4 ms·

I’m very suspicious of some post-hoc generalization that rhymes a little too conveniently with modern fads. Nokia made great phones during the mid/late 2000s.

I’m very suspicious of some post-hoc generalization that rhymes a little too conveniently with modern fads. Nokia made great phones during the mid/late 2000s. The N9 was a piece of beauty that continued to have a more cohesive and thought out experience than Android (and even iOS, in some ways) well into the mid 2010s. It was simply a joy to use. Why Nokia then fell apart might have a little something to do with Stephen Elop and Microsoft, I suspect.

roneythomas6 3y ago
By the time Nokia N9 came out Android was the dominant smartphone OS. Nokia even cancelled releasing N9 in select markets due to this. Not to mention the api’s were severely lacking compared to Android. Maybe if they released it in 2008-2009, there might have been a chance. So the choice was either to go Android or Windows and Microsoft paid them 1billion to be stay Windows Phone exclusive.
parl_match 3y ago
The N9 was too little, too late. Microsoft didn't destroy Nokia, they failed to rescue it. I think maybe the only company that could have saved Nokia was Google, and they weren't about to compete with their huge network of Android VARs. Why Nokia fell apart is because they didn't take the iPhone or Android seriously, repeatedly would say things like "nobody is going to spend $400 on a phone after subsidy", and had tremendous infighting over Symbian, MeeGo, and Windows - tons of engineers and management absolutely didn't want to learn the new thing. And then, Microsoft, not wanting to pour billions of dollars into what was already becoming a bitter duopoly fight, gave up. I have an N9 and an labeled windows phone dev kit from post-nokia on my shelf, both devices I used for a year+. They were fantastic.
Paianni 3y ago
S60 5th edition was a disaster for Symbian's and Nokia's reputation, especially the N97 incarnation. Its main issue was a lack of GPU acceleration for the GUI which wasn't really resolved until the Belle era, by which point it was far too late to resurrect.

roneythomas6 3y ago

By the time Nokia N9 came out Android was the dominant smartphone OS. Nokia even cancelled releasing N9 in select markets due to this. Not to mention the api’s were severely lacking compared to Android. Maybe if they released it in 2008-2009, there might have been a chance. So the choice was either to go Android or Windows and Microsoft paid them 1billion to be stay Windows Phone exclusive.

parl_match 3y ago

The N9 was too little, too late. Microsoft didn't destroy Nokia, they failed to rescue it. I think maybe the only company that could have saved Nokia was Google, and they weren't about to compete with their huge network of Android VARs. Why Nokia fell apart is because they didn't take the iPhone or Android seriously, repeatedly would say things like "nobody is going to spend $400 on a phone after subsidy", and had tremendous infighting over Symbian, MeeGo, and Windows - tons of engineers and management absolutely didn't want to learn the new thing. And then, Microsoft, not wanting to pour billions of dollars into what was already becoming a bitter duopoly fight, gave up. I have an N9 and an labeled windows phone dev kit from post-nokia on my shelf, both devices I used for a year+. They were fantastic.

Paianni 3y ago

S60 5th edition was a disaster for Symbian's and Nokia's reputation, especially the N97 incarnation. Its main issue was a lack of GPU acceleration for the GUI which wasn't really resolved until the Belle era, by which point it was far too late to resurrect.