Nokia's Software Philosophy – FAIL!!!
I’d like to just start by saying this is just a bit of a rant from myself, llaadd, about Nokia’s entire approach to software deployment. I’m not talking about the actual UI, how well it does or in some cases does not work, but actually the way Nokia allows networks to bully them into making specific versions of the phone software for every device they make.
This is probably one of the very places in which I think that Nokia should actually take a page out of the book of Apple where they have not allowed the Networks to touch the software which means that when a new software comes out, everyone, all around the world gets the update at the same time, which means that customers are always satisfied that their phone is running with the latest version and don’t get frustrated with waiting for one to be approved by particular networks, etc.
If we were able to see how much it costs Nokia to create custom firmware for each network in each country and for each of the hundreds of phones that they make, it’s probably in the millions of pounds which Nokia could put into so many other things such reducing the bugs in the early releases of software, and more uniform phones, for example if you buy a Nokia handset on T-Mobile or Orange in the UK, firstly you might be unlucky to get the Network logo plastered on the physical phone, and secondly also means sometimes you get phones which have wasted shortcut keys, such as a dedicated button (non-changeable) for using the internet on a S40 phone, which is annoying because most people with these types of lower end phones will never use the internet on the phone and those that do, already have a shortcut for it, which is holding for the 0 (Zero) key.
The other problem with allowing networks to change the software is when they do horrible things to phones such as disable important functions, like when Orange UK decided to disable VOIP on the N95′s a few years ago, which resulting in people who were eager to use features such as this to change the product code and therefore void any warranty they had.
One of the big reason’s I have decided to have this rant now if because I have been sitting here on my N900 which I bought from Nokia direct, just like I did my N97, my X6 and my N96 (well technically I won that hehe), and now over 2 weeks after a new software was announced, I still have not received the update on my device, which is bugging the hell out of me (to put it politely!!), but 2 weeks is not my real issue, it’s the fact that some updates seem to take Nokia several months to release.
I have actually spoken to many novice users, pro users and probably everything in between because I have worked in a phone shop for the past year and a half and just talking to people about their experience with Nokia devices and other manufacturers has helped me to understand what they get annoyed about and one of the most common thing is that people hear about updates which will fix the bug they have on their phone but do not understand why they can’t have it for months because a bunch of people have not approved it at the network, by which time another update is probably available. This just makes the consumers suffer, have a bad experience and get driven away from Nokia and even though they will have the same problem with another network they will move which is not good for the networks either, so who really wins!
OK, rant over now, I hope I have not put you to sleep, but I had this on my mind and just wanted to share, if you have any opinions of your own please comment below, would love to hear your thoughts.
Category: Nokia
I feel you man. As much as I love my E71, I’m embarrassed by the fact that my particular product code is stuck on v200 while much of the rest of the world has v400. And those other phones are also E71-2 from the same version. I just happened to buy mine from Amazon.com, so I had to ‘hack’ my phone to get the v400. The E71 is one of the best selling qwerty phones in the world and one of Nokia’s top two profit makers, yet I have to feel like an orphaned owner with a phone that’s only a year old.
It’s just frustrating that these devices come out with a few wrinkles but we give the manufacturer a break, trusting that they’ll fix it shortly with updates. Then those updates are released slowly and worse yet, we’re led to feel ungrateful for wanting Nokia to spend resources on a year old phone instead of buying an E72. But by the time the E72 is stable, the E73 will be just months away and anyone who purchased the phone at Best Buy or Amazon.com will still have old buggy firmware.
I just always hear that every feature is ‘early days’ and that I just need to be patient. Ovi Maps still can’t find any US address from my contact list, Nokia Messaging stores a years worth of deleted mail, taking up C drive space but refuses to save Inbox messages past three days even though it’s set for two weeks. I just want a solid phone and don’t want to be told that I need to be patient then be told that I’m asking too much after a year of ownership.
I guess that was MY rant!
Thanks for voicing your thoughts as well, I’m sure most Nokia users who know about updates feel the same way, and I know I have for a long time, it feels good to get this rant off your chest isn’t it! (lets just see if Nokia listens)
Hey Hiren, I hear ya.
At phone shops, oddly a number of reps have dissuaded me from getting Nseries early within release because they’re aware of the reputation that Nokia sends out devices that are incomplete software wise and will require several firmware upgrades to fix.
On the flip side, it’s good that Nokia are there to be giving firmware update support. Something Samsung i8910 owners have complained about.
However, requiring a software update on issues that shouldn’t be there in the first place are quite harmful to the brand name. And I doubt the majority of Symbian/Nseries owners even know what a software update is let alone how to do it. Should users really have to wait 6 months to get their phone working how it should have on day 1? (Not really talking about new feature set, like iPhone getting MMS, copy paste so late, but extremely annoying bugs, crashes, freezes, slowness that immediately impedes user experience)
And even with those that know about firmware updates, it’s really an unfortunate situation that a network can dictate when it approves of them, so many are left stranded possibly quite indefinitely.
