The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

I've had my N900 for a year and I must say that now never want to own another Nokia ever again. I've never been so frustrated for so long with a phone before.

I seldomly blog in anger but I had to get this off my chest. So if you want to know why I'm never using a Nokia again, check out my anger here!

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

who cares?

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

i think you are alone,we love Nokia Mobile Computer here.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

not Nokia!


Edit: Do read his blog entry he makes some fair points.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

NOKIA is the best

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

at shooting themselves in the foot.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

I agree with most of what you said, minus that they should go with android...plus show some love to modrana...

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

I think Jonin is right: ...And don’t you Meamo junkies even dare mention Mappero. I can’t even figure out how to get the thing off Italian, and as a smart phone owner, I shouldn’t have to bother with such nonsense...
-> As you shouldn't bother with such nonsense, then N900 is absolutely not for you :-)

For the one who knows, it is as simple as converting from mp3 to spx ^^

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Simply sell it and why did you buy it in the first place if you know about the bad nokia support.
NOKIA is known for its high quality products, and NOKIA is the first phone manufacturer in the world.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

A thorough piece of analysis, you have written there. Truly impressive as it is filled with arguments never heard before. A true gem of positive criticism. I think your name will be remembered by a myriad of tech-savy people for speaking out loud what we all wanted to say but never dared or knew how to.

Speaking of your name: You just had me wondering whether you made a mistake during sign-up and chose this name rather than gonein60seconds. But than I remembered it took you a year to finally draw the conclusion this device was not made for you.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Personally the n900 is perfect for me but I am geeky that way.

My favourite app is Easy Debian - Linux is in my pocket and yes I probably am pleased to see you.

If Nokia want to be serious smartphone competitor then they need to change their approach drastically.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

You know what will happen next? The typical crowd will come in, dissect his verbiage, overlooking any points by simply stating this one thing: "The Nokia N900 wasn't meant to be a mass marketed device."

Therefore, once you bought the N900, you entered into the ever exclusive halls of Maemo geekdom and you were to believe that marketing hype no longer applies. It's not a phone, it's a mobile computer. It's step 4 out of a step 5 process. Ovi Store is not necessary, all the better applications are in the repository. And ultimately, it would invariably get dropped by Nokia; the forums are the only support you will ever need.

That seems to be the quasi-mantra of some around these parts.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

My n900 (Dec 09) has never neeed to be flashed, even though I install & use loads of -devel app's on it. How come (am I just a lucky sod?) - nope, it's because I read about stuff which is still in development before I install it. That way I understand:

(a) how stable it currently is (dev's own opinion/caveats; early adopter feedback)
(b) it's functionality (& therfore it's risk level to my phone if buggy)
(c) the correct way to install & run it whilst still under development

oh ... and regarding hard to configure community app's

I think you're putting too much onus on the phone to be smart and too little on yourself.
I admit that most folks want stuff to "just work" these days but the reality is that stuff running on a PC is inherently complex and unless you put some effort into learning the basics you'll not often get the benefit out. It's give a man a fish/give a man a rod here ... I'll take the rod, every time :-)

The N900 will always be best suited for those who like to tinker/learn as well as just "use" their phone. That is (or should be) a prime reason why they bought an open(ish) pocket computer with (adequate) phone capability in the first place, no?

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

I've read your blog.
Mainly you complain, that N900 has no Android.
This misses the point completely!

I bought my N900 (which I am currently just exploring, scratching
on the surface) just because it has _no_ Win-Something, _no_ Android, _no_ Symbian.

The Maemo Linux on N900 is a very good USP.

