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Nokia Exec: Young People Fed Up With iPhone and Android
jfruhlinger writes "Nokia's Windows Phones haven't hit the U.S., but at least one company executive thinks they'll be a slam dunk, since young people have soured on the iPhone and find Android baffling. Of course, much of the Internet commentariat found his remarks even more baffling. Is he right, is he delusional, or is he just trying to build buzz for his company's products the best he can?"
It's Nokia, so I'll take delusional for $2000, Alex.
And looking to promote his company.
The kids these days, they don't like the broadband. They are fed up with the cable and the fibre. Everyone has the fibre. Also, many are not happy with the complexity of broadband and the increased risk of viruses over broadband. So we do increasingly see that the youth that wants to be on the cutting edge and try something new are turning to dial up.
Right now, it is so confusing to the customer. Where is the softly assuring BEEEEEEP WAHUNG WAHUNG SCSSHHHHHHHHH white noise after connecting that lets you know that you are receiving 56k service?
My work here is dung.
Guess that's why my teenagers wanted iPhones..
I don't think I've ever met someone who wasn't a hacker/tweaker sort who didn't like their iPhones. Regardless of your beliefs about their business practices, Walled Garden, etc, by and large the iPhone works and works well. I'm not sure exactly who he talked to about being fed up.
I've also not met a lot of people unhappy with their Android phones, though they may not be using them to their full customization potential.
...I've soured on the Android (performance and privacy issues) and the iPhone looks expensive (based on the iPhone tax it looks like service providers charge). But, I also had about 2 years of development experience on the inferior Windows Mobile platform when Microsoft pissed on the developer base, then shoved us out the door.
I'd say he's right there's room for another competitor, but his ain't it.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
... in the same way as their friends.
Many of them have sold off the shares. Nokias shares are down ... alot.
It was the board that decided to select an alliance with Microsoft.
Just saying it like it are.
He employs some great logic. Here is a direct quote:
"What we see is that youth are pretty much fed up with iPhones. Everyone has the iPhone," he said.
If everyone wants something, then nobody could possibly want it... right?
want your kid to be beaten up by the school bully, then give him a nokia windows mobile 7 phone.
As a "young person", I do not see how anyone can claim Android is "baffling"... to begin with it was more of an engineer/dev/nerd phone but it quickly changed and now IIRC is the most popular phone OS. My facebook news feed often contains complaints or questions about "why is my iphone xxx" but not once have I seen any of them asking for help with a droid.
I can't speak for really young people, but the 20-35 crowd with whom I work love their Androids.
They tend to see the iPhone as a bit more "stuffy", but that distinction may have more to do with company policies regarding who gets what, than with any actual differences between the devices themselves. But "Baffling"? C'mon, you just slide through the screens to the one you want, and tap when you get there.
Now, if you want to ask if the business world will get all hot over a device they can lock down via domain policies - I'd at least give that one a 50/50 (with the "not" 50% swearing like a sailor at the horror of having any mobile device trusted on their domain). But the actual users? Yeah, I'll have to go with the Nokia execs as "delusional" on this one.
It's not like Nokia phones are going to be any different from other vendors' WP7 phones, despite the privileged position Nokia has. Their real chance to be different was with the N9, and by all accounts the phone is a success in the markets it was launched in. People love it -- if they can get it. Carrier subsidizing is the only "feature" that is missing. But good news Newegg now carries it! ($630) so no dealing with shady importers.
I hate my Android, but I'll likely go back to iPhone, unless I swing the N9 for xmas. Yeah, I'm not even a year into the Atrix and I'm looking to spend another $630 because Android is crap. I prefer a "walled garden" to an open field of shit. I'm only waiting to see how the iPhone 5 changes things.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
I showed my Android phone to my 2 year old and within minutes she was fed up. To her, all those icons and such were baffling. But then I showed her a windows 7 phone and she ate it up! It spent far more time in her mouth than any other phone in the house!
