Nokia's Present & Future

[Silent_Buddha]

Once you can get a €50 phone to last 2 weeks without charging, sure.

Heh, that's me right there. Well, except in USD. If the phone can't last at a minimum 2 weeks on a charge or 1+ weeks with frequent talking it is 100% useless to me.

There isn't a single thing thing a smartphone offers me that I find remotely compelling. I guess I'm old fashioned as I rarely even take my phone with me when I leave the house. When I'm at a restaurant, theater, the park, bar, whatever... The LAST thing I want is someone calling me and interrupting the good time I'm having. And the thing I hate the most is when people I'm with get a phone call while we're doing something and then talk on it. And don't even get me started on text messaging in those situations. ugh.

Regards,
SB

 

[eastmen]

what are you guys doing that your away from a source of power for more than a day or two? Even when i go camping for a week I have plenty of power

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=11201&cs_id=1083110&p_id=8295&seq=1&format=2

I have this bad boy for camping and i'm normaly by a car charger or an outlet some where . My phone lasts one day

 

[wco81]

Smart phones are basically the handheld computers that computer scientists have been predicting for decades.

The computer industry is moving to mobile and used the cell phone as a trojan horse to take over telecom.

 

[Mize]

what are you guys doing that your away from a source of power for more than a day or two?

Let's see...all day business in and around Tokyo followed by typical Japanese business dinner (lots of drinking)...forget to put phone on charger...wake up and run for train...

 

[Mariner]

The droid razer gets horrible batttery life , the bigger battery is just a bandaid .

The biggest problem with Android phones, IMO, is that the software releases from the manufacturers are completely half-arsed. Many of the IHVs hack together their own front end (MotoBlur, Sense, TouchWiz etc) then rarely bother to update to newer android versions or improve the software unless there are some show-stopping bugs. I've got an Atrix which was Motorola's top end device a year ago but it now looks as though there will be no official ICS release which is pretty crummy service whichever way you look at things. Apple's continued support and updates for older devices shows how a company should act towards their customers, even if to balance this out, users have to accept the limitations Apple enforces on you to protect their bottom line.

At the other end of the scale is Motorola who make very good hardware (build quality of my Atrix and the Defy I previously used is bulletproof), but offer terrible service. Of all the Android front-ends, Motorola's Blur is probably the worst, hence the crappy battery life on the standard Razr. However, if you are willing to root your phone you can freeze these crappy apps and, by installing custom ROMs from the enthusiast community, you can greatly improve the performance, battery life and functionality of the device. Of course, for my Atrix, I needed to unlock the bootloader using a hack (thereby nullifying my warranty) to be able to install the much improved ROMs.

I do wonder if the Motorola customer service will improve in the future when Google complete their take over? It would seem to be a bit perverse if new versions of Android weren't released for older phones by a company owned by Google themselves. That said, I wouldn't put anything past Motorola!

 

[eastmen]

Let's see...all day business in and around Tokyo followed by typical Japanese business dinner (lots of drinking)...forget to put phone on charger...wake up and run for train...

Thats why I normaly buy a spare battery and allways keep it charged. Add in that power brick (about the size of a pack of smokes) and I'm good all week . They even make smaller pocket sized battery back ups

The biggest problem with Android phones, IMO, is that the software releases from the manufacturers are completely half-arsed. Many of the IHVs hack together their own front end (MotoBlur, Sense, TouchWiz etc) then rarely bother to update to newer android versions or improve the software unless there are some show-stopping bugs. I've got an Atrix which was Motorola's top end device a year ago but it now looks as though there will be no official ICS release which is pretty crummy service whichever way you look at things. Apple's continued support and updates for older devices shows how a company should act towards their customers, even if to balance this out, users have to accept the limitations Apple enforces on you to protect their bottom line.

At the other end of the scale is Motorola who make very good hardware (build quality of my Atrix and the Defy I previously used is bulletproof), but offer terrible service. Of all the Android front-ends, Motorola's Blur is probably the worst, hence the crappy battery life on the standard Razr. However, if you are willing to root your phone you can freeze these crappy apps and, by installing custom ROMs from the enthusiast community, you can greatly improve the performance, battery life and functionality of the device. Of course, for my Atrix, I needed to unlock the bootloader using a hack (thereby nullifying my warranty) to be able to install the much improved ROMs.

