maemo.org - Talk - Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

maemo.org - Talk (https://talk.maemo.org/index.php)

- Nokia N900 (https://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=44)

- - Why N900 failed on consumer market ? (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=66050)

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ysss (Post 882156)

Oh great, now you need to take a uni class to get qualified to handle an n900.

Now I know why N900 failed in the consumer market, it's Stanford's fault. That class scares people like you away. That's bad.

Anyway, I must assure you that the class is supposed to teach you *programming* with N900 (and some trivial junks like embedded system architecture etc.).

So don't worry, take it easy, you don't need to take this class for just handling N900. You may continue to use it now. Good good.

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

I don't get this question. N900 dominates on the market it was designed to please.

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken-Young (Post 881483)

This I think shows why something like the N900 won't sell in large volume, no matter how it is promoted, and even if the company doesn't immediately anounce that the OS is a dead end.

No, it really doesn't.

Quote:

We want as open, and configurable a device as possible. We are interested in things like uboot, and setting up our phones for dual booting. ... This is simply not what the mass market wants or needs.

Sure, but by and large most people will never go down that route.

Quote:

If you look at the fact that Apple is now harvesting roughly half of all profit in the smart phone market, worldwide, you've got to admit they're doing something right.

They are delivering a well tuned and integrated experience.

Quote:

And what they're doing is locking everything down. We may grind our teeth about it. iOS developers may grumble the hoops and restrictions. But what most consumers want is nearly the opposite of what N900 owners want.

NO. End users do not buy devices because they are locked down. Being locked down in no way confers Apple an advantage over their competitors. The integrated experience between the App Store and iTunes delivers everything that makes the iProduct experience good.

Quote:

Consumers want a device that cannot be bricked no matter what they do.

The average user won't brick any device short of unplugging it during an update. And even Apple's control doesn't guarantee that every device will update cleanly.

Quote:

Consumers do not want to dual boot - they don't want to boot period.

Irrelevant. Most people won't do it and won't care but there's no justification for blocking those that do unless you have other reasons for it.

Quote:

Consumers want a machine on which spyware cannot be installed.

No such machine exists.

Quote:

I have several relatives who are tremendously happy with their iPhones; not a single one of them wants to discuss the virtues of different swappiness values with me. They do not want to go on a treasure hunt around the net to find apps.

And not a damn bit of that has anything to do with locking down the device. None of it.

Quote:

I fear that if the N9 is as open as the N900, it will only sell in N900-like quantities.

No, if the user experience sucks and the device is poorly advertised then it will sell badly. If the user experience is good and it is well advertised, it will probably sell well regardless of how open the device is.

Quote:

My guess is that our best hope in the long run is for Nokia (or some other big player) to release their flagship phones with Symbian, or Android, and for them to simultaneously support the installation of meego on that same hardware platform, to satisfy the geeks.

Except that there'd be absolutely zero point in that. Why support an OS like MeeGo when you're just moving all your users to Android in the end, anyway? And Symbian... I don't care about Symbian.

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

for me it boils down to this:

- if the folks buy an iphone for it is from apple and they want to be parented by apple: well their choice. nothing todo.
- if the folks choose android for they love google and they wamt to be parented by google: same story:nothing todo.

but if there are is room for improvement for linux based devices(and i think there is a lot) and the folks don't want the n900 for it doesn't serve their needs somehow i am all ear. some feature a consumer might want the n900 doesn't have(think there is some)?
whats about battery lifetime - is that an issue?

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

i don't know about the n900 sales on the rest of the world. but it flopped here in the philippines. one advantage though that i have on having an n900 is that i stand out coz i'm unique.

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shockgiga (Post 882525)

i don't know about the n900 sales on the rest of the world. but it flopped here in the philippines. one advantage though that i have on having an n900 is that i stand out coz i'm unique.

bro im planning to buy the n900, worth it ba? may updates na ba satin ng PR 1.3? and nkakabili ba s nokia ng license s docs to go?

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

I believe all these notion about N900 failed on consumer market is flawed. We are comparing Apple iPhone/Android when the N900 was targeted at a different market segment in the first place. The form and function would already tell you, 'don't compare the N900 with a slim and sexy iPhone'.

