Nokia announced back in June that it was planning a huge reorganisation, to take effect from January 1st 2008, a date that's now less than a month away. With Nokia World now over, I've been pondering how the company is going to integrate the Mobile Phones, Multimedia (i.e. Nseries) and Enterprise (i.e. Eseries) divisions in a workable fashion.
In addition to a 'Services and Software' group (incorporating Ovi), the plan includes creating a 'Devices' unit, incorporating the three current hardware units, and it's to be headed up by Kai Öistämö, the current head of the Mobile Phones Group, which may or may not be a significant clue as to how this will all work out. But what would I do if I were Kai, or indeed Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo?
- I'd retain the existing three naming systems for phones (and smartphones). The numeric system is far too established to discard, while the Nseries and Eseries brands are now very well ensconced and it would harm market share enormously to scrap these just because the company itself was being changed around.
- I'd take advantage of the fact that all hardware was now being produced in one place to bring all S60 3rd Edition devices up to the same base level, in terms of media codecs and file handlers - it's tremendously frustrating at the moment to have something like the E61i, nominally one of Nokia's most recent devices, crippled on the multimedia front and unable to play many music or video files, all for the sake of a few media codec files missing from the firmware. And it's equally frustrating that some of the email integration features of the Eseries don't work on all Nseries devices, let alone on the humble 'numeric' phones. Under the hood they're all similar enough that these software issues shouldn't be issues at all.
- I'd release a device in the E61i form factor but with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 (or 2), a faster processor, more RAM and at least a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera. There are large proportions of the current Nseries target market (including me) who really, really need a qwerty keyboard as well. Everyone, from your mum or dad upwards, knows how to write messages on a qwerty keyboard, while power users will be able to write faster and more fluently than with predictive or multi-tap text. I don't care if the hybrid device ends up with N or Eseries branding, I just care that it's made at all.
- I'd ensure that there was consistency of components across the different device ranges and also within each range. Currently, you have the stupid situation where the N76 and N81 have appallingly reflective screens that are unusable outdoors (which, naturally, is where you want to be when living the 'smartphone lifestyle') while the N93 and N95 (for example) have gorgeous screens that remain very readable. How two completely different screen technologies could have slipped into a single unit's model production is utterly beyond me. If I were Kai or OPK, I'd insist that lessons learned from the very best of each range were shared across all other models and that turkeys like the N76 (flaking paint, unusable display, clumsy SIM/battery placement, etc.) were never repeated.
- I'd insist on higher build quality. The Eseries devices use lots of metal and as a result are long lasting and reliable. The numeric phones seem well put together despite being mainly plastic. But some Nseries models, and I'm eyeing up the flagship N95 here, are far too cheaply constructed. If users are going to fork out £500 for a flagship, cutting edge device or put up with a heavy £35 a month contract, then they're entitled to expect that the device won't fall apart on them. Although my own N95 and N95 8GB are very solid, I've seen many other N95s from the general production line that wobble, rattle and (in some cases) look on the verge of peeling apart. For devices that are top-end, I'd insist on absolutely top-end production values at all factories.
- I'd insist on a base specification for all S60 phones, with GPS, 3.5G data and the aforementioned media codecs and 3 megapixel a-f camera. Ovi, the Services and Software 'doorway' could indeed be huge, but not until the hardware becomes truly ubiquitous. For example, a user should never have to think 'Do I have a GPS? Does my phone know where I am?' or 'If I click on that link, or upload that media file, will it take ages and cost a fortune?' or 'Is it worth me stepping up and taking some photos or am I going to be disappointed?' The answers to these questions should be a given, in which case users will simply 'use' their phones and use Ovi's different components as they are intended.
- I'd pray that Apple falter in 2008. As things stand they're a minority player on the world stage but one with the potential to be much, much bigger. If Apple solve the technical problems behind 3G and 3.5 data, if they crack secure third party applications, if they manage to engineer in much better cameras, then all other manufacturers need to watch their backs. It's true that Nokia have an enormous lead in the phone and smartphone worlds, but leads can dwindle... The new Touch UI planned for S60 in 2008 will go some way to standing up to the inertia behind the iPhone, but there are lots of things that could go wrong - for Nokia, or indeed for Apple.
Steve Litchfield, AllAboutSymbian, 6 December 2007
- PS. I'd start up a new TV channel, "Nokia TV", borne on the Internet, available through Ovi, with similar style to the Smartphones Show but obviously purely focussed on all things Nokia, disseminating news, tips, music and video recommendations, device showcases, and more. As OPK, I'd need to hire a writer and producer for this. Who could I turn to? Who? Hmmm......
- Oh yes, and I'd hire Stefan Constantinescu as head of worldwide marketing... Really.