I do wonder if the Motorola customer service will improve in the future when Google complete their take over? It would seem to be a bit perverse if new versions of Android weren't released for older phones by a company owned by Google themselves. That said, I wouldn't put anything past Motorola!

Carriers and phone companys want to use ICS along with 4G to get people to upgrade into more expensive limited data plans. I know verizon employees hate selling iphones because they are 3g while they get a spif for selling 4g phones with 4g service upgrades.

It will be interesting to see what Samsung and HTC do once Gotorala starts making moves. They may be pushed out of the market

 

[babybumb]

Apple will do great on IOS. Samsung will dominate Android high-end and middle-end with some chinese manufactures in the low-end. HTC/Motorola/everybody are already in big trouble and that will get worse.

Nokia needs to dominate Windows Phone to be one among Samsung and Apple as the three big companies. This might take a few years to ramp up and profits will be minimal.

I think RIM will be soon gone as we know it. Sales are tanking day by day and BBX will not find a footing even vs Windows Phone let alone everyone else. BBX is probably outdated now but in Q4 it will be suicide. So they will end smartphone business and concentrate on services or will be bought out by MS/Apple to get the BB infrastructure

 

[Mize]

Thats why I normaly buy a spare battery and allways keep it charged. Add in that power brick (about the size of a pack of smokes) and I'm good all week . They even make smaller pocket sized battery back ups

I think the point is that a phone that does NOT require carrying extra batteries or power bricks is preferable, not that we don't know how to manage without it. Changing a battery on a crowded, standing-room-only train is not easy and making a call with a power brick connected is a pain in the butt. It's not that either is impossible, just that the elimination of such necessities would be much better.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Thats why I normaly buy a spare battery and allways keep it charged. Add in that power brick (about the size of a pack of smokes) and I'm good all week . They even make smaller pocket sized battery back ups

And thus we start to move away from the whole point and convenience of a mobile phone. That whole package of yours is already getting to be 3-4x the space of just carrying my phone by itself.

I'm also a semi-forgetful person. I don't want to have to remember to plug in the phone or put it in a charger every single night. Once a week or once every two weeks is already enough hassle for what is at its core a utility device.

Regards,
SB

 

[Mariner]

And thus we start to move away from the whole point and convenience of a mobile phone. That whole package of yours is already getting to be 3-4x the space of just carrying my phone by itself.

I'm also a semi-forgetful person. I don't want to have to remember to plug in the phone or put it in a charger every single night. Once a week or once every two weeks is already enough hassle for what is at its core a utility device.

Regards,
SB

I sort of agree with you here. Although the fixed battery could be considered an inconvenience if you like to carry a spare with you, battery life certainly seems to be pretty decent:

http://blog.gsmarena.com/motorola-droid-razr-maxx-battery-trial-is-over-meet-our-new-champion-test/

When was the last time you needed over 20 hours talktime or 7 hours web browsing or 14 hours video on a single charge?

As somebody who like installing the latest and greatest enthusiast ROMs, my main problem is that you sometimes get a freeze which requires a battery pull. Not quite sure how you would manage this with a fixed battery. I wonder, is there a hard reset button anywhere?

 

[Mize]

When was the last time you needed over 20 hours talktime or 7 hours web browsing or 14 hours video on a single charge?

When was the last time a phone hit its "up to" numbers? I'm quite certain those numbers are with screen fully dimmed, no apps running, bluetooth off and nearest cell tower {here} phone {here} (~ 1 m distance).

[edit] Damn, those are real number and that beast comes with a 3300 mAh battery!

Might need to replace my Pre3 soon...oops, nevermind...Verizon/CDMA only. My grandfathered unlimited data is AT&T.

 

[Lazy8s]

Fantastic that a phone manufacturer finally tried to push the limits of how much battery could be crammed into a pocketable device. And room for more definitely still exists, which is nice.

The power consumption of that AMOLED for web page browsing is truly scary, though, when considering that it barely tops other phones even with its battery.

For any modern smartphone without a removable battery, hard key reset access is there one way or another, or, more inconveniently, a person could just let the battery run out completely or try to trigger a break by linking it via USB to corresponding PC software.

 

[eastmen]

Its def nice that a phone exists with such a large battery and i'm sure it suits some peoples needs. I just would rather have that battery removable and i'd sacrific some of that battery to make it that way. Its allways easier to throw in the spare than it is to have to find a wall outlet when it dies and from some of the usage people have discribed above even the razzer max wouldn't suit the battery requirements.