Did it sell any phones? - We know at least 100,000 globally in 5 weeks back in 2009.
Did consumers buy it? - We did. I'm not a tech person, but I bought it, and am enjoying using it.
Did the phone and all it's advertised functions worked? - So far I'm only seeing some complaint on fMMS - and that's because of some user's expectation of MMS service.
Did it achieve Nokia's objective to strengthen its Maemo development community - For an average non-tech person perspective of this Maemo forum, it looks pretty successful. What do you think? Any benchmark we could use to prove it failed again in this area?
Did it create the platform for other devices with this OS? - Well, you could say it paved the way for Meego/N9?
Did it achieve Nokia sales targets? We'll never know that.

Let's see what some tech reviews say about it...

Cnet's editor ratings 3.5/5.0 (very good)
Average user rating 4.0/5.0
Recommendation: While it has yet to reach its full potential, the Nokia N900 is a powerful mobile device with excellent browsing capabilities and vast customization options. However, its unintuitive interface and other limitations make this a smartphone for tech enthusiasts and early adopters only.
http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/...-33770010.html

Engadget recommendation: Is it a keeper? As a daily workhorse smartphone for your average Jill or Joe, it's impossible to recommend the N900 at this point; it's just missing too much functionality that's waiting to be written by some enterprising CS grad students with spare time on their hands. As a second, dedicated browsing device or a geeky weekend hobby, though -- possibly an upgrade from an N810 -- the N900 is a very compelling device indeed, as long as you remember one simple rule: it's a computer with a phone, not a phone that can compute.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/nokia-n900-review/

Stuff says: Speed + Performance. The Nokia N900 is one of the most powerful phones on the planet. It's a computer in your pocket that allows you to communicate in every way imaginable.
http://n900.stuff.tv/

T3 recommendation: With a customisable interface, great multimedia features and capable browser, the N900 is far better than any Nokia handset we’ve seen in along time. In terms of browsing and sheer multitasking capability, it’s also superior to other smartphone rivals.
http://www.t3.com/reviews/phones/mob...ia-n900-review
Voted #65 on T3 Hot 100 (by the way, #3 was Microsoft Project Natal, #2 HTC Desire, #1 Apple iPAD)

Who still thinks N900 failed on consumer market?

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfh11 (Post 881165)

True, any company wishes that their product will be the next big thing. But when you set your sights low for sales volume and adjust your business model accordingly with limited marketing/support, the definition of success changes.

I believe Nokia has actually stated that the n900 sales far exceeded their expectations (wish I had a citation for this). Then to Nokia, this is the exact opposite of failure.

Citation: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/5984678.cms

Here you go:
http://www.techknots.com/mobiles/nok...disappointing/

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian08 (Post 882547)

bro im planning to buy the n900, worth it ba? may updates na ba satin ng PR 1.3? and nkakabili ba s nokia ng license s docs to go?

well, aside from psfreedom, web browsing and basic phone functions. i'd say it's a 5 out of 10.

yes im running 1.3 right now. although i find the previous version better and the image scrolling in 1.3 is laggy.

don't know how the app licensing works bro e.

all in all, if you're into fun, don't get it. up to now i'm still looking for a good reason to justify the $550 i spent on this thing.

i'm not discouraging you bro. just being honest and trying to save you from a long and painful love/hate relationship with a handset.

Re: Why N900 failed on consumer market ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph.skb (Post 881748)

Why N900 failed on consumer market?
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64R1DI20100528

(Reuters) - Nokia sold less than 100,000 top-of-the-range N900 smartphones in its first five months on the market, researcher Gartner said, indicating it has yet to mount a serious challenge to the iPhone and Blackberry.

Why N900 didn't fail on consumer market?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/n...five-months-so

The N900 is not a mass-market device. Nokia's been very clear that the N900 was launched as a means to strengthen its Maemo development community (on the path to MeeGo we now know).

Update: While Nokia doesn't normally give out detailed sales figures per device, we've just been told that more than 100,000 N900s sold in the first five weeks -- not months -- globally.

What is going on???

Nokia sold less than 100,000 N900 in its first five months on the market, researcher Gartner said.
Nokia told that more than 100,000 N900s sold in the first five weeks -- not months -- globally.

Is researcher Gartner limited to one country, or is a serious contradiction here?

What data did Gartner use?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are worried about price, find a contest. Like here:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...866#post881866