With network/carrier submission, there are those that will say it’s a necessary ‘evil’ to fall in line with the networks in order to get their support/market penetration/subsidies. The E71x in the US is a great example of a fantastic phone, but crippled by AT&T; missing standard features, missing Nokia services, filled instead with AT&t bloatware. Ideally, networks would allow Nokia to deploy all their new innovations instead of attempting to stifle it. It’s part and parcel of their greed/business sense to make more money out of their users by forcing them to use their own channels and services not from the manufacturers themselves.
Skype on Symbian and now promoted over Ovi Store (though always available through other means)seems to be a wrong move for Nokia-network relations as it’s like Nokia’s giving them the finger. Voice and text – it’s network’s bread and butter.
But the move to data is inevitable. Three network knows this and are actively promoting the use of skype. On BBC click, I thing O2 were interviewed and agreed that traditional voice would probably fall by the wayside in favour of VoIP (With traditional calls/text – unlimited – being a super cheap bundle instead of the over priced farce it is right now)
Completely agree, strange thing for o2 to admit that yet not embrace it, as the reason they didn’t sell the N97 was because it was supposed to have skype built in and i think the same goes for the N900 because it actually did. o2 in the last year branded them selves the “Smartphone” network yet they do not sell these smartphones which I think would have been extremely popular (ignoring the bugs with the N97).
O2 via CarphoneWarehouse did have the N97 for a bit and then dropped it due to “failing software” and “unprecedented levels of high return”. But there were mentions too that the whole Skype thing wasn’t gonna fly with them.
I switched to T-Mob after being an O2 customer like since they were BTCellnet. I miss free MMS/O2-O2 calls slightly. It’s with Nokia Direct so I get updates immediately within launch.
But my N97 experiences have been dire to say the least. Incomplete software plagued by 2007 standard hardware. I guess I should have known better. If it wasn’t for Gravity, Fring, SmartMovie and Ovi Maps I think i might have flushed it down the toilet.
o2 CarphoneWarehouse is completely separate form o2 direct as CPW use their own stock and just use the o2 network…I know the N97 is a bad example but i’m sure you see where i’m goin with it! Well now the Skype app is available for most symbian phones, unless they want to stop selling Nokia’s completely. Lets just hope the new range is better!
Yup, many people choose N71 over Blackberry. But they still need to improve some software.
I agree wholeheartedly.
They seem to be getting a little better at pushing Symbian updates via the phone (rather than relying on PC suite or my.nokia.com to tell people) if my collegue’s experiences with the 5800 are anything to go by.
That still does not solve the issue of updates being delayed pending operator sign off though.
As far as the N900 goes I have pretty much given up on any support whatsoever from Nokia themselves and go with repositories and community. Still, being in the UK I did not receive the latest firmware when others did.
Hearing that the UK/Vodafone users still haven’t got the latest firmware makes me even more happy that I took the plunge and tested out the flashing of firmware. It’s really quite painless.
I was thinking of just flashing the “global” firmware from Maemo.org for the N900 but just can’t be bothered and don’t want to have to re-install again if I can help it…I know it’s a lot easier with most apps re-installing automatically but still a bit of a hassle!…Maybe I’m just lazy when it comes to things like that!
I also agree so wholeheartedly, that I decided to post and to say that today I have got my brand new shiny Nexus One Android phone to replace my N97.
All I can say is what a difference, within an hour of switching the phone on I received an OTA update.
The UI compared to my 3-4 month old N97 is miles ahead and really fun to use and explore.
Having to wait so long for firmware updates and even when they arrive find that they offer nothing exciting in terms of user experience and innovation just about made me bite the bullet and move on, stuffing my N97 into a draw to gather dust. It’s a shame because the N97 had so much potential.
One thing I do know is that Nokia will have to improve all aspects of their software and how timely we get firmware updates before I buy another Nokia phone, even though I own several models including 2 N95′s.
I know many other’s who have also done the exact same thing…I hope someone high up at Nokia reads this…they need to have a serious re-think of their code of practice, especially on the high end devices.
The N97 hardware specs was a shame. That new google phone is tempting many away from the symbian camp.
Nokia better give us better ram, cpu, phone memory and amoled screens in their upcoming devices.
Well that’s my rant
ooh nokia also please give us a better screen on the e72/71 form factor. And when is Ovi Chat going to get implemented along with Nokia messaging.
Anyone in Nokia reading this?
Couldn’t have said it better. Unfortunately Nokia is not the only company that has experienced this hickup in process management. This is something that would make a great Six Sigma project where the process maps are rolled out, calculations are made to show and quantify the cost associated with an ineffecient process that is no doubt effecting Nokia’s bottom line as well as the confidence level of its’ customers.
Brett Schaefer
Atomic
Blogging World
completely agree that it’s not just Nokia but I think it effects them more then any other manufacturer because of the huge deployment of Symbian OS powered phones. I think one strong thing in Nokia’s corner is that I don’t think the networks would dare to drop Nokia phones if they did decide to do this (in Europe anyway – not going to count what there is in the US market!).
If Nokia were to lead the way, I think that other manufacturers would also follow suit (like in the old days when Nokia did something and they tried to compete) and then the networks would be forced to just accept this and firstly the customers would benefit hugely and because there is less need for customisation it’s more likely for the phones to pass the Tests that the networks put the phones through, so who is really loosing out!!!
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7uk0Uc I’m not easily imeprsesd. . . but that’s impressing me!