RANT: Bitter view of the N9. Baseless criticisms from Nokia’s favourite ‘journalist’? #wp

Bitter. That’s the feeling I get in YLE’s interview with Eldar Murtazin (Why on earth is YLE interviewing him? I am utterly amazed why they now stick with the tag line that he’s a guy that gets a lot of things right. Seems anything wrong has just been forgotten. Also that noting things that are already public knowledge isn’t “getting things right” in terms of insider information).

I don’t have a beef with people criticising Nokia. I’ll be there with the best of them when they criticize Nokia on points they deserve criticism on. But to criticise just for the sake of it?  Read the points in this post as to why I think Eldar is just disliking Nokia for the sake of it. (First based on his post about the N9, later interview with YLE)

A concern we have always had with Nokia’s Windows Phone is that the first batches will not be the supreme high end phones that they NEED to be to reinvigorate the Nokia portfolio and change the view on Nokia. Such a ‘Nokia Stamp’ might not appear until 2012 as it takes time to come up with a flagship.

However, what we do know at least ONE Nokia Windows Phone. Code name Sea Ray. It looks like the N9. It is pretty much a N9 with Windows Phone. On the hardware front, it has received rapturous applause, from fans, independent and event Nokia haters.

Sticking just on the hardware

1) The screen is sumblime.

GSM Arena says the screen is Magnificant and it is bordering on perfection! Engadget says it’s like looking into the eyes of God (though tongue in cheek, we remember how many posts they had to show their love for N9). Vlad said, “I need to say this – the AMOLED screen on this phone is just GORGEOUS. Gorilla glass screen and it’s curved, it melts of meets the physical bits is beautiful, if feels fantastic when you’re holding it and touching it and the itnerface plays right into that because it’s all black and you have the menus – the animation of the menus make them look like they’re popping out at you.”

What did Eldar think? I don’t know if he has used the N9. You don’t need to apparently.

When it was released he was the ONLY person trying to shoot the N9 down. Pretty average specs on the screen resolution and size, saying it’s Samsung’s old stock and from previous generation. ERM. Samsung Galaxy SII, Samsung’s flagship has 800×480. N9 has 854×480? If N9 was the same on resolution, then is SGSII on an average screen? GSM Arena says the N9 matches the SGSII on image quality. That’s amazing what Nokia can do then with older screens huh Eldar? Why are you constantly on a downer about Nokia? There are legitimate areas you can burn Nokia on. I’ll join you! But to pick on things just to be bitter is well, not so good. Especially when some consider you an analyst. (I’m not of course, I’m just a Nokia fan)

In short: Screen is up there amongst with the best. Why imply it’s less than that? That it’s something shoddy? Something average?

2) Everyone’s loved the slick design of the N9.

Engadget says it’s fantastic. 

The N9 comes in Blue, Pink and Black. The black one is the one that does it most justice. Vlad agrees. VLAD! “The black one blows the other two out of the water. It is so slick and sophisticated, it is just so beautiful. Like honestly if you put a Vertu branding on it, I would be like, ‘finally, Vertu has a phone worthy of those 10,000USD price tags’.”

GSM Arena said, “N9 is one of the hottest looking smartphones we’ve seen this year…It also looks extra sturdy so dropping it wouldn’t be as heartbreaking as if another handset is involved. ”

What does Eldar say? This is just cheap plastic. Nothing special. Again, nothing special like the screen. Nothing special like the N8’s AVERAGE camera huh? Eldar’s response to the design is that it’s just the iPod nano and that Nokia shouldn’t copy Apple’s design.

3) Camera.

We’ve seen some early samples and they’re great. On what Engadget has seen, Nokia are onto a winner.

These are still non production quality for Nokia. We’ve seen Eldar’s opinions on supposedly “mediocre” Nokia pictures (whereas everyone else shows N8 is spectacular – not just Nokia fans).

Now whilst 12MP was apparently not an advantage over 8, 1080p is something significant over the 720p. Have you seen how good the 720p video is from the N8? Check out today’s N8 video post. It’s not just a tickbox, here we go, 1080p.