I don't know why older people have this misconception that young people are more iconoclastic than older ones. Just because the Young do not have the same icons as the old I guess. Teens and young adults are gregarious and sensitive to peer pressure to an extreme, more than more mature people.
If Nokia counts on many Young having it as an argument against the iPhone, I wish them good luck. They could try "your moms and dads have them too", but since moms and dads still mostly have Nokias, at least in Europe, that doesn't sound too smart either.
Sounds like clutching at straws to me.
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Every other day I'm hearing about smartphone makers suing each other, that's what I'm fed up with.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
What's really missing the marketplace is a Linux console phone. All this graphics nonsense is just slowing people down. And what could be better than the feeling of compiling a kernel in your pocket?
I think this guy's be hanging out in a wafer fab snorting fumes.
If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
And I liked my Palm Pilot so much, I bought a Treo. However, the Treo was a terrible phone, I had to spend extra and buy it on eBay because the 680 wasn't supported by t-Mobile and for years I lived with it. Then, finally I started phone shopping.
A friend lent me his Nokia 900 and I found it to be un-useable. It interpreted *everything* as me wanting to use the device, including putting it back into a belt-holster... So it would start playing videos in my pocket, and when I wanted to really use it to make a phone call, the battery was dead.
I didn't like the iPhone's on-screen keyboard, but, when the iPhone4 came out, it finally supported a bluetooth keyboard. So, I bought the iPhone & keyboard. When I'm away from the keyboard, I've learned to live with the onscreen keyboard.
For the last year and 2 months now, it's been OK. I haven't wanted to run my phone over with my car, something I've wanted to do to both the Treo and the Nokia. Sure, it doesn't do everything, but, I have to admit it's better than what I was getting previously. The keyboard has made taking notes and writing emails very easy, making the phone a 60% desktop replacement.
It's a fairly good PDA, and even with AT&T service, it's been a use-able phone. All it has to do is not suck entirely, which tends to be what the other products do.
Considered that kids want what the other kids have, my guess is that this quote from Nokia that kids want a Windows Phone is rubbish. Kids want an iPhone. Apple is already on track to be the biggest phone-maker in the world.
Nokia, RIM, Samsung, and Sony do not have a chance unless they undertake some serious R&D and make something equally revolutionary. And somehow "revolutionary" isn't a word *anyone* associates with Microsoft. Windows phone ain't it, any more than GEOS phone. WebOS could have been it, but Palm and the HP both screwed that pooch.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
They are fed up with the carriers, not the phones.
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
... that Windows phone runs Windows? Think of it like this: Android phones don't run Ubuntu.
By "Exec" in the title the actual position of the speaker is in fact "director of Portfolio, Product Marketing & Sales at Nokia Entertainment Global", which equates to something like "manufacturer of consent via media manipulation, innuendo, and implication". No hard science or technology in that guy's department.
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
Just imagine: in 2013 having a windows phone that:
a) Can be used as a phone (of course!)
b) Can be used as a tablet (windows 8 with the Metro UI)
c) Can be used as a computer (windows 8 with the Classic UI)
d) Can be used as a game console (it is rumored that the next xbox could run in ARM processors a variant of the windows 8 kernel).
Microsoft is known for improving its products version after version... Everyone thinks that Windows Phone 7.5 is a very goog start: just read the reviews:
- Engadget ( http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/27/windows-phone-7-5-mango-review/ )
"While Windows Phone still needs a glass of water to get rid of a few hiccups -- and let's face it, every mobile OS has plenty of their own -- it ironed out a lot of the wrinkles from earlier versions and made it a much more feature-laden, user-friendly experience. With Mango, WP7 has caught up with Android and iOS in nearly every way, and in some areas it's even surpassed the other two in functionality. Despite a grim first year, the bright future of Windows Phone is forcing Ballmer to wear shades."
- The Verge ( http://www.theverge.com/2011/10/24/2509332/windows-phone-75-mango-review )
"Put simply, regardless of your preconceptions, Windows Phone finally deserves an honest look the next time you’re ready to buy a phone — particularly as we start to see new devices come to market over the next few weeks."
