In With The Old, Out With The New
Quite a few people have asked me recently what I want to see from Nokia in 2008. At first, I didn’t know, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realized exactly what I want from Nokia in 2008. I want them to stop making hardware. Yeah, you read that right. I DON’T want a 10 megapixel camera, or even a 6 megapixel. I don’t want a VGA screen, nor do I want touchscreens or new form factors. I want them to take an entire year off from designing hardware, and not release a single new handset in 2008.
Nokia released around 30 phones in 2007. A mere fraction of those actually incorporated something new that hadn’t been done on a phone before. I’m not talking HUGE features, but small little things. the 8800 Arte has the turn to silence feature, and the tap for the clock. The N81 has the navi-wheel and the N82 has auto-rotate for the screen. The 5610 sports a cool little side-swiping thing, and that’s about it. But there’s so many things that need to be fixed in Nokia’s handsets.
For instance, when I unplug a headset from my N95, I want it to pause the music, or ask if I want it to pause the music. I want predictive text on the QWERTY handsets. I want to be able to use the volume rocker to scroll through long web pages, and I want a host of other small software fixes. I want Nokia’s UIs to be innovative. As the iPhone vs N95 comparisons proved over and over, the UI has serious potential to trump the feature-set.
Also, look at the iPhone. It’s been out for 6 months and has already gotten 6 firmware updates (counting the v1.1.3 on the net right now). Each of those updates has actually added features, not just fixed bugs. The iTunes music store, custom ringtones, etc. Apple’s taken one product and simply made software enhancements. I wonder what would happen if Nokia didn’t release ANY new models in 2008, but simply spent the year releasing updates to the N95 series that added actual features such as those listed above.
So that’s what I want to see from Nokia in 2008. I can wait for a year to see the touchscreen stuff, or to get an 8 megapixel camera, or whatever other hardware features they want to throw in the phones. I’d MUCH prefer to see them spend a full 12 months perfecting the SOFTWARE inside these little computers.
This is exactly the strategy that any cell company should follow in the future. It is better if a company like Nokia introduces 5 to 6 handsets a year, covering all price points. There is not much difference between an N82 and an N95, except for the form factor. More models with the same feature set only confuse an average user than help them in making an informed decision.
In its transition from a hardware maker to a services company, Nokia’s emphasis should be more on perfecting the software and enhancing the user experience - that is what is seen as the differentiator in the market today - not the number of handsets you release.
This is really exciting Ricky - I’m working on a blog post that dovetails with your thoughts so nicely…
Excellent post, I agree with a great deal of your ideas, but if they could just leave a few of the engineers working on cramming HD Video into a phone for 2009! (^_^)
I’d rather Nokia came out with the E71 and only after that put up with the hardware-development
i’d rather like to see an S60 Touch asap with the feature set of an N82 or better, and the display and user experience of an iphone. i will not buy any more nokia handset that is not at least on pair with the web-browsing experience of the iphone/ipod touch class with regards of speed and ease of use. scrolling through a larger webbpage by frantically pressing the d-pad or any other keys? never ever!
Ricky, what you write here is totally right. But I’m still looking forward to VGA or WVGA screens in 2008 since they offer a huge improvement in usability when it comes to web browsing. Remember, 640×480 means a four times less scrolling (at minimum).
I agree with the fact Nokia needs to buck up and start adding more innovative features, give us more updates frequently giving us more features for our handsets and not just leave it to the 3rd party developers.
But I still want to see a Touch Device coming out of their production factory.
Cool and thoughtful rant ricky.. Too bad that nokia isnt taking suggestions..
Other than the E71, which I think provides a good bridge for us who use our phones extensively for both work AND play, I agree wholeheartedly.
The N95 is a great piece of kit, and I’d love it if they spent time tweaking the firmware on it, getting it to the point where it’s rock solid as a multimedia phone. With my N95-3’s copious amounts of RAM I can keep a ton of things open, and/or open new things whenever I need to without closing others… but where’s the increases in program load time? Where’s the fast cam interface? The hardware is there, now get the firmware there as well.
Great entry man, and you can file it in the “never happen” category immediately
-olly
I also fully agree. I use an e61i, sometimes with an iGo stowable Wifi keyboard, and the combination produces a rather nifty “little computer”, as you appropriately put it. I adore the iPhone, but (1) I don’t buy locked gear, (2) it doesn’t shoot video, and (3) I find the lack of third-party software bizarre. Apple seems to be taking care of problem #3 with the forthcoming SDK. Someone will then take care of problem #2 for Apple, which will be great, since I shoot much more video with my phone than with my brick of a Sony handycam. Problem #3 Apple seems quite happy about, so I’m stuck where I am: with an e61i whose firmware I can’t seem to update, and which will probably never have that financial calculator I need. But Nokia will release another twelve phones next year, I’m sure.