He further rips on MeeGo-Harmattan’s supposed buttonless innovation, calling Swipe attractive on the surface (ooh, a complement) but shallow inside (there we go, there’s the backhand slap). Well, that’s entirely for another post, no?

The N9 is so bad, he’s not even going to take “his precious time” to review it.

I don’t think we need to if all we are going to here is unecessary scathing. Even GIZMODO showed love for N9 hardware (they wanted Mango on it)

YLE Interview

Now, knowing that at least on HARDWARE there is good coming to Windows Phone, what on earth does the following from YLE mean to you?

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/07/bloggers_increasingly_influence_nokias_share_price_2731668.html

“There is no chance of changing the display”

Why would I want to change the damn display??!?

“they cannot add their own unique services. In practice Nokia’s Windows 7 phone is just Nokia’s own design. And that’s it.”

1) To the first batch perhaps. We have already had articles saying Ovi Maps will not appear with Mango. We have heard Nokia say the Nokia stamp will appear later (as there is a short development time). NOW Eldar says it, news outlets will have AMNESIA of what has already been previously said and credit all this vision to him.

2) Nokia’s uniqueness will come at least with the hardware of Nokia phones. N9 is unique. Sea Ray will be ‘blessed’ with the same. What is Samsung/ZTE/Fujitsu adding in terms of uniqueness? There’s a LOT that Mango delivers to Windows Phone. Nokia’s inability to modify it at this stage does not suddenly prevent the phone from working to the same standard as other Windows Phones.

On that note

“It’s the same inside, it’s the same speed, the display is the same. There aren’t any differences. In practice we are getting exactly the same device.”

The same speed? You mean the speedier than NoDo speed? That’s a great thing! Windows Phone Vanilla is already very fast. It got faster with NoDo and reports and demos show it’s even faster again with Mango.

Note that when he says the same…the same as what? Current 1GHz devices or the new batch? There’s a possible SGSII with Windows Phone. Even then, folks aren’t minding the N9 with 1GHz. Here we have seen the N9 is already super fast. On 1GHz we’ve already seen WP is  pretty fast?

Eldar’s view on the Nokia leaks is that they happened because some folks at Nokia dislike where Nokia was heading. They are disobeying Elop. What?! We have always had Nokia leaks. Eldar himself was the master of leaks. All before Elop time. What on earth was the reason for the leak then? It doesn’t matter what the story is, it MUST be painted in the most negative light if it has something to do with Nokia, right Eldar? (btw, N9 was possibly one of the best hidden, only leaked hours before launch)

The interview ends with the whole MS buying Nokia thing again. YLE notes that Nokia says Eldar has a vivid imagination (truly vivid that he can have impressions on the N9 without touching it – or at least opening his eyes).

“ Nokia also says that Murtazin is said to work as a consultant for competing mobile manufacturers, so cannot be said to be an independent, impartial analyst.” YLE

Again, the whole hating on Nokia for the sake of it is getting tiring. They have some real areas that many Nokia fans would join Eldar on chastising Nokia. But no. He picks on anything, even Nokia advantages and areas other sources praise Nokia, constructing different situations as all being something negative for Nokia.

To those that dislike this MS direction. Put your hate for Windows Phone aside for one moment. THAT is not what is on topic. What I’m discussing here is over-the-top negative and unfair views on Nokia, regardless of the OS. People who claim to be ‘journalists’ (not tech Bloggers or fanboy bloggers) aren’t these at least supposed to have some hint of objectivity? Some sort of fairness and neutrality? How can a group of people wonder at a camera, be amazed by the screen, but in one fell swoop, it is average – when by that standard, the competition with identical specs or worse should not be considered in a higher regard? It appears to me that even if we were to judge the curvature of two identically drawn circles, the one with Nokia is obviously somehow more jagged than say, the other identical circle with Samsung? Please don’t be too bitter about our criticism. You can dish it out, so take some.

Cheers Mika and Joni for the tip!

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/07/bloggers_increasingly_influence_nokias_share_price_2731668.html

Category: MeeGo, Nokia, Rant, Windows Phone