Making a real Nokia flagship – from existing Nokia devices.
I didn’t get a chance to post anything yesterday as I was busy revising for an exam (for today -14-08-09) It went quite well, with the questions I had hoped and anticipated for actually coming up this time. Score! Anyway, whilst I was revising for the topic of Xenopus laevis T3 metamorphosis, I kept on thinking about Nokia and flagships…
Back in April, the Nokia Conversations guys asked, “What makes a Flagship Device?“.
A flagship phone is something that encapsulates the achievements of that manufacturer, i.e. having the best of EVERY great feature you have once included in previous handsets, but all in one device.
In the context for Nokia, the flagship epitomises the true meaning of convergence. The flagship leads the way; it is deeply recognizable to consumers as an example of the ultimate potential of Nokia handsets and sets the bar of innovation for which other manufacturers should aspire to reach.
Hardware wise, you guys have had every single component that if combined could have resulted in the most formidable handset ever made.
But, as a long fan of Nokia, you get to be aware that it’s part and parcel of that Nokia is number 1 BECAUSE they specifically divide up features for different markets. That’s been perfect for business, but bad for geeks.
The point of the flagship is NOT to be the most sold*; it is to bring the confidence in the brand so that when consumers come to buy a different handset, they will know from the flagship that it’s a brand that they can trust; a brand that will deliver the particular requirements they may need in a phone; a brand that delivers the best.
Hardware wise, Nokia have met and set bars. We don’t need to write an ideal spec-sheet of hardware Nokia should consider include to their portfolio. Most of what we really want from a phone, they’ve been able to produce already.
It’s just that those achievements were never consistently kept within one device.
A while back, it was understandable that Nokia fragment their handsets so that different handsets met the needs of different consumers. But now with competition so high and the general consumer becoming more ready for high end smartphones and convergence handsets, Nokia really needs to make a phone that stands out, leads the pack and show everyone that Nokia is the number 1 brand, not just because they sell the most, but because they make the best handsets.
Here’s a few features Nokia’s been able to come up with over the years; some very recent, some dating way, way back. But if all merged together could still make a phone to take notice of in 2009. (Set in in terms of the feature and a Nokia phone that has it)
Making a real Nokia flagship – from existing Nokia devices.
Camera:
- N86′s optics – 8MP, wide angle, excellent low light moins flash
- N86′s Dual LED – 70% brighter than previous LED solutions
- N86′s Digital Zoom – detail maintained, useful mostly for video
- N82′s Xenon (just bring Xenon back please!!! When I actually need the use of Flash, this is the only solution that will do.)
- N93i’s 3x Optical Zoom (with continuous autofocus)
- N93′s dedicated flash button – flash on/flash off, double tap turns into video light. Amazing as a torch.
- N93′s dedicated Video-Photo button
- N93′s audio recording quality
- N93′s stereo audio recording
- N73′s gallery button (blue backlit)
- N95′s camera shutter button (blue backlit)
- N97′s widescreen video (not set to infinity focus – just in terms of its stability)
- N97′s front camera
Screen
- 770′s 4.13″ screen size/N97′s 3.5″ screen size
- 770′s screen resolution (800×480)
- N97′s touch screen sensitivity (meh, the best we got yet from Nokia)
- N85′s AMOLED
Power
- N97′s BP-5L battery
- N97′s Micro USB charging
Audio
- N91′s audio quality through headphones
- N95′s multifunctional audio/visual 3.5mm jack for headphones/TV out
- N800′s speaker clarity
- N95′s speaker volume
- N95′s dedicated music controls/N93′s 4-way zoom that’s also music controls
Keys
- N93′s tactile feedback
- E90′s 6 row QWERTY keyboard (maybe not the same, but definitly at least 4 row keyboard, with the top specified for numbers!)
- N97′s D-Pad (lot of potential for gaming, just never materialised)
- N93′s multimedia button/5800′s touch media bar
Design/Build
- 8800/8600/Eseries designers
- E71′s build (general E-series Build)
- N86′s kick stand
- N97′s form factor? (Flick-tilt-slide – or just standard N810 side slide)
- Size – not too sure of, but definitely nothing more than the N97.
Software
- N97′ S60 functionality
- N97′s homescreen
- N97′s and N800′s apps/software library
- N800′s audio/video codecs
- N800′s multi-window web browser
- N97′s/5800′s firmware regularity
Connectivity
- N95′s bluetooth, A2-DP
- N95′s infra-red (tv remote app ^_^)
- N800′s WiFi
- N82′s GPS
- N97′s 3.5G
- N97′s MicroUSB
- N97′s FM radio with RDS
- Nokia N96′s DVB-H?
