iPhone to N95: 5 – Multimedia Computer or Feature Phone?
This is the last installment of this iPhone to N95 series, in which guest author Serko Artinian, Director/Editor at SERKOART®, explores the core difference between the iPhone and the N95-4 , the ability to install 3rd-party software.
There is no question in my mind that the currently thriving S60 community is a force to be reckoned with! Nokia and Symbian have built what has been for over 5 years now a Mobile OS that offers its users everything from the ability to run desktop class Apps in the palm of your hand to streaming live video content straight from your handset to the internet. There are literally thousands of Applications for S60 and that is a huge advantage over any other Mobile ecosystem in the world today.
Harnessing most of these powerful applications is another story entirely. Apart from Nokia’s “Download!” application portal which is focused more on 1st party software, there really is no central hub for an S60 user (especially a first time) to go to and have an efficient and streamlined way of downloading/purchasing quality software (Handango is one example but their library is far from “complete”).
Being a power user on the other hand involves investing a decent portion of time per day/week in pursuit of that next great S60 app. Whether you choose to RSS great sources such as Symbian-Guru.com or not is your choice but luckily most S60 power users such as The Guru are so passionate about the community that they are generally “Open to Anything”. By that I mean open to answering any question you may have regarding a specific application (including where/how to track it down) or troubleshooting your handset’s current software glitch. (editor note: thank you, Serko)
How does the iPhone currently fare? Well speaking in “official” terms the iPhone is still currently classified as a “Feature Phone” which basically means that it hasn’t been opened up enough to allow for the downloading and installation of 3rd Party software. Apart from Web Apps which are basically shortcuts to mobile optimized versions of websites that can live natively on the iPhone’s home screen, what you see is what you get with the current generation of the iPhone when you remove it from the box.
Both devices have their positive and negative aspects. It’s ultimately up to the end user to decide which “flavor” best suits their needs. Unfortunately for most casual mobile users in the US, the “oh that’s so cool” design aesthetic of the iPhone (coupled with its more attractive price point) tend to be looked upon as “more for your money”. The saddest part to this story is that most S60 users don’t even know what their handsets are capable of doing thus switching to an iPhone would actually seem like a step up in more ways than one.
I definately agree with what you say in the last paragraph. It sometimes really botters me how stupid or just unknowing some people are. A friend also bought a n95-2 (partly on my recomendation). But not too long after that, some guy came by telling him all about his fancy iphone. He was actually impressed (which is ok, the iphone is a nice, good looking device). But he started doubting for a sec if he had made the right choice buying the n95. Not too long after that I told him all his device is capable off, which again completely turned him around (told him about gps, 5mp, vga video, faster internet (iphone only does GPRS (!) in NL) and some other stuff). Which he is now enjoying and able to use pretty much every day.
But this shows how unknowing people are about their phones. Maybe this is because of apples marketing stragedy, maybe because a lot of people just don’t care.
I mean c’mon, showing off with the “my location” function of google maps on the iphone, its as inaccurate as who knows what plus, any phone which runs google maps can do it!
What you say seems particularly true in teh American market. It’s sad fact that a huge percentage of smart phones are returned becuase buyers cannot figure out how to work them … which is another reason why the iPhone seems like a step up, since most people can figure it out without instructions.
Most of my friends seem to think I am some sort of Uber Geek, and they keep asking my why I don’t have an iPhone. The answer is that it doesn’t do so many of the things that I take for granted – and because it is locked down tight that the only way to really use it is to jailbreak it, thus invalidating any warranty.
Maybe the iPhone 2 will bring enough improvement that I can live with the phone being locked … becuase in spite of all the claims to the contrary, I’ve yet to see an ‘iPhone killer’ device that comes close to the sweet interface of the iPhone.
There’s nothing surprising about this. Compare the advertising budgets of the two companies, especially the US AD spending.
I’ll never understand why Nokia didn’t take the opportunity to point out all these differences and just let Apple steadily gain marketshare.
The iphone is talked about because it’s so heavily marketed, and every time I have to jump in and mention the superiority of Nokia, but I can’t do all their marketing for them.