3 ms·

1. From my understanding all reports were that Symbian had just become too heavy to maintain and improve. Thus not worth it. 2. I don't think it matters too m

by aik 14y ago

1. From my understanding all reports were that Symbian had just become too heavy to maintain and improve. Thus not worth it. 2. I don't think it matters too much if Meego would have outsold Lumia 800. Again, it's not about selling individual phones in the short term, but it's about the ecosystem. Meego may have been OK in the short term, but I believe unless it was massively better than iOS/Andriod (which to me it seemed like a poor copy in many respects), and it would be able to get the app count, I do believe it would have died before long. I believe Windows Phone is a great OS already, superior in many ways to iOS/Android, and has great potential still. In addition, I can guarantee that Microsoft has 10x the capability of Nokia to rally up developers to develop apps. And lastly, MS has massive additional weight to ensure it's a success -- to continually pump the money until it reaches success. Although Nokia isn't the only maker of WP phones, MS has done a lot to give Nokia the advantage. I agree we're yet to see if it pays off though. I'm hopeful.

pessimizer 14y ago
Symbian was definitely a creaky mess, and definitely would have to be replaced by something in the medium term, but people liked it a lot, and with the Qt ecosystem being ported to both Symbian and Meego, they were going to be able to use the same apps (depending on the power of the phone, of course.) It wasn't in any way a copy of iOS or Android. It was a full multitasking Linux desktop that you could treat as a smartphone, and had (and has) a small, rabid developer community. Of course, the Meego move was a bit silly, but I think they were using it as an excuse to reboot the GUI systems, of which there were three, which is two too many. There are still new apps being created for Maemo (and Meego/Harmattan was just tarted up Maemo) all of the time. What was lacking was a mass market phone that would encourage more commercial developers to target the platform. The N900 was a phone for technophile nerds like myself, but all of the glowing reviews of the phone accidentally made the N9 a massively anticipated phone, because it had N900 cred, yet looked pretty (unlike my beloved N900 brick.) They had to dump it outside of major markets in order to avoid comparisons of it and the Lumia, because people wanted and liked it so much. Me, I like a keyboard.
- aik 14y ago
  Firstly, I don't think it really matters if there's a small community. Or if it satisfies the nerds. In the end they need volume, that's it. That's also why I think Android will suffer long-term -- it just might be too (or overly) complex/confusing for many people. Personally I agree Meego had/has potential. And the fact that it was fully multitasking, and based on Linux, is cool. I just don't think any of these facts (and most derivative effects) matter to the vast majority. Lastly, FYI -- WP will have keyboard options when Windows 8 comes out.
rbanffy 14y ago
It would be trivial to run Android apps on Meego. With Windows Phone, Nokia tied its fate to a product that has been on the market for some time and failed to gain attention. And it still fails.
- aik 14y ago
  Is it really failing? It's a latecomer, but it's gaining traction. Windows Phone phones are best sellers on AT&T in the US, and supposedly beating the iPhone in terms of sales in China. With Windows 8 coming out, who knows what will happen. Speculating on whether it's going to fail or not at this point is just that -- heavy speculation. The fact that the Windows Phone is a very decent OS, is simple to use, has a decent app market, and is being promoted on so many fronts (including the main service providers, because they benefit from a 3rd smartphone provider), all makes me believe that it is bound to be a success if they continue to improve the foundation that they have and don't make big mistakes.

by aik 14y ago

pessimizer 14y ago

Symbian was definitely a creaky mess, and definitely would have to be replaced by something in the medium term, but people liked it a lot, and with the Qt ecosystem being ported to both Symbian and Meego, they were going to be able to use the same apps (depending on the power of the phone, of course.) It wasn't in any way a copy of iOS or Android. It was a full multitasking Linux desktop that you could treat as a smartphone, and had (and has) a small, rabid developer community. Of course, the Meego move was a bit silly, but I think they were using it as an excuse to reboot the GUI systems, of which there were three, which is two too many. There are still new apps being created for Maemo (and Meego/Harmattan was just tarted up Maemo) all of the time. What was lacking was a mass market phone that would encourage more commercial developers to target the platform. The N900 was a phone for technophile nerds like myself, but all of the glowing reviews of the phone accidentally made the N9 a massively anticipated phone, because it had N900 cred, yet looked pretty (unlike my beloved N900 brick.) They had to dump it outside of major markets in order to avoid comparisons of it and the Lumia, because people wanted and liked it so much. Me, I like a keyboard.

aik 14y ago
Firstly, I don't think it really matters if there's a small community. Or if it satisfies the nerds. In the end they need volume, that's it. That's also why I think Android will suffer long-term -- it just might be too (or overly) complex/confusing for many people. Personally I agree Meego had/has potential. And the fact that it was fully multitasking, and based on Linux, is cool. I just don't think any of these facts (and most derivative effects) matter to the vast majority. Lastly, FYI -- WP will have keyboard options when Windows 8 comes out.

rbanffy 14y ago

It would be trivial to run Android apps on Meego. With Windows Phone, Nokia tied its fate to a product that has been on the market for some time and failed to gain attention. And it still fails.

aik 14y ago
Is it really failing? It's a latecomer, but it's gaining traction. Windows Phone phones are best sellers on AT&T in the US, and supposedly beating the iPhone in terms of sales in China. With Windows 8 coming out, who knows what will happen. Speculating on whether it's going to fail or not at this point is just that -- heavy speculation. The fact that the Windows Phone is a very decent OS, is simple to use, has a decent app market, and is being promoted on so many fronts (including the main service providers, because they benefit from a 3rd smartphone provider), all makes me believe that it is bound to be a success if they continue to improve the foundation that they have and don't make big mistakes.