I guess pointing at Apple's new toy is just the new way of pointing to that old web URL that complained about all the UI inaccuracies in maemo.

Thanks, Hedge, for this little zen haiku!

As for the notion of 'commercial success', I think Nokia is certainly taking the long view, opening up markets instead of trying to corner them. The N800 isn't all that 'puzzling' when you consider that, yes, Nokia, is trying to figure out what will work and what won't; and, consequently, what will sell and to whom. I think it is significant that Nokia offers an entire range of products, not just the choice between white and black or 2 or 8G. They have a different business model, so to speak. I agree with Texrat, use of the term success must be qualified, especially because short-term sales figures alone are not a sufficient metric for a long-term project.

BTW, I'm off to IKEA for a new couch to go with my N810. Does Nokia have a stake in IKEA?

I generally find that most of the stuff he says there is just "waaaaaah, why isn't it exactly like my Newtooooooooon?!?" Same thing that's going on now with the iPhone comparisons.

Thanks, Texrat! That's high praise from somebody as knowledgeable about this field as you.

Bearing in mind we could be on the brink of one of the paradigm shifts people often talk about, I've been seriously contemplating launching a website or even print materials aimed at the burgeoning area of personal digital companions (not mobile phones, not laptops!).

Then again, it might be a little early for that kind of thing just yet.

Commercial success was indeed the wrong term, as it would be defined by what the producer earns from the product.

I was thinking about things like market share, the way consumers respond to a product etc.


My perception in this thread was that for some people, the high acceptance App|e-products currently enjoy is something like an undeniable proof of their quality. I found this rather surprising - in my world, market performance and quality are mostly unrelated. One is a matter of marketing and sales skills, the other depends on the product itself.

You have one of those "Managers corporate word of the day" calenders don't you.

Yes, I guess I did sound a little like that. It's kinda weird how some kinds of language enter your vocabulary.

Put simply: Internet tablets are gonna be huge, and as a journalist I was wondering how I can get a piece of the action

I believe it's Thomas Kuhn who gave us the notion of "Paradigm Shift" as a way to understand scientific revolutions. You know, stuff like going from thinking that the universe revolves around the Earth, to thinking that it revolves around the Sun, to thinking that it don't revolve around nothing.
It all works very well until you start looking at what individuals thought and did. Then it ends up being pretty hard to figure who does what.

But another "paradigm" is a usage paradigm, and, if there is a shift, we're in the middle of it.

Think of the calculator. For many people, the first electronic computer to enter their home was a calculator. Very few people use the calculator regularly as ends in themselves. They use them aside papers with figures, or sometimes to run up numbers in a conversation, or whatever: the calculator plays a support role in a number of tasks.

Now, think of the Personal Computer. Back before multitasking, you'd run a program; you'd sit at the computer, and you'd operate it.
With multitasking, we do the same thing, but we're bombarded from several different directions with things that require our full attention. (office tasks, programming, games)

Computing power has grown considerably, so we can also run "passive attention" stuff (music, movies, television): once we set it on the way, we can pay attention to it without continuous interaction. This class of tasks ("lean out" computing, as opposed to the "lean in" of the first class) has spawned dedicated computers for media centers, and personal media players.

Where do these Internet Tablet Things fit in? Back at the calculator. They do the things that require a computer to play a supporting role. And companies are converging on this group, trying to hit the home run: Asus with their Eee PC, any number of companies with Intel UMPCs and a Tablet edition of Windows, and Nokia.

But I've said all this before. How it applies to Apple vs Nokia is: frankly, I don't care. Apple I'm sure puts out a fine product, and iPhone/iTouch owners should be very proud. I'm also very aware of the limitations of the n800 I pack around (and constantly recharge). But, for its shortcomings, it not only fills my needs, I find uses for it I hadn't imagined. A stylish web browser attached to a media player would not meet my requirements. That's not even in the class of devices I need.

I'm sorry, but who the fcuk are you again? Oh that's right...with a total of 3 posts I would bet you're an Apple fangurl.
Go away troll.

I'm more concerned about Google's competitive potential than Apple's.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071030/googl...less.html?.v=1