Planet S60

SXSW Interactive just finished and I’m at the airport waiting for my flight back to New York City. The festival was a lot of fun and describing it in text wouldn’t be enough. I had the Nokia N97 mini with me taking photos and sharing immediately to friends in Facebook & Twitter. Here’s a recap [...]

Written by Microsoft Silverlight for Symbian Team

Today we established a new application type* in the Nokia Beta Labs application catalog for applications contributed by some of our partners.  The following post will introduce the first example in this 3rd party category, but first I want to explain a bit more about this new addition.

In comparison to the iPhone and Droid the Nexus One hasn't scratched the surface of penetration Google might have hoped for when it announced the handset. Whilst the iPhone and Droid have sold in excess of 1 million handsets in their first 74 days, the Nexus One in comparison has only shipped around 135,000. So why is this the case?

Removing the case of the actual time when the Nexus One was announced and released in comparison to the iPhone and Droid the only other major issue is the availability of the Nexus One. Whilst it is essentially available in more places on initial release, it's available without being subsidised (with the exception of the US & T-Mobile). This is crucial because the people in general do not like to buy mobile handsets outright. They prefer to purchase it via a contract agreement over several months, it's safer for them and easier to manage. The average Joe does not have enough money left over every month after bills and expenses to buy a SIM free handset costing over £300+. Especially more so in this recession we're experiencing.

The consumer has been used to getting free and cheap subsidised handsets for so long that the thought of paying for a handset almost comes as a shock. The amount of time I've heard someone complain about the fact that their upgrade is costing them money and why their handset isn't free is too many. As the mentality of the consumer has been influenced by the operator for so long, the expectancy that every handset should be free on a tariff and on upgrade is natural. Hence why this is the major problem the Nexus One is facing currently. With no operator deal yet, the average consumer just won't buy a handset outright any more. It's a rare occasion. Only enthusiasts and those desperate for change will do so, EVEN if buying a handset SIM free is cheaper in the long term than an 18 or 24 month contract. They just don't have that cash to hand nor are they willing to part with it. That is the age we are in right now.

The lack of sales is down to Google badly timing their availability of the handset itself and their stance to directly sell globally without any major subsidy involved, especially in Europe. In the long term the Google model will eventually have to change or the mentality of the consumer will, either way one things gotta give.

News is coming through that Vodafone have tied up an exclusive deal with HTC for their Legend handset. The Legend is the successor to the very successful Hero. Vodafone has posted up an image which indicates it is going to be a Vodafone exclusive. Great news for current and potential Vodafone customers. But is it good news for the rest of us?

The HTC Legend is an exemplary piece of mobile kit, it's uni-body design and SenseUI overlay is going to attract a lot of attention. Much like the Hero it will be a success, mainly for 2 very specific reasons:

• It's a natural upgrade for those that currently own a Hero and would like to stick with something similar. With a refresh of design and a few little upgrades it would be welcome upgrade for the not so fussy and cutting edge.
• The Legend is aimed at the mid-range market, which is very successful and usually more affordable than the top end. Mid-range handsets usually sell a lot more and appeal to a larger audience.

Whilst these two reasons may be a good positive for Vodafone customers and Hero owners or those that happened to fall into both categories, worryingly if this exclusive deal is going to last for anything longer than 9 months, then it could be bad news for the market and consumers in general. Purchasing a Legend would most definitely mean either getting a Vodafone contract, or buying it SIM free, leaving minimal room for competitive pricing. Which usually equates to it being more expensive and less flexible for the consumer.

What's even more worrying is that, there is talk Vodafone will be giving the Legend the 360 treatment - blasphemy! It's pretty clear I'm not a fan of Operator branding of handsets, as a fan and enthusiast I prefer my handsets to be pure and enjoyed as the manufacture intended to be. I'm not against branding by operators IF they do it right, but that's a BIG IF, as history has shown operators do not get them right and usually the user suffers a horrible experience from outdated firmware, unwanted extras and hideous UI modifications.

I'm hoping this exclusive deal is not a permanent or long one and hopefully there will be more choice for users to enjoy what is potentially a gorgeous, modern device which oozes style, sophistication and openness.

Hey guys, it's been a while! I've been really busy working on various projects, but fortunately Ernest has been doing a grand job at fuelling you all with mobile news. *applauds Ernest* I'm posting today, to let you guys, and...

I’m hanging out at SXSW this weekend with the winners from the WOM World Nokia video contest. The thousands of people who entered the convention center received a bag of goodies. Among the swag was a card-sized ad for Symbian with a nice little remark against the iPhone. Take a look. The SXSW bag of swag Symbian [...]

Greetings from California!

We rebuilt the backend of Ovi Contacts web UI to enable the use of contacts across Ovi services. We also did some minor UI changes, but most of the work has been done behind the curtains. The starting page for the new users changed to make the first use easier. Also, contact and group creation UI has been improved for better usability.

This week the Carnival of the Mobilists – the weekly line-up of the best blogs and bloggers on all things mobile – comes to us via Andy Favell over at MobiThinking, a valuable resource with a good selection of mobile advertising stats, reports and white papers. Between Andy’s outreach for old and new Mobilists to [...]

Symbian ^3 is coming, and all of its multitouch and multitasking loveliness has been demonstrated in a Nokia San Francisco press briefing. David Rivas, Nokia's vice president, showed a demo of what users will expect from the revamped platform, due...

Bookmarklets are bookmarks in the browser designed to add one-click functionality to a web page. On our desktops, we save bookmarklets by dragging a links to to our browser’s toolbar. It’s different on mobile devices. I checked the Nokia N900, Nexus One, iPhone, and the Nokia N97 mini and noticed only the N900 can quickly [...]

Proving their commitment to Symbian, Sony Ericsson have announced they are releasing another update for the multimedia masterpiece that is the Satio. Despite having a 12-megapixel camera, 3.5-inch touch display and a revamped interface, the Satio was plagued by software...