a new visual task switcher so you can easily jump between open applications.

Tuning into music is a joy with a new cover flow feature making access to your library a cinch. Photos, too, get some new visual treats. There are transition effects when you’re watching slide shows or flicking through pics and thumbnails are shown off in a quick to access grid format to make hunting down snaps easy.

Consumer feedback highlighted a need for slicker, more streamlined menu structures with the minimum of menu prompts. With the Nokia N8, the team has responded to make the user journey as streamlined as possible, making the platform easier and faster at every opportunity. With a host of new touch interactions, slicker menu structure and fast task switching, the Nokia N8 using Symbian^3 should be as easy to use as it is slick to watch.

What’s more, the new version of Symbian also supports HD video recording, which the Nokia N8 takes full advantage of. With its 12-megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics and graphics acceleration, the Nokia N8 will give you high definition video on tap, ensuring that you can not only leave your camera at home, but your camcorder too.

There’s been a huge amount of work put into Symbian^3 by the Symbian Foundation member companies, including Nokia itself. What we’ll see on the Nokia N8 will be a fresh, renewed experience. And we can’t wait. Let us know in the comments below what you’re looking forward to the most.

Check out more about the Nokia N8.