Regular listeners to the podcast will know that I’m getting ready to head over to America, primarily for the South by Southwest Interactive, Film and Music conference to be held in Austin, Texas. I’m packing my bags now, and something has occurred to me. My smartphone (no matter which I take) is not going to cut it unless I can keep it powered up for the flight, and during each day in the Austin halls.
Nokia's strategic announcements on February 11th (and clarified on the 13th) placed an 'End of life' notice on Symbian, even if its immediate future is assured. Many have asked whether it's a good investment to buy a Symbian-powered phone now, others are surprised that this very site is still going under the same name, still others are treating Symbian enthusiasts as if they're infected with something nasty. The truth is that Symbian OS isn't going away overnight - and here are three compelling reasons why.
In this in-depth feature we look at the thinking behind the smartphone portion of Nokia's new strategy, which was announced on February 11th and sees, in essence, a transition from Symbian to Windows Phone. We consider Nokia's three options and explain that ultimately the necessecity for a competitive and sustainable ecosystem proved to be the vital factor in the decision.
INQ CEO Frank Meehan got himself into hot water a few days ago for suggesting that "pretty girls prefer iPhone and BlackBerry to Android" - making sweeping statements about demographics always gets quoted and there's usually a backlash of some kind. But, with no mention of Symbian (naturally enough, given Nokia's recent pronouncement), I figured that if Frank could do it then so could I. Read on for my own sweeping (and equally unscientific) demographic analysis, delivered with a healthy degree of hyperbole....
One of the most predictable, yet slightly unsettling, reactions from Stephen Elop’s news was one of “I’m never touching anything by Microsoft ever ever ever.” You might have heard it as the bathwater was being thrown out. More than anything, the reaction that refuses to give something a chance is just… disappointing. Give the Redmond company a chance on consumer electronics (see below), and the modern Microsoft turns up trumps.
With the explosion of smartphones in the last few years, I’ve been pondering the effects that the technology has on good manners, what habits have sprung up, and if there’s a right and wrong way to go about your mobile connections. There’s only one real place to start on an adventure into politeness, so let’s start at Debretts.
Putting aside the initial commentary of doom, the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft has got a lot of people thinking of what could happen next. It would be fair to say that it’s caused pretty much everyone to stop, think, and try and make an educated guess as to the next move of Espoo and Seattle. So let’s have a little look around and see what some of the names in the mobile technology space think of it.
One of my loyal Twitter following asked me an interesting question last week: if I had the choice between a Nokia N8 and an identical N8 (hardware-wise) running Android 2.3, which would I go for? It's a testament to Nokia's hardware prowess that I had to think about my answer (of which more below). And, in the same week, I observed exactly the same thing when reviewing the HTC Desire Z, which (despite its obvious attractions) had me immediately pining for Nokia's build quality and component choice. It's (nearly) all about the hardware - for me, at least.
Guest writer Tony Butler - you'll remember his 'Overcoming Gadget Lust (or How I learned to stop worrying and love my phone)' from last year? - brings us another slightly light hearted look at life in the mobile world and in the All About Symbian readership in particular, taking in piano music and caravans along the way....
This is going to sound strange, radical, blasphemous and counter-intuitive, but I've a sneaking suspicion that the recent reported (whether it is actually true yet or not) overtaking of Symbian OS by Android on the world stage does, in one fell swoop, more for Symbian's credibility than all the technical slides, sales numbers and glowing reviews from the last few years put together.