Some pro's I found until now:
1) The GUI is how I expect a phone GUI to be.
2) It's fast.
3) The way it merges contact entries is intuitive, even better than the Palm stuff I was used to.
4) xterm ! You can control the phone not the other way round.
5) conversation history is presented in an intuitive manner
6) number of applications is already huge after that relative short time (announcement August 27, 2009, where was Android after
a bit more than 12 month?) and is growing.
7) Meego seems to be ready for N900:
http://www.computerbase.de/news/soft...00-verfuegbar/
and
http://wiki.meego.com/ARM/N900
8) firefox is usable on the phone!
9) I don't know why you wait for Ovi maps. I use it here. Canada, Austria...whatever...
10) you can work seemlessly with Google...as far as search is concerned and I do not need more Google.

The only cons up to now:
a) battery is a bit short. N900 seems to share this with other smartphones. But there are workarounds.
b) synchronisation seems to be a bit difficult. I did not try this up to now but it will be an issue when using the phone at work.
c) email tool has no filter

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Amen brother! Am with ya!

I look at the E7 and I weep for it was born with Symbianemia.....poor thing....it doesn't know! it's not its fault! oh my miserable child......

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Anssi disagrees. He still thinks Nokia is number #1...

<image removed - inappropriate>

Edit=Yodude: The image that was removed was a picture of Anssi holding up one finger which I took to be the universal sign for #1. I now understand that there is some distinction attributed to the digit one extends and apparently Anssi was holding up the wrong finger. :eek:

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

It's just this annoying problem of customers wanting stuff to "just work".

Imagine if Nokia actually stayed with maemo and developed it over time.

You could get a vastly improved phone app, free OVI maps that every other symbian-owning person use and maybe attract third-party companies to develop apps.

Why should Nokia devote it's development resources and precious time on maemo?

Let's use those resources and spend time doing it all again with Meego.

Apple & Google must be doing something wrong - they keep attracting pesky customers and those apps are spreading everywhere - luckily we don't have that problem - thanks Nokia.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

well well...i wonder if people ever read reviews before buying stuff they cant handle. admittedly, the phone has its issues but it's got its bright sides as well. and i got a pretty good impression of both reading a review titled "testing the tech-expert phone"

google as always is your friend before you spend 500+ on phones/notebooks/cars/etc...

and personally i dont want android on my phone since the first trojans have appeared...

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Well, at least in the blog there is the option of maybe, not the stern 'never again' as in the post :) Although, the critique more seems like a 'why isn't my N900 an Android phone' issue rather than a critique of Maemo itself (there are many shortcomings, but the post focuses on differences to Android). A question to the OP, though, just out of curiosity - did you ever try out a desktop Linux and if yes, what was your opinion about it ?

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

I totally disagree with him saying Nokia should have jumped on the Android OS "adopting the Android revolution which is clearly the OS to be using at the moment"

I am getting to the stage where I hate google and their dominance over almost everything! They get profits from every phone, by every manufacturer and every developer if everyone switches to Android. that scares me! and that is not good for a comeptative inoavative market.

And not just with Android google is pretty much begining to take control of everything! From Maps, eMail, youtube, search, google will be something to fear at this rate!

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

...and then the other side comes in with their weapons of choice and we all get to see the same tired arguments kicked back and forth as Yet Another Goodbye Thread swells like a pregnant elephant.

I don't think we can get enough of it. Apparently.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Hey, you gotta keep em threads goin', until the smell of fresh speculation (or FW release) appears in the mornin' !

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Why is that scary? If you were to talk to anybody deep in the camp of any other phone or OS, they all want their platform of choice to be the definitive winner.

Ask the Linux fan. They want everybody to switch to Linux. Or ask the Mac fan... they sure as hell want everybody to switch to OS X.

The move to monolithic groups controlling damn near everything - whether it's anarchy, full-blown submission, or kowtowing to a new master next week... the want for to be accepted by others is just plain human.

With that said, I once thought I'd love to see Nokia produce an Android phone. It would be one of the best built Android phones out there. But now? Not so much.

I fear what they'd do to the UI. Or to the Android Market.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Seriously?

As you may have noticed, user experience is a very subjective thing. If someone feels that the product has failed, your attempts to show how good the device is, are in vain; the product has failed.