I’m glad to see so many carry my position. I just think there’s so many little things that will get lost amidst the 30+ handsets that Nokia is sure to release this year, unless they take some time off and really focus on them.
I agree with most of it, except the iphone firmware part. From what i have seen, its functionality that should have been there in the first place that are basic features in many of nokia handsets already. I suggest you look at that part of your rant again and really compare, cos’ i honestly thinks it abit unfair.
Adding video recording, custom ringtones, multiple sms and mms, cant be compared to adding WRT, full flash support, Demand Paging, and noticeable bumps in speed.
I would like them to keep supporting all their flagship devices all the way back to the N93.
sorry to be the lone reader not singing entirely with choir. thanks
Have to agree 100% here.. I’ve written a list of comments about the n95 at http://wiki.zooid.org/wiki/Nokia_n95_review - notice very few issues (aside from the touchscreen) couldn’t be fixed by firmware updates. It would be great if as you suggest they create a consistent higher end brand, that is more than just s60 version X.X, that like the iPhone is updated and customers aren’t stranded with a device that is functionally compatible but left behind for no reason. As competition heats up, Nokia needs to step up to this challenge now. As it is there are enough drawbacks on that list, and the signal is it’s not going to be receive significant updates, that I’m thinking of returning my n95. As carriers are sued for locking phones, we become more environmentally aware, we pay more and require more commitment to a brand and OS, and open software becomes more predominant it becomes a natural way to work. I am not sure Nokia is up to this as it seems marketing (segmentation) is very strong within the company.
@Bazza - Don’t be sorry, it’s often the lone voices that speak the loudest. The iPhone mention was only to show that it *is* possible to update a device’s firmware more than three times (the current limit for Nokia’s, in most cases, from what I’ve heard), and that you can breathe new life into a device with just a few software changes.
I think you’ve got it completely right Ricky, couldn’t agree more!
s.
Gone are done the days when nokia released 5 to 6 phones a year…. Nokia smells money so they pump out Phones with the same hardware formula and also the same Software to catch everyones eye….
I wish the spent time on S60 9 we’ll probably be on ver 16 by now!
I agree!!
Nice play with ideas, but in reality utter nonsense of course - I don’t won’t to be stuck with N95 hardware for over a year. But they are focusing more and more on software and services, so your point is already taken by Nokia.
Nice post Ricky;
If Nokia (and others) followed a philosophy of releasing fewer devices and more substantial softawre updates, there might be time to grab the types of attention that draws in newer users to paradigm shifting devices.
You are all rights about the need of improving software more than hardware. You guys are all power users but please do have a look at that from mass market perspective:
- I’m convinced that 95% of the people do not update firmwares at all. They are stuck with ones that came preinstalled…
- Most people choose the phone by just looking at them. In order to sell millions, Nokia has to release lots of phones with different form factor. We all know that S60 phones are basically the same, but just look different and have some tiny hardware differences…
Well, good thoughts. But Nokia is a business not a non-profit company. Do you think they would earn enough by just selling old (currently available) models the whole year!!
In that case, they will have to start charging for firmware updates (a la Microsoft in the making ;), how does that sound.
It is not that Nokia is leaving out their users out in the blue. They started with flashlite 1.1 I guess on N-series. Upgraded firmware to support flashlite 2.x on N95 and the lates one has support for ver. 3 (think YouTube). N95 f/w upgrades have given us memory swapping, better (idle time) power management and lots more.
For the past few years Nokia has been at the forefront of h/w (may I say) innovation in cell phones, be it cameras (VGA 30fps video, 5 megpix) or DVB or WLAN or 3D hardware or even form factors…which is basically pushing other manufacturers to do the same. With Motorola almost in dumps I do not want Nokia to take a back seat and be stuck with cell phones at the end on 2008 that did pretty much the same in 2007.
It is nonetheless a thought proviking article, but I do not agree with most of it.
Jan 10th, 2008 at 9:30 am
[...] Ricky has already made a wish for Nokia not to make any single device in 2008 and focus plainly on software improvement, a wish that I totally sympathize with. I don’t want Nokia to stop making devices for a year, that’s a blogger’s daily bread, but I want Nokia to put 70% of its resources this year into software and not hardware. That seems to me a very realistic demand. [...]
Feb 15th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
[...] In short, what Nokia announced today might not be aimed at the WOW-factor, but it makes sense. They almost did what Ricky asked them to do a while ago. [...]
Feb 19th, 2008 at 10:07 am
[...] Honestly, I am very satisfied with the specification of my current phone (Nokia N95 8GB). I have to agree with Ricky Cadden from Symbian Guru, that software improvement is more important than hardware. We need more stable software, better usability and better power management (so we don’t need to charge the battery everyday). More info about Ricky’s posting here. [...]
Mar 16th, 2008 at 2:20 am
[...] intended. I actually just wanted to echo the sentiments of Ricky Cadden in a relatively old post of his at Symbian-Guru, and I ended up borrowing many of his points while adding a few of my [...]