I don’t normally cover S40 devices here, frankly, cause they’re not Symbian, so I don’t feel that they fit. However, I am going to mention the newly announced Nokia Prism 7900. Why? Cause it innovates in ways that I think the industry is going to have to go, and soon.
The 7900 is a candybar S40 device, with a lowly 2MP cam and nothing really fancy. Except the OLED display, "living backgrounds", and user-changable backlights (which you can get a demo of here). The backlights are something I’ve asked for before, and finally someone at Nokia decided it would be a cool idea, as well. Why? Cause it’s cheap to implement, and makes the phone that much more "mine", without alot of hassle. And frankly, this is an area which I think that all device manufacturers should look at.
I think that it’s easy, as a manufacturer, to get caught up in the
processor race, just like Sony and Microsoft have done with the PS3 and
Xbox 360, respectively. The whole processor race just gets ridiculous,
and to the point where there’s not as big of a difference from the
previous. I can’t find the link, but I remember when the PS3 was soon
to come out, someone posted screenshots of video game generations
through the years. At the beginning, there was a significant difference
in the image quality between generations, but that difference dwindled
as you came closer to the present.
Enter the Wii. It uses last generation’s hardware (being built on the
Gamecube), but tweaks it a little, going back to rethink the smaller
aspects such as how to make it more fun, and how to better engage the
audience. And it’s been wildly successful, opening up a whole new
market segment of gamers that didn’t used to be gamers.
That’s where I think the Nokia Prism 7900 comes in. And I hope there’s
more. Instead of trying to cram more megapixels in, I think it’s cool
that Nokia is going back and offering some smaller, but still really
really exciting innovations.
The OLED screen isn’t anything new, but how many manufacturers are
using it? I remember when the technology was developed, everyone was so
excited cause it’s supposed to use less battery and produce more vivid
colors, yet no one is really using it. Same for the "living"
background. It’s nothing incredible, technologically speaking. But it’s
neat and adds to the coolness factor. The keypad backlights being
user-changeable from 40+ different colors could not have cost too much
extra to implement, and yet it’s a way to make the device more "yours",
which will really be a plus to consumers.
I’m not saying that all manufacturers should stop hardware innovation
and research and start adding flashing lights to all their devices.
What I am saying is that I don’t think it would hurt if these cool
little things made it into more devices.
What do you think? Do you agree, or would you much rather have a 10MP camera phone?
