There is one thing and one thing only that made Nokia the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phonse and there is one thing and one thing only that is currently kicking Nokia’s ass. The company culture is engineer driven, period. Everything is build upon this very perception of reality, period. This is how Nokia introduced the world’s first mobile phone, the Mobira Cityman 900, and this is why Nokia is losing market share and market value for the last couple of years.
Fredrik Idestam, Nokia’s founder, was a mining engineer back in 1865. Fast forward 145 years and you will realize that every product Nokia ever made was build upon that engineer driven mentality and Finn influence. Engineers and particularly Finn engineers, combine great talent and technology to build amazing devices but that’s all they do. They build stuff based on the engineer assumption of efficiency and evolution but they totally toss the experience. Engineers are happy when stuff work and specs are pumped even if they have to struggle with 15 different clicks and settings to get the hardware running. Finns are a special specimen of engineering force who don’t give a damn about any of the “in between nonsense” at all.
Nokia is blessed to be the world’s largest handset maker or to put it in other words, engineer driven or not what they do brings €5 billion worth of food to the table. It’s really hard to argue against an operating profit of €5 billion as of 2008 but someone actually did. Apple and Google both set the standards for the next generation of smartphone OS while Nokia is yet not ready to officially announce Symbian Foundation phone and get over the engineer driven design of the powerful N900 beast. Apple is already working on the 4th version of iPhone OS for the new iPhone to be announced June-July 2010 while Google is on speed with 4 major release of Android OS already. As of now, Nokia is doomed to fail on the developed world. Continue reading »
The smartphone is more than a phone, it’s a digital projection of our yet to be discovered digital ego. Devices like the Nokia N900 might look like useless to the majority of fishermen but are way too important for everyone, fishermen included. The fine line between online and offline is already blurry but it’s still there. If you want to jump on the always online-i make all decisions on my own-and accept full responsibility, now it’s the time. The boat will still be small or big enough to accommodate our bodies but the real question is where our egos will rest, on the boat or inside a mobile device with the speed of a comet?
The video is living proof of Nokia N900 3D capabilities using hardware acceleration. Combine that with TV out and the build in accelerometer and you’ll get a new type of gaming machine for those white collars want a break in the office. The game uses Donkey Kong kind of graphics but that’s not important at all. What really matters is the combination of really cool 3D graphics with 3G/HSDPA/WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS and more stuff.
The N900 is the new N95 in every single way. Keep that in mind for accessories and hacks popping up in the next few months.
Unboxing the Nokia Booklet 3G is more than an unboxing video. The Finns just started getting it right but they have a long way till the end. Just to make thing clear, the Booklet 3G is not a netbook, not even a mini laptop. This new device is actually an implementation of a very old concept: the mobile phone. Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, HSPA, SD memory card reader, Windows 7 Home Premium, QWERTY keyboard and a big screen. Think about it while watching the video.
When Scoble named Nokia N97, the ultimate Facebook device he was right. He was so right that there is no doubt when it comes to choose the best Facebook application for a mobile device in the whole universe. Nokia N97 wins, period.
I don’t know if it’s Nokia or Facebook that designed and engineered the Facebook application for the N97 but it feels like someone flew from Cupertino to Espoo to design the application while having had vodka and sauna during his launch breaks. Seriously, Facebook on N97 it’s the closest thing to the desktop experience with only the options and functions that matter. The design philosophy and simplicity of the applications feels so like Apple but you know it’s not. It’s S60 5th edition with all its prons and cons that runs the N97 Facebook app on this 3.5 inch, 640 x 360 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio) touchscreen. The Facebook app for the iPhone 3GS is responsive and fast due to faster CPU and GPU with transition effects making the experience smooth but that’s all about it. It lacks the immediate engagement and using pleasure of the N97 app. Truth to be told: the N97 faces minor delays here and there, when fast switching the app’s menus. Continue reading »
