For the last year or so, there have been talks on the internet about the lack of innovation, when it comes to Nokia’s S60 devices. Looking at the N95 as a model and all the new things it brought to the table especially in that small footprint, there’s a sense of steadiness, almost as if the Finnish maker put together the N95 and decided to take a long nap. People are complaining, worrying, yawning and some have already crossed off Nokia saying that it’s already too late for them to wake up, that they’ve been beat by many other makers in their own S60 empire, like Samsung and its Innov8.
As much as I am irritated by Nokia’s strategy, since as an early adopter I NEED something new every one or two months, I have to say that I not only understand but also am 100% behind Nokia in this. See, the whole issue is related to the difference between Innovation and Maturity, or what I like to call the 2 industry fuels.
Like it or not, there’s a great gap between the time when a technology is first released and the time it is ready for mass-market customer adoption. If a phone maker was to release new features every 3 or even 6 months, we would find ourselves with a lot of cutting-edge crap that hasn’t been polished to be used efficiently, and this is why maturity is as important (if not more important) than innovation.
2006 and 2007 were the Innovation years in Nokia’s calendar: the N91, N93 and N95 were all almost visionnary products with a lot of things to prove. They were also very flawed products with early adopters shouting their hearts out at each and every aspect of them.
2008 has been the Maturity year: just take a look at all the nice products that have been announced this year. Yes, they don’t bring anything groundbreaking and special, but they do stand on their own in an utmost perfect way: the N79 and N85, for example, are a good sign of the software and hardware improvements that have occurred since the N95. Their pricing is also a proof of how the technology has evolved from being an expensive early-adopter exclusivity, to an affordable almost mass-market availability. I will repeat it over and over again: there’s nothing you can fault these 2 handsets at, and this is why I am EXTREMELY excited about them and am annoyed that I don’t have the means to buy any of them.
How about 2009? Well, since the N85 and N79, as well as the E66 and E71, are the best Nokia can do with today’s technology, then this technology is now fully mature. So 2009 will be the Innovation year again. It’ll be axed a lot on screens (touchscreens, VGA resolutions, OLED) and location-based services but also on processors and imaging as well as a few other surprise aspects that we’re far from thinking about.
I have high hopes in 2009 and expect (notice the use of “expect” and not “wish”) not to be let down. I realize that we had to go through this stage of steadiness in order to fully develop the existing features and hence make room for newer ones.
Do you agree with me? If yes, please, link to this article each time you see someone moaning about the lack of innovation in Nokia’s headquarters. If not, what are the reasons that make you think it’s already too late for Nokia?