We all should care, otherwise developing for N900 and for Maemo should be stopped immediately. Either there is no point in developing in anymore since we do not care or, there is no point in developing because Maemo has become as good as it ever can get.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Regardless of what side you're on it can be highly entertaining.


Nokia & Android = Borg collective led by Forrest Gump.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

An army of Orville Reddenbachers couldn't keep up with the popcorn demand.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

http://gerbick.com/images/popcorn.gif

I'm up to the task. Gerbick Poppenbacher to the rescue.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

I know this is very open and friendly community. But I'm alredy getting furious when people start bragging about Android on Nokia phones and especially N900. Want an Android? GO GET IT. Lots of devices on the market. Simple as that.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Hey, wow a lot of answers already to the post. Will be kind of overwhelming to answer and start sub-threads with everyone but here are some key points that I picked up on.

No I don't think the N900 should be an Android device, I really loved the idea of Maemo when it was launched. My argument is its too little too late. Nokia needs to build a new Android device if they want to compete in the smart phone market.

A lot of people are saying the N900 isn't for me which in retrospect is probably true. But, I am quite technically proficient but there are times that this phone feel beyond even my abilities. Commercially (Nokia is in the business of seller lots of phones) it doesn't make sense to create a top spec smart phone for a niche audience. I remember the hype when it was launched (which is why I got it) and they will definitely pitching it at the top of the market with the iPhones and the Androids. What is the point of a smart phone that only a tiny few people will use. The economies of scale wont add up.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Ok everyone let's all install nitdroid!

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Yes I agree with this for anyone getting an n900 now, but back in Dec, how excited were we all? Google wouldn't have helped then..

Since Meego, there has been a lot of people put off developing for the n900 as it is even more of a niche device.
I like my n900 and the community has written some great apps for it, but I can't deny that I am looking at the selection and ease of synchronisation my missus gets with her HTC desire, plus some of the apps with envy...
The whole maps issue is a nightmare, I wouldn't mind if I could use google maps, but seeing turn by turn on cheap nokia's that cost a fraction of what I paid for my n900 does make me angry. mass market or not, it is their flagship device..

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Yeah you and southwalesboy make a good point. Its not healthy to have one OS dominate the market. For now iPhone and Blackberry (sort of!) are keeping up but I don't know what happens when one of the wins the race (and my prediction is Android). At least for now, if all phones battle in the Android market, it means they can only outdo eachother on hardware and UI which is great as there are some amazing new phones (and slates/tablets) coming out.

Also, I am not an Android fanboy, I simply don't like iPhones, Nokia have lost and Blackberry is boring. I'd love to see a Linux platform become a major player but it seems to late to enter the game as they will always be killed by the larger app stores

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

If my N900 would die, i would buy it again, so, who cares? ;)

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

when in doubt, use a car analogy...here goes

maemo/now meego, is akin to the racing technology of cars; it is a place to test and field trial cutting edge and sometimes wacky ideas to try to get the most out of what is available. Eventually, many of the features that we here have enjoyed in maemo since 2006 or so(and linux in general) will filter down into a mass market device in some reduced form, just as a race car crew may have first pioneered the use of some kind of crazy suspension, but then it finally was adaptable to mass market and better. While the racers were perfecting the suspension it sure was a rough ride sometimes :)

Just as with cars, this is acceptable to some people who might be mechanics or gearheads, you may suffer the rough ride if you appreciate what your cornering force is and know that you have the ability to tweak it to your hearts desire.

Anyway, Symbian is currently the mass market OS for Nokia and extremely suitable for most of the world apparently.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

The really good thing about these threads is that they provide lots of learning opportunities.

*Goes to make Wikipedia search for Orville Reddenbacher*

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Well, apparently, despite all the Anssi worship around here, in 2007 he was intent on copying the iphone

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/29/n...-no-seriously/

I guess maybe this was the n97 or something, but if his intent was really to copy iphone, he did not succeed.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

There's plenty on ebay and if you are feeling adventurous get this too?

