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RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

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11–20 of 53 posts

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#11

"If Nokia had gone with Android, the best that it might have achieved was to become an also-ran—another in an endless stream of me-too commodity smartphone makers." No. Nokia could've been Samsung, which has the lion's share of the Android market. And Android Lumia would be the prettiest Android handset on the market.

It's a bit of a bizarre claim to begin with given that there are a number of manufacturers pitching Windows Phone devices to very limited success.

So instead of being a possible also-ran me-too in a large, successful market, they're an also-ran me-too in a small, uncertain market. I'm not buying the logic.

If they used the Android bit to explain a wholesale adoption of Meego or Tizen or something then sure. But going to WP...that just doesn't make sense.

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#12

While I certainly wouldn't call Nokia's position anything but worrisome, I think it might be a little early to start planning the funeral. One of the benefits Nokia has by going with Windows Phone is the relationship it now has with Microsoft. I'd be very surprised if Nokia's tablet offering isn't front and center in just about every piece of marketing MS does. The biggest issue that Windows Phone has currently is a…

For the average non-tech user, is the lack of third party apps really that big of an issue? In all honesty, all they need is Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds and sudoku, which WP7 has. You're really not at a loss for apps when it comes to the popular 1st tier apps. The bigger issue, from my personal experience seeing people pick up and use a WP7 device, is that it's awkward to use compared to the grid of icons in iOS a…

I've found for the average non-tech user the only app they seem to really care about is the one that their friends are currently gushing about.

as an example (yes I read the anecdote article :) ) I spent the weekend with extended family who were going on and on about how great Instagram was and how they couldn't understand why anybody would even think about a phone that didn't have it. I'm sure when I see them again in 6 weeks or so, the argument will be the same, with only the specific app that changes.

While MS will have whatever "the" app is at a current moment from time to time, due to it's marketshare, iOS will almost always have it.

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#13

While I certainly wouldn't call Nokia's position anything but worrisome, I think it might be a little early to start planning the funeral. One of the benefits Nokia has by going with Windows Phone is the relationship it now has with Microsoft. I'd be very surprised if Nokia's tablet offering isn't front and center in just about every piece of marketing MS does. The biggest issue that Windows Phone has currently is a…

For the average non-tech user, is the lack of third party apps really that big of an issue? In all honesty, all they need is Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds and sudoku, which WP7 has. You're really not at a loss for apps when it comes to the popular 1st tier apps. The bigger issue, from my personal experience seeing people pick up and use a WP7 device, is that it's awkward to use compared to the grid of icons in iOS a…

Android: grid of icons, which you can pick some that you use most often and pin them to the first screen you see.

WP7: list of icons with names, which you can pick some that you use most often and pin them to the first screen you see, except these icons then change sometimes to display more information such as weather forecast, Facebook updates, etc.

This is too different how? The icons on the menus are pretty clearly designed to show you what they do. If you're still confused, there's a [...] in the corner which shows text. All of this is completely discoverable, explained in the manual, and should be showcased by the salesman who is trying to help you decide (rather than trying to sell you his favorite phone).

Too different how?

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#14

"If Nokia had gone with Android, the best that it might have achieved was to become an also-ran—another in an endless stream of me-too commodity smartphone makers." No. Nokia could've been Samsung, which has the lion's share of the Android market. And Android Lumia would be the prettiest Android handset on the market.

I have to agree. My friend bought a Samsung SII the other day, and I was mighty impressed. However, we soon saw a number of shortcomings, and none of it was really the phone hardware or even Android itself.

Instead, it was the way that the phone software UI was put together. It was awful. So bad, in fact, that my friend replaced almost all of the software widgets and components with his own - by the end the phone looked amazing, and virtually nothing like Samsung/Telstra's UI.

And this is where Nokia could win. By producing amazing, kick-arse phones (which we actually know they can do!) and putting on Android, with a compelling feature-set, I believe they'd wipe the floor with Samsung, et al. Probably not so much with Apple, but they could yet compete head to head with them.

The innovation just isn't there. I don't see it with WP8. There's just not enough compelling reasons for me to go back to Nokia. And I was so badly burnt by the last phone I used, that I'm unlikely to go back without a good reason!

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#15
post #5

Nokia won't last until 2014. They are declining too fast. They went from 45% market share to 18% in China, one of their strongest and biggest markets, last year alone. This year they will probably fall way below 10%. Nokia will most likely be acquired by the end of this year or in the first half of next year (or go bankrupt otherwise).

Who are they losing marketshare to in China?

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#16
post #5

Nokia won't last until 2014. They are declining too fast. They went from 45% market share to 18% in China, one of their strongest and biggest markets, last year alone. This year they will probably fall way below 10%. Nokia will most likely be acquired by the end of this year or in the first half of next year (or go bankrupt otherwise).

And bought by Samsung.. That would rock. Make ALL the Android phones!

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#17
(One person's anecdotes do not a trend make - I know) I can offer an Indian perspective - When I was first shopping for a good phone in India in 2008 or so, every single person (techie) said "Nokia" without hesitation. From the savviest Tecno-geek to the manual laborer at a construction site -everyone had a Nokia.

Fast forward to 2011 late/early 2012; virtually NONE of the techies I interact with recommended a Nokia. Infact, I haven't heard even one of my friends/acquaintances purchase a new Nokia; it is always Samsung/HTC/iPhones or rarely Blackberry. On the lower end, the flood of cheap Chinese phones in the Indian market means no cheap Nokia's.

Nokia was a name many people swore by in India, now not so much...I am afraid the end is near for them.

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#18
post #15
post #5

Nokia won't last until 2014. They are declining too fast. They went from 45% market share to 18% in China, one of their strongest and biggest markets, last year alone. This year they will probably fall way below 10%. Nokia will most likely be acquired by the end of this year or in the first half of next year (or go bankrupt otherwise).

Who are they losing marketshare to in China?

It seems to domestic Android players like Huawei and ZTE: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2011-07/22/content_129...

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#19
post #2

Nokia get rid this problem by doing some encouragement to develop in their old J2ME/Symbian platform in such country that still have good market share like Indonesia. In Indonesia, Nokia encourage developer to develop games in their platform in a contest named "Developer War", and now it has 4 episode/chapter.

old J2ME/Symbian platform No. Just... no. I'm really pleased that Symbian is dead (or on life support). It is, so far, the worst platform I have ever had to deal with. Eclipse-based IDE for €300-1300, partner-only premium APIs, completely unusable multi-gigabyte emulator (if you needed to run two instances, you had to install... two copies in different directories!), awful documentation, terrible system libraries, an…

For an hobbyist like myself, PyS60 was nice, though. Easy to install and really fast to code something up. Is there anything like that for Android?

Re: RIP, Nokia (1865 - 2014)

#20

"If Nokia had gone with Android, the best that it might have achieved was to become an also-ran—another in an endless stream of me-too commodity smartphone makers." No. Nokia could've been Samsung, which has the lion's share of the Android market. And Android Lumia would be the prettiest Android handset on the market.

With Nokia on Android, we could have had top-rung Android phones with iPhone appearance and build quality, and greater-than-iPhone ruggedness.
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