This whole thing is starting to sound like more than a mere partnership. I thought it was peculiar that Microsoft was giving Nokia near free-reign to customize WP7. Now another Microsoft person is stepping in to take over a leadership role. Maybe this is Microsoft's way to get their own hardware division without having to start from scratch? I'll be keeping an eye on this.
www.engadget.com/2011/02/12/nokia-usa-president-is...
Discussion about
Did Nokia just become Microsoft's hardware division?
That's an interesting take on it.
Although as I said elsewhere Nokia, while being my first stop for rock-solid hardware, wouldn't be my first for desirable hardware. They've never done a 'world's thinnest' etc or won any design awards for nigh on a decade if I'm not mistaken.
Perhaps the Zune guys in that cavernous design studio we saw a few years back can come up with something more exciting for the guys in Finland to mull over - if *they* haven't been laid off.
Although as I said elsewhere Nokia, while being my first stop for rock-solid hardware, wouldn't be my first for desirable hardware. They've never done a 'world's thinnest' etc or won any design awards for nigh on a decade if I'm not mistaken.
Perhaps the Zune guys in that cavernous design studio we saw a few years back can come up with something more exciting for the guys in Finland to mull over - if *they* haven't been laid off.
Hmmm, yeah, at this rate, it wouldn't surprise me to find that the Zune team had been laid off and the Nokia designers were taking over the Zune designs in the future. On second thought, have we even heard any news as to whether or not Microsoft plans to continue making Zune devices? Perhaps they will just expect Zune users to migrate to a WP7 phone instead when they are ready to "upgrade". That might be their only hope of getting any more migration to WP7.
I'm not making any judgments on WP7 here, I'm just looking at the sheer amount of user inertia Microsoft is up against. Many criticized their ad campaign, but I think it was actually pretty smart. They have no illusions of breaking that inertia... people already on iOS or android won't be switching to WP7. Their target has to be the millions of people who never owned a smartphone before, and the teens getting their first phone (hence XBL integration).
Now that I think about it, most Nokia users in America probably owned a dumbphone or maybe an E series... so perhaps this "merger" makes sense. Those who would most likely have used Nokia here, and are likely to stick with brand recognition, would then consider a WP7 phone merely because they see the Nokia name. This might mean Nokia will mostly be targeting new smartphone users with their designs, not the advanced users who are already invested in another platform.
I hadn't really thought about it that way before I started typing this, so maybe Microsoft and Nokia are geniuses after all? :/
I'm not making any judgments on WP7 here, I'm just looking at the sheer amount of user inertia Microsoft is up against. Many criticized their ad campaign, but I think it was actually pretty smart. They have no illusions of breaking that inertia... people already on iOS or android won't be switching to WP7. Their target has to be the millions of people who never owned a smartphone before, and the teens getting their first phone (hence XBL integration).
Now that I think about it, most Nokia users in America probably owned a dumbphone or maybe an E series... so perhaps this "merger" makes sense. Those who would most likely have used Nokia here, and are likely to stick with brand recognition, would then consider a WP7 phone merely because they see the Nokia name. This might mean Nokia will mostly be targeting new smartphone users with their designs, not the advanced users who are already invested in another platform.
I hadn't really thought about it that way before I started typing this, so maybe Microsoft and Nokia are geniuses after all? :/
I dunno about Android or iOS users not switching. The inertia is there certainly, but down the line, if Microsoft shores up more of the work-related stuff, I can see some people jumping ship perhaps from Android at least.
In WP7 I'm an early jumper (I have just bought another Android set and have had iOS since release, but I have a feeling they will play less and less of a part as WP7 apps develop for me), but then I have always been a fairly early weathervane for tech.
I'm actually mulling over whether I should buy a Zune HD to be the backup media player to the Omnia 7. Right now I'm still floating in OS X/iTunes-land (since the Zune connector works surprisingly well - even syncs playcounts properly in iTunes for everything), but moving my media to Windows libraries, and working with software which can monitor folders instead of hogging all the media to itself - but can still sync playcounts (as in the case of Zune) - is the ultimate aim, so dumping all of my iPods for example is on the cards (And of course ultimately, Windows is a superior OS for media consumption). I might even get rid of the iPhone later this year, and just retain the iPad for keeping my hand in iOS.
But it has been well over a year since the last major Zune release so I have not been jumping on the idea. I would definitely like to see a high-capacity phone or PMP with Zune in the near future though.
In WP7 I'm an early jumper (I have just bought another Android set and have had iOS since release, but I have a feeling they will play less and less of a part as WP7 apps develop for me), but then I have always been a fairly early weathervane for tech.
I'm actually mulling over whether I should buy a Zune HD to be the backup media player to the Omnia 7. Right now I'm still floating in OS X/iTunes-land (since the Zune connector works surprisingly well - even syncs playcounts properly in iTunes for everything), but moving my media to Windows libraries, and working with software which can monitor folders instead of hogging all the media to itself - but can still sync playcounts (as in the case of Zune) - is the ultimate aim, so dumping all of my iPods for example is on the cards (And of course ultimately, Windows is a superior OS for media consumption). I might even get rid of the iPhone later this year, and just retain the iPad for keeping my hand in iOS.
But it has been well over a year since the last major Zune release so I have not been jumping on the idea. I would definitely like to see a high-capacity phone or PMP with Zune in the near future though.
This just keeps getting more surreal. It is really hard not to believe this theory now:
www.computerworld.com/s/article/9209259/Microsoft_...
www.computerworld.com/s/article/9209259/Microsoft_...
And now some more interesting info. I did not know the Elop had once before been used in the CEO role to prep a company for takeover (Macromedia). So, it really seems like the writing is on the wall here. Unless there is something I am missing.
piacentini.blog.br/2011/02/elop-is-after-me/
piacentini.blog.br/2011/02/elop-is-after-me/