CPU/Memory
- 5630′s 600MHz processor
- N95′s dedicated graphics chip
- N95′s dual CPU
- N800′s 256MB AM (though this is only 128MB actual DDR 2 RAM, other 128 is virtual RAM
- N800′s Twin memory card slots
- N97′s 32GB RAM
Other
- N73′s breathing blue light
- 5800′s breathing menu light
- N97′s charging light
It’s not an exhaustive list. I’m sure there are plenty of things I’ve missed out and should include (things added in orange). It’s also missing features that Nokia still has been unable to give to us, e.g. Capacitive screen.
This was just to demonstrate what Nokia could have achieved in terms of features in a handset if every time they did something good, they kept it as a standard across all their devices.
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* BTW, when I said,” The point of the flagship is not being the most sold”, I meant that flagships should not prioritise the idea of selling more of a handset to compromise on it’s performance/features. That is often to the detriment of the device as Nokia don’t tend to make decent compromises, often resulting in the handset loosing so much of what it could have been but saving so little in the process.
Category: Nokia, Nseries, Rant, S60, Suggestions
this would be the ultimate device…why nokia will never make it…is once a phone like this is make, they will be ridiculed for making anything better which is no more than an updated version of that ultimate phone. But you never know, as with the example of the Nokia N95′s update to the N95-8GB was a welcome change!
ow and i forgot to mention something like this would probably cost in the region of £1000 and no network would ever offer it on any tariff free!
actually…by that time UK networks will have switched to only 48 and 72 month contracts lol
(Did not realise how long I had ranted here…anyway here goes)
Good points there.
The N95 > N95 8GB was sort of a minor upgrade. A tad bigger screen, 8GB internal, bigger battery – there was nothing new about it.
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Even if this “ultimate” flagship got made as the spec-sheet details it, another flagship could still be made that would trounce it. Add capacitive with multitouch, step up to the 1GHz processor, Get HD video recording, DLNA, improved graphics chip, more RAM, continue making everything smaller.
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Consider when buying a new computer/notebook. It essentially has the same thing as your old one – screen/processor/RAM/graphics chip/battery – but within those main components, there will always be room for improvement, that despite an upgraded version containing the same components – being that upgrade makes it a better device. Consider other devices – Cameras/Videocams/Games Consoles – as long as they continue to improve, then phones still have a bar to reach.
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Before, it was understandable that Nokia NOT make such a device. They were the unquestionable leader. They make so many phones with varying features that instead of considering Nokia or Samsung or Sony Ericsson, you consider “Nokia X, Nokia Y, Nokia Z, Nokia Theta…etc etc”. If they did make an ultimate device then, it would be to their detriment as no one would upgrade from the GodPhone – other competitors simply could not match what Nokia were doing.
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But now, several competitors have been stepping up, combining what XYZTheta did, and for the same price. Why would you choose the individual?
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There may come a point when the market is saturated with devices with features so similar, what exactly are we to do? E.g. the i8910/N97/Satio have a feature list that is extremely similar.However, right now, there is still room to set yourself apart. I think Nokia knows this, that’s why they’re apparently trying to move away from just being hardware to being software and services (though not being totally successful at that either).
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As for the price – considering a lot of these features aren’t new, it shouldn’t cost that much, and could be feasible for it to appear in the standard upper Nseries price bracket. There are handsets planned/already available that also aren’t going to be astromically priced, but will have a lot of features aforementioned in the post. E.G. the Samsung Pixon 12. That’s free on a 24 Month £35 contract.
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If Nokia had from the very beginning just maintained each level of progression (at least in their flagship) we’d see year on year, improvements, but all at the same price.
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The only manufacturer right now that can afford to do minor upgrades is Apple. Their iPhone gets 3G and it’s heralded as a wonder. They move from 2MP to 3MP…wow. But that’s because their desirability (from their software/apps/hype-machine ) makes them somewhat unassailable – something Nokia cannot do (at the moment anyway)
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Going back to the N95 – that was a pioneering handset – delivering a standard in a combination of features that everyone else had to reach. Since then, Nokia hasn’t really done that.
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But before Nokia can even return to setting the bar for others, they’ve got to match the bar set for everyone else.
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Nokia doesn’t just need to keep to levels they’ve previously achieved (at least in their flagship), they need to be matching what’s becoming the standard across other manufacturers, matching what they’ve been able to offer. It’s all good getting 89% in a test, but not when everyone else gets 100%.
I enjoyed your comments and if there were a phone with such capabilities I would be one of the first to purchase it. For something with the features you mentioned would be a thrill to own. One thing you did not mention was the problem of a phone I have and it has the worst signal problems I have ever had and that is with the Nokia N85. If I could have a phone with the features you wrote about and the audio and signal quality of the 6310i, it would be great in my opinion. I have about ten or twelve Nokia phones dating back to the TDMA days. I have been hoping for Nokia to come out with a Xenon flash but I personally have not seen one yet. Maybe you have. It would have been nice if the N97 had one, which I do own one. I think the color on the display could be better. Perhaps they will improve on the N97. I could go on and on, but I should call it a night. Thank you.
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