Nokia N86: It's official, it's 8 megapixels

We met the Nokia N86 yesterday, but now it's official. The 8-megapixel camera phone is the first to include variable aperture, and we've got pictures for your perusal and edification

Richard Trenholm

Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.

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Richard Trenholm

Feb. 17, 2009 4:09 a.m. PT

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Yesterday we saw leaked reports from Singapore revealing the new Nokia N86 prematurely poking its head into the wild. Today the 8-megapixel camera phone was confirmed.

Nokia seems to have fudged the announcement, the confused timing of which left us scratching our heads. Still, we're glad it's official, because now instead of fuzzy PowerPoint snaps and leaked spec sheets, we get PR gold like the claim that the N86 "is comparable to a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera... whether it's running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunrise over Sydney". Running from beery louts in Putney and sleet over Sydenham, more like. Here's a fun little video.

Along with its Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, we now learn the N86 is the first mobile device with variable aperture. That's the hole in the camera that lets light in, to you and me. Altering aperture creates different effects, such as bokeh.

You also get a scratch-resistant OLED screen, built-in compass and automatic geotagging for Flickr and Ovi. It has a dinky little kick-stand for watching movies and stuff, and a built-in FM transmitter so you can stream music to your car radio. Click through our photos for more.