 

[Mize]

Its def nice that a phone exists with such a large battery and i'm sure it suits some peoples needs. I just would rather have that battery removable and i'd sacrific some of that battery to make it that way. Its allways easier to throw in the spare than it is to have to find a wall outlet when it dies and from some of the usage people have discribed above even the razzer max wouldn't suit the battery requirements.

Funny thing for me is I've almost always had replaceable batteries and a spare and in 13 years of business travel with a mobile phone I've used them only a handful of times. Even now I have a spare for my current phone aging in a drawer

 

[eastmen]

ha i wish , this october in Disney world i would drain that 7200mah monster i showed u in a single day. What with texting the other group members and checking wait times on the mobile apps .

Of course my epic 4 g has terrible battery life like almost every andriod phone i've ever seen

 

[tangey]

I'm also a semi-forgetful person. I don't want to have to remember to plug in the phone or put it in a charger every single night. Once a week or once every two weeks is already enough hassle for what is at its core a utility device.

So you're forgetful, think its a hassle plugging you phone into a mains source 30-50 times a year, don't see anything compelling on a smartphone, and rarely take your phone out of the house.

I'll think you'll find that the reason you can't come across your ideal phone is that if they made one, only you would buy it. You're not the target market, and thus your usage profile is totally irrelevant to the industry.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

So you're forgetful, think its a hassle plugging you phone into a mains source 30-50 times a year, don't see anything compelling on a smartphone, and rarely take your phone out of the house.

I'll think you'll find that the reason you can't come across your ideal phone is that if they made one, only you would buy it. You're not the target market, and thus your usage profile is totally irrelevant to the industry.

I was thinking of a nicer way to say it, but yes... Silent_Buddha's mobile phone requirements are kind of irrelevant for any phone manufacturer...

 

[dZeus]

So you're forgetful, think its a hassle plugging you phone into a mains source 30-50 times a year, don't see anything compelling on a smartphone, and rarely take your phone out of the house.

I'll think you'll find that the reason you can't come across your ideal phone is that if they made one, only you would buy it. You're not the target market, and thus your usage profile is totally irrelevant to the industry.

Am I misinterpreting things if by quoted section you mean to say that wanting decent battery life (i.e. charge once a week) is an irrelevant usage profile?

 

[Entropy]

So you're forgetful, think its a hassle plugging you phone into a mains source 30-50 times a year, don't see anything compelling on a smartphone, and rarely take your phone out of the house.

I'll think you'll find that the reason you can't come across your ideal phone is that if they made one, only you would buy it. You're not the target market, and thus your usage profile is totally irrelevant to the industry.

C'mon.
Bulk is always a negative in a device meant to be carried all the time. As is having to remember to recharge it, wait for it to do so, and still remember that it's not in your pocket when you go out the door.

You can accept bulk and limited battery life if they bring corresponding tangible benefits, but peoples opinions on this will differ. I own an iPhone4, my wife an iPhone4s. I would rather have three times the battery life than three times the processing power, and the iPhones are class leading in terms of battery life. I'm typing this on an iPad2, and again, while A15 cores and Rogue graphics in the iPad3 would cause instant nerdgasms, I still wouldn't buy it for that. Twice the linear resolution however is an insta-buy even if it still has an A5.

I'm saying this to point out that actual customers of these devices probably care one hell of a lot more about practical usability in their lives, rather than for instance the specs of the silicon. Stuff like robustness, screen quality, weight, weather sealing, battery life, photo/video quality et cetera are all technical aspects of à device that for many take precedence over processing power. And then we still haven't even touched on software library and accessability, social aspects or design.....

The stuff that is typically on the agenda on this forum is very far down the list of priorities of consumers of these devices and rightly so. It is a very nerdy pastime we have going on here.

 

[Npl]

So you're forgetful, think its a hassle plugging you phone into a mains source 30-50 times a year, don't see anything compelling on a smartphone, and rarely take your phone out of the house.

I'll think you'll find that the reason you can't come across your ideal phone is that if they made one, only you would buy it. You're not the target market, and thus your usage profile is totally irrelevant to the industry.

Well, a smartphone doesnt add that much compared to a feature phone (still horribly crippled compared to a tablet, laptop or handheld console) - except bulk, low battery life and a ridiculous price premium. Negatives so far outweight the positives for me and alot of others, these drawbacks should get less and less prevalent in the future but we are not there yet.

As far as SB (or myself) being the exception, phone market is a bit more then just smartphone market.