Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

After having used the whole Communicator line since the 9000 model (and, ho! how much used! I have been able to wear and break even those 4 keys near the screen in my 9500, and the hinges of both the 9210 and the 9500) I hope that the *next* communicator will be a derivative of n800, linux and open-source based, with clamshell or slide-on design, touchscreen, real keyboard, and phone hw. Symbian is the past.
And, no, I won't buy the e90. My 9500 has just been "regenerated" (hinges, flat cable, screenside keys) and by now series 80 is good for me.

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

I liked how the article looked at the E90 from the perspective of former Communicator users. I only used a Communicator for a very short period of time (a 9500), but I really liked how it continued the old Psion philosophy of "a computer in your pocket" (meaning that you could do anything with it you could do with a desktop -- at that point in time, obviously).

The E90 clearly abandoned that philosophy and while interoperability is a nice feature, it is not the main concern of the target demographic of the Communicator. Having more people developing more and cheaper software for the E90 is something that target couldn't care less about.

Still here and hating it...

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

However, some applications are tied to the IMEI, so you will still need to purchase a second license.

As for the Psion stuff - yes, I believe it's all true. Remember a lot of Psion staff moved to Symbian (it was a spin off from Psion), who were then bought by Nokia, so have now ended up at Nokia.

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

Isn't this what focus groups are for, to avoid this kind of mess?

The focus group members who gave input on the E90 are probably the same focus group members who said a hard cover wasn't necessary on the N800... I do wonder where Nokia find them, they certainly have a knack for finding the least suitable people to give feedback on future products. Talking to people who care about the old/existing products would surely have identified the failings and shortcomings in the E90 (and N800 for that matter).

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

Man, Milhouse, you are getting into one of my biggest peeves. As a Quality feedback Analyst who sees one mistake after another made over customer expectations, I would truly love to watch the decision making process at work...

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

Me too. It does seem strange that Nokia decided to throw away some of the old Communicator features that were clearly cherished by the loyal Communicator users. How could Nokia have been this ignorant? The possibility exists of course that Nokia were not ignorant at all and dropped the old features with full knowledge of the likely reaction, which suggests that Nokia don't give a fig for loyal users, and are happy to alienate an existing user base if it means shifting a few more units to a more fickle and less discerning set of users. Nice. :rolleyes:

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

Well, if you're going to be all rational about it... :rolleyes:

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

It's not only Nokia. I own a Sony Ericsson P910i smartphone, which has what can probably be described as one of the best and smartest one-finger-control-devices (I'm talking about the 5-way rocker wheel) ever invented for a phone.

"Focus groups" told SE that the wheel was too complicated to use (which leads me to believe that at least that focus group was of simian origin, most likely chimpansees), so they dropped it on the P990 in "favour" of a 3-way rocker and two buttons. Suffize to say that that decision was not exactly applauded by the actual users of the phones and has in more than one case resulted in refusal to upgrade, or even total dropout of the SE camp.

I now believe "focus group" may be a synonym for "drunks who happen to be stumbling by our office entrance today".

That, or just apes...

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

As to the lineage of Hildon, the article is mostly correct. I have already said in several posts on this forum that Hildon was based on the Series 90 UI used in the 7700. Why people think the connection between 7700 and 770 is a new revelation, I don't know... maybe because S90 was short-lived.

One important fact is not in the article. In October 2002, Nokia inked a license agreement with RIM to put a version of the blackberry software (for non-touch screen devices) on the Communicators. If there was a PSION related project that was nixed, this is probably the reason why. The timing fits. Unfortunately, the license was not utilised by Nokia until 2006, due indirectly to the NTP wireless email patent lawsuit against RIM that first made all the headlines in 2003.

But Hildon has little in common with the E90 or even S80 - the UI was HEAVILY updated and modified (perhaps by former Psion people) to get the Series 90 UI for touch screen devices. As to the E90 not being a good Communictor - it was not intended to be a true Communicator. Series 80 Communicators have been lagging and in jeopardy for a long time, and once S60 3rd edition started doing rather well and could be adapted to the wider screen, they were doomed. Communicator loyalists should have revolted when it was announced that the next generation would use S60. It was obvious then. Of course, there are things in S80 that are not in S60!

Re: Article to read, about E90 and Hildon.
 

And that is precisely what the old Communicator users are unhappy about - the really good S80 features loved by users that Nokia saw fit to ditch while offering not very much in return.