- gsmarena ( http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_7_5-review-655.php )
"WP7 lacked key functionality, which deterred potential consumers. Version 7.5 however brings things that will appeal to businesspeople, social networking buffs and people who like a novel software experience. If you're using Microsoft software (chances are you're using at least Office at work), WP7.5 offers the smoothest, most well-rounded experience. The rich bundle of several social networks and IM clients and emails and texts is beautifully organized too. And let's face it, the Windows Phone interface is the only UI around that's truly different - iOS, Android, even Symbian are becoming harder and harder to tell apart. The only thing that held it back was the lack of multitasking and now that's been sorted out."
Uh, no. The young people make very few calls on their phones. It's text messages, IM, Facetime, VOIP over Xbox, facebook; everything but phone calls.
- Living with a 20-year old in the basement.
If I used a sig over again, would anyone notice?
Om Malik commenting on the state of Nokia in Finland.
I co-incidentally happen to be in Helsinki, a few miles away from Nokiaâ(TM)s global headquarters in Espoo, Finland. Walking around the downtown (where I am staying), I have seen many more iPhones than Nokia phones. And most of the startup people I met have some variation of the iPhone. One of them who is still in college told me that Nokia gave him one of their new phones, and he decided to use it as a way to support his nationâ(TM)s largest employer. A month later, he switched back to the iPhone. Ouch! When you canâ(TM)t give away your phones to your own âoeyouth,â it is time to stop hating on other platforms and look for ways to get people to use your product.
Nokia can't even give away their phones!
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
the first of the five stages of grief.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
They are doing it wrong. They should push it as a business friendly phone. Nice tight integration with Exchange server. add on some security tools. Enable remote wiping, and perhaps even a remote bricking.
Sell it as an Enterprise phone. Replacement for the blackberry.
If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
Some Creepy old guy walks up to a group of kids.
Creepy old guy looks at kid using his iPhone
Creepy old guy: Can you play xbox with your iPhone?
Kid with iPhone: No
Creepy old guy looks at kid using his Android.
Creepy old guy: Can you play xbox with your Android?
Kid with Android: I don't think so.
Headline: Young People soured on the iPhone and find the Android baffling.
My wife now has a WP7 phone (HTC Arrive) and loves it. The OS seems well put together and while it doesn't seem to be a power user phone it does many of the functions better of being a phone, text platform, and media consumption device much more smoothly than either iOS or Android. I use both an Android (Galaxy SII currently) and an iPhone 4 on a daily basis, my preference is heavily on the Android side for many usability and functionality reasons. I also run custom ROMs on my android vs. stock on the iPhone which may have much to do with my experience.
That said the WP7 has been impressive enough that it may just be my next phone.
I'll meet you at the intersection of "Should be" and "Reality"
Your complaint about Android's keyboard is one of its best features. Sure, the stock Android keyboard is just mediocre. It works fine for most people, but for those who want something better, you can easily replace it. I found one that I like, that works really well for me (SwiftKey), so I was able to very easily replace the stock keyboard app with that one. My wife didn't care for the stock keyboard or SwiftKey, so she easily replaced hers with another (Swype, I think?). I can't stand her keyboard, but she loves it. We both can easily type using our onscreen keyboards, and we both routinely use the onscreen keyboard instead of the built in hardware keyboard.
My son has an iPhone, after using SwiftKey, I think his keyboard is horrible. As far as I know he's stuck with it though, there's no way to change the stock keyboard on it. It may be a little better than the stock Android keyboard, but it absolutely blows compared to some of the aftermarket Android ones.
You also made a comment about Samsung just using the free software that's available instead of developing their own. Do you remember just a few years ago, when each phone had its own OS? Those were absolutely horrible. I wouldn't even consider a phone not running Android or iOS any more. I don't think many other people would either.
From my vantage point they're probably still hot! :D
No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!