Stephen Elop with Josh Topolsky: Elements of Symbian and MeeGo to come to Windows Phone? Qt, camera, Swipe gestures?

Here’s an interesting video with Stephen Elop and Josh Topolsky from The Verge.

The usual stuff but points of interest:

• Nokia numbering system. When Nokia talked about it it seemed it would stay between 1-9. Josh jokes about the 1000. Elop says he doesn’t know how high it could go, i.e. there’s no limit. Nokia Lumia Nimbus 3000. Or the 9001 in 2014.
• He explains what he means by the first real windows phone. ‘We are doing our best work, our best ideas, our best innovation for Windows Phone.’ (alarm interrupts). He says it’s because with others WP is not their primary focus. The very best design, the very best hardware etc. Think of that what you will.
• Talks about Nokia right now sticking to the same build of WP but then Josh talks about how Nokia will eventually deviate from that.
• Nokia Drive for HTC/Sammy? Elop says there are certain BASE elements that will be shared, but Nokia reserves the right to take things a step further. It doesn’t increase the cost for Nokia to include it, it just differentiates them (but could increase the price for HTC? Perhaps it would be best not to be on competitor platforms for now. Not until it would be negligible to have them on other platforms because Nokia would be the go-to device)
• Says he doesn’t want to cause fragmentation of apps that work on a Nokia that did not work on another device. Like seriously, in our own Nokia handsets we have different OSes that don’t all have the same compatibility. Even with Qt. Worse off, even in Symbian alone. Either wrong resolution (e6) or wrong version (s60) or wrong update (Belle/Anna).
• There’s a main core that Nokia doesn’t want to fragment though they can improve upon it (Bing maps, to nokia maps?) but then extend on that for Nokia. e.g. Photography. Type of cameras, lenses, special software for imagery on Nokias.
• Josh notes that he understands Elop’s in a hurry, Elop’s like, “No, nooo….”. Nice guy.
• Pricing and availability. Josh asks is it a Q1 device. Elop says we haven’t mentioned this though on pricing they will be very aggressive. Josh asks whether that would be relatively aggressive considering it’s high end. Elop says nothing more than ‘we intend to be aggressive’. Could it be very low priced?  Elop says even with the 900 he said it would be something first time smartphone purchasers would be interested in buying. You could say that first timers won’t buy expensive phones but that’s not really true. It’s more on the usability I guess and this is brilliant for first timers.
• What Nokia can bring to the table: Lot of good software in the N9..the haptics Josh says it’s amazing and feels like almost typig on a real keyboard. Will you be working that closely? Absolutely. The things that typify a Nokia device, Symbian devices and N9 some things you’re already seeing. e.g. the industrial design. Innovation successful on other platforms (HDMI, 12MP Camera with xenon perhaps? :p) and bringing it forward.
• Josh asks if any software stuff, giving the haptics as an example. Elop cleverly doesn’t shut it down and say ‘can’t talk about future devices/projects’ and says all those are good ideas. He asks what has the greatest consumer appeal and what can they deliver in the time frame (uh oh, sounds like an excuse for ‘we didn’t have time to do x’.  Sceptic hat off side, that’s true. What does the mass consumer want? What can service Nokia’s consumer the best? Good to have priorities). He says we will see specific examples of elements of both Symbian and N9 land in the future.
• Elop brings it back to the Industrial design in the N9. He then reminds us that the Qt element would land for the next billion, for the lower price of devices.

• “We haven’t said where that gestural work, that user experience will land.  But it’s going to land..”

  (damn, JOSH Interupted Elop when he was just about to hint again)

Video by  TheVerge,  http://www.theverge.com/ces

Here’s the top comment, from an Apple fan:

I own an iPhone and I still made the comment about Elop, he seems like he is really into Nokia being focused on one thing and doing it as best as they can, similar to what Steve Jobs done when he came back to Apple, cleaned everything out and regained some focus. Elop seems to be doing that with Nokia.

Category: Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone