Nokia World keynote: thoughts on the progress of Ovi and its components

[slitchfield]

From Ovi to N-Gage to "Comes with music" to Internet use statistics, Nokia's keynote at this morning's Nokia World covered a lot of Web 2.0 ground - Ewan was in the audience and here presents his take on 'the most joined up presentation' he's seen in ages.

Read on in the full article.

[Richard Ross]

It does all look interesting and N-Gage, if implemented properly and served with good games, could be amongst the first software initiatives to drive handset sales (mass market sales currently being driven by appearance first and hardware functionality second).

I still think Nokia needs to take a long hard look at the complexity of its handset line (model proliferation is rampant and unhelpful). For example, it needs to better align the N and E series devices such that the form factors aren't excluding the user from an entire sub-set of hardware capability (e.g., try typing an email on an N95 or playing video on an E90 - you can but it's generally not worth the effort).

If Nokia can streamline its handsets and align with the various OVI components, they could have a real winner here. If they can't I suspect the proposition will remain bewilderingly complex for the average user (and therefore largely ignored: after all, even these figures posit a small minority of users employing the full capability of their devices) and frustrating for the advanced user who wants a universal device.

It's Apples one real long-term advantage (brand aside, the interface will be copied soon enough) - it's a simple offering. One handset, one set of capabilities open to all users.

[Hardeep1singh]

Originally Posted by Richard Ross

I still think Nokia needs to take a long hard look at the complexity of its handset line (model proliferation is rampant and unhelpful). For example, it needs to better align the N and E series devices such that the form factors aren't excluding the user from an entire sub-set of hardware capability (e.g., try typing an email on an N95 or playing video on an E90 - you can but it's generally not worth the effort).

The Truth is people want one device that looks like a phone and is as good at playing games as sending emails or playing music. The fact is, people have multiple choices, a business executive woudn't wanna be caught looking like gaming freak or a music maniac because of his device but that doesn't mean he wouldn't want to enjoy Call of Duty (lol) or a teenager may not want to carry a blackberry lookalike but it doesn't mean he doesn't want to catch up on his emails on time.

Originally Posted by Richard Ross

It's Apples one real long-term advantage (brand aside, the interface will be copied soon enough) - it's a simple offering. One handset, one set of capabilities open to all users.

I have my own reservations about using the word 'OPEN' anywhere near a device that has apple written on it.

I'm sorry but what's not worth playing video on an E90, precisely? I find it rather splendid.....

[Richard Ross]

I know what you mean about Apple not being open but I sort of meant that it doesn't exclude one set of customers from a device's capabilities because of marketing segmentation, as Nokia (I think, anyway) does.

Iphone is monstrously expensive and not anywhere near the hype but at least as these things go its a simple consumer proporisiotn.

As for the business exec not wanting a music phone - I'm sitting in a giant, tedious, grey corporate tower that houses one of the largest companies in the world and most of our execs are quite happy with their Moto Razr's or 6500s and separate Blackberry's. I don't think the problem is exec's not wanting to be seen with an entertainment device - it's that they don't have a choice if they want to converge voice and messaging effectively.

And finally, on video on E90 - yeah, it works and it works OK (not if you want full screen) but it's hardly as easy to hit play as it is on a N95.

I agree with Hardeepsingh1. I have an iPhone but use my N95 daily at the office because it actually looks more "professional" than the iPhone. It would be great if Nokia offered a version with a QWERTY keyboard, or built in more enterprise features into it (although it's making a start by making Mail for Exchange available). Nokia should start putting in 5MP cameras (or at least 3.2) on their E-series as well. It is too much of an advantage to restrict only to its flagship device.