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

Wanting that is fine (it makes you innovate & strive to please your customers).

Achieving it is great for both manufacturer & consumer initially - after all, the product has managed to "please all the people, all the time", or has at the very least beaten the competition to death in a sales & marketing bloodbath.

Howver, it quickly then results in higher margins (so higher retail prices) and poorer support (no viable alternative, so like it or lump it). It breeds complacency, strangles R&D innovation and eventually results in a poorer offering to the customer until some game changing (price/functionality/service wrap) new entry "reboots" the market.

Far better to have several overlapping but distinct offerings, each with sufficient market share to ensure longevity & progress through healthy competition.

Re: The end of the Nokia Smart phone dream
 

That would be MeeGo's role. Maemo was constrained in many ways (one model, one manufacturer, small team), but MeeGo *SHOULD* bring all that stuff you miss from Maemo at the scale of (at least) Android, but without being limited to a single class of devices.

It's not really about proficiency - sometimes it's just the wrong phone. That's why I asked if you ever used Linux - as your points were roughly what I hear when a long-time Windows users get to work with Linux boxes. It didn't really matter how experienced they were in Windows - in fact, often that experience worked against them as they expected a thing to work in one way, when in fact it did in another (as texrat says different != wrong).

It's all a question of scale. I struck me for example when you said Android brought Samsung out of obscurity - even before Android Samsung sold *shiploads* of phones (smartphones even), and even now, the Android/Galaxy sales are just a minority part in their overall business. It's just that they were not aiming at the gadget/app people as the target audience, and that's why you never heard of them prior to experimenting with Android.

PS. One tiny remark - Maemo was born loong before iOS and Android - not as a response to them (the N800 was already out when the iPhone was released and the N810 was released waaay before the first Android). If anything, the shame is that THAT advantage (especially considering the newly-rediscovered-by-Apple tablet market) was not capitalized upon.

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No. Wrong. Only way to measure if product has failed is to see it sales and feedback from device owners. Only one who sees these statistics is the seller itself. So you can only make vagues guesses how well something has succeed. And of course the problem itself is that how to measure and what is the scale itself.

If you try to make statement about failure then you need shitload of references and statistics from 3rd party sellers. Without those you are just yelling fool who can wear clown suit (like most of tech. bloggers and commentators in blogs, just bunch of fools who think that their opinion without arguments or references is worth something) :|

Only thing you can say is that device has failed FOR YOU. Big difference!

Yes it´s true that people should care. But you must realize that geek communities include often people who have loud voice and strong and clear opinions how they (and only they by themselves) want to use device and what they need. They do not entirely care at all what other people think about. To some point I respect this kind of attitude, but thing is that as group people tend to make more progress than as individuals. If you have fully open source device that drivers are fully open source then you could show finger to everybody and just start using OS what you like. Even code one by-self.

So it´s just different people around here. Sadly Nokia still seems to not completely understand that how it should feed this wonderful community with positive energy. IMO we should have different competitions (had one and it was great, but more Nokia involvement), marketing of different projects here and hacking contests, constantly running different kind of stuff. And also actually headhunting people around here directly, NOT just announcing jobs generally. Also starting little groups like GSC and giving them focus and mission and little pay. All different things to make big cycle to go around.

.edit
Also latest poll from peter at marketing is JUST kind of stuff what we need here. Ask and ALSO PROVIDE some results and how they are going to use them. IT really really makes people at least think that there is some meaning. Motivation motivation motivation. One thing that really troubles me is Brainstorm area that is great invention but it also needs much more input from Nokia. Just someone from Nokia should review some of those and say that WE DISCUSSED ABOUT THIS and BLAM people will keep on brainstorming and voting. Finally ask users details about some solution or just make statement that re-review in next 2 months etc. But for god sake do not leave them rotten.