Apple vs Nokia
 

Why is it that Apple seems to have a much slicker and polished product with its iPod Touch, than Nokia with it's 700 and 800 series ?

I think the Nokia 700&800 series needs a management overhaul. Heads need to roll..

Gino.

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

I would rather have device with depth and a usable face (the N800), than a device with a pretty face and no depth at all (the iPhone and iPod Touch).

IMO, no heads need to roll. Could things be better? Yes. Is it so bad that people need to be fired? No. Not even close.

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

It's because for Apple, this is a major product rollout that probably will make or break the company so they pretty much have MAJOR amounts of resources on it. For Nokia, the internet tablets are an experiment with limited resources. If the ITs tank, no big deal.

Also, they are two completely different products with different aims and goals. Not really comparable.

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

Jesus can you at least compare the right Nokia to the iPhone? iPhone competes with n95, not n800. I say we should ban all Apple threads here.

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

Why? Nothing is wrong with discussion(s) about the competition. You know darn well that Nokia does that behind their closed walls about their competition.

And people wanting more... it's not a bad thing. I'd personally love for my experience to always be the same on my internet tablet; but I swear, it's different between each boot.

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

Instead of wishing for Nokia tablets to have the looks of iPhone/iPod Touch, I would rather wish the Apple devices to have the open development platform of N770/N800.

How can the looks get so much importance while the critical issue of lack of an open development framework get pushed under the carpet?

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

Havin used my first iPod Touch yesterday I can only say: I thank the Gods above that Nokia did not put the same focus on user interface as apple.

As I described in another thread, I was lost with the UI, especially the keyboard. The UI in general is pretty, but inefficient.

Even more important, the device doesnt do much. After half an hour or so you sit there and watch beautiful lists, icons and who-knows-what-it-is dancing around a screen, keep running your fingers up and down the touchscreen to see how smoothly it scrolls - but thats about it. There's nothing more you could do because you've seen it all. no more features.

Did you notice how well the lack of features and the UI go together? Yes, the UI is pretty, but it doesnt scale. Long lists are a pain, I'd get lost in the main screen if it had so many applications installed as I have on my 770, and the lack of "all those unnecessary menus" (as my personal apple fanboi put it) simply translates to a lack of customisation/choices. ("You dont need to customize, everythings perfect", he said. Well, not for me.)

So for me it boils down to: Wow, the UI is pretty, its new. But at the end of the day all these visual effects dont help you achieve what you want more quickly, quite on the contrary. It makes a great demo on YouTube, but thats about it. I prefer a UI to be effective and simple, supporting me to get where I want quickly instead of being in the way and begging for attention all the time.

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

Actually when holding a iPhone or Touch in ones hand I do wish that Nokia would at least take a few clues from Apple. One of them would be supplying the devices with enough Flash to make the thing worth while. The other would be the minimalism of the mechanical interface.

In any event the only thing that got me looking at the Nokai hardware is the attitude that Apple has displayed with respect to third party applications. Apple doesn't need open source but they certainly need an open development environment.
I don't really know. If you want to see some things that would really sadden your heart you should read a few iPhone / Touch forums. We are talking about people that don't have a clue with respect to computing hardware that blindly support everything Apple does. Suggesting that open development could be a good thing just brings on hostility.

The good thing is that there are a lot of people that just don't see the need to put up with Apples attitude and see the potential in the i series devices. Sure there are compromises, as there is in all hardware but one has to admit that for the price apples stuff isn't that bad.

Dave

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

Interestingly I've come to the opposite conclusion.
What exactly do you mean by lost on a keypad? This doesn't seem like a genuine complaint.

In any event what has impressed me about Apples hardware is how well the interface is tailored to the devices primary usage be it phone or iPod. Getting to your major functions is pretty easy and as cell phones go a snap. It is a very good interface to the devices primary software components. If the devices are jail broken and updated to run more Unix software you can still have access to a command line environment if you want.

I'm not here to say the device is perfect, if any thing it is only half done, just that it does pretty good in the large. I wouldn't mind at all if the first page you see upon power up on a new Nokia was like the Apple screen. That is you are greeted with a set of nicely arraigned icons that lead you directly to the devices primary functions. In other words whip it out of ones pocket, press a button and be surfing the internet, generating a note, or finding a contact instantly. Sure I want access to all Linux offers but my primary purpose isn't to have a Linux machine, just to have that power there when needed.
I can't dismiss this as the iPhone does have a limited feature set. However is that really a big deal for a tool? A toy is something different all together. A tool you need to do what you purchased it for. If you are looking for features to play with then the device isn't a tool anymore, at least not all the time.
No you wouldn't because the main menu is fixed in size.
For a 1.0 device that could be argued by some to not even be 1.0 it is very customizable.
Well the final chapter of the iPhone hasn't been written yet. I have to suggest though that those visual effects and other user interface features are what is making the iPhone popular. For the majority of the people out there it provides a better experience.
I'm not sure how it is getting in your way. It offers up pretty much what it is advertised to do. It does so in a way that is quick and easy to pick up. Even if you go beyond what it was advertised to do and jail break the unit it still has a very useful interface.

Dave

Re: Apple vs Nokia
 

From what I read, some do. :D

Thats what I meant when I said the UI reflects the limited functionality. An iPhone/iPod Touch can have such a simple UI because it does have something like a primary function. The Tablet is, in fact, a fully customizable PC. For some, the primary function is surfing. For others, its ebook reading. VoIP. Games. Video playback. Car navigation. etc. - So how do you create a "simple" user interface for an indefinite number of primary functions?


As I said: It doesn't scale.


Right, the visual effects is what make it popular. Its the main selling point. I doubt, though, that its a better experience after you've seen all the effects a few times. Its the same on the desktop. Everybody loves beryls visual effects. Everybody turns them off after 3 days. Only you cant turn them off on those App|e devices.

I found it extremely unproductive having to flip through all the open browser "windows" (well, not actually windows... whatever they call them) in order to get back to a specific one. There's this well-known concept of tabs. you klick them, you're where you want. So easy. Of course its not pretty, it doesnt have the effect of flying 3D objects, but its so much faster. Same goes for scrolling through albums. Who would actually want to do this? It doesnt make sense with 500+ albums. Its just to show what can be done eye-candy-wise, but its not a good UI experience at all. This is what I mean when saying it "gets in my way".