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Posts: 1,513 | Thanked: 2,248 times | Joined on Mar 2006 @ US
#30
Originally Posted by Milhouse View Post
The impression I got from the article was that S80 could be used one handed whereas S60 cannot, and complex tasks were easier to accomplish in S80 than S60. And the loss of fax functionality may seem like no big deal but think how many offices still have fax machines and also consider that fax machines far outnumber scanners in a typical office environment meaning that fax functionality is quite often critical for remote users.

While Nokia could have tweaked the S60 UI to satisfy these use cases which appear important to the existing Communicator user base, it seems Nokia chose instead to ignore them. I doubt that any amount of additional 3rd party apps will make up for the shortcomings of a device that existing users simply don't want to use. It looks to me that Nokia may be out of touch with it's Enterprise users, which is rather unfortunate as the Enterpise division has only just turned in it's first ever profitable quarter.

I can understand the logic behind the move to consolidate on S60, however I don't understand why Nokia would release a premier product such as the E90 which is in terms of day to day usage inferior to it's predecessors. In some ways I see the same scenario playing out here (with internet tablets) - the attitude seems to be that Nokia knows best.
As to UI, you've got it backwards, S60 was designed for one thumb operation on cell phones and S80 was designed specifically for the Communicator, which had unusually wide screen format, four soft keys, function keys and QWERTY, and is very DISsimilar to Hildon. Changing the UI was NOT an easy change, like some imply. Yes, loss of a fax is a big deterent, especially in Indonesia etc where the Communicator has a rabid fan base in part because business is still conducted w/ fax there, but a 3rd party (or NOkia) will fill that quickly.

Nokia/ES did not ignore these considerations. They made a business decision that S80 is a niche product with little 3rd party app support, that the field of handheld computer-like devices is getting very competitive, and that the migration to S60 was necessary to keep the product successful. They are trying to expand the appeal to business users, BB users, etc., who have never seen a Nokia device as a computer-like tool. Those people ask about software compatibility all the time. Their conclusion is that global sales of the S60 Communicator will exceed the sales of any previous Communicator in any previous year, and bring in NEW customers, and they are probably right. Nokia is a company that demands performance and looks 3 years out and not at the past.

We should worry that the IT may come to be seen a niche product with little widespread appeal. (Not to mention the E90, when it enjoys substantial 3rd party app support in a year or so and relatively easy SW development, will be a competitor to the IT for users who are not price conscious.)