Apple + Nokia

Karl Long, Nokia employee and emerging media pro gave me a heads up regarding a video he just produced along with Paul Whitaker.  What's worth noting is that Karl actually hit the streets and chatted up a few folks about their current phones and what they were trading in for the iPhone etc. Nokia is definitely taking the iPhone threat seriously, but it's pretty cool to see a few folks out there mixing it up at the personal level to try to get a better Karl also discovered that the iPhone doesn't do video:

"One side note that I only discovered after doing this video is the iPhone doesn’t do video at all, which I was really surprised about. When Paul was editing he put his Nokia fan boy bumper that said “you can watch this on an iPhone but you couldn’t make it” and I actually argued with him on that point, I thought video was assumed."

I give a lot of credit to Karl for going out there and using a Nokia phone to document the power of Apple.  When the competition heats up—you should absolutely get out there to see what's going on.  And in this case, Karl and team hit the pavement to see first hand.

Speaking of Nokia—I absolutely love this slideshow they produced.  I don't own a Nokia phone.  If anyone out there does, do you feel the sideshow is consistent with your experience with Nokia?

Comments

[Aldana]

I owned Nokia phones for over 5 years now and wouldn't change them for anything else. I do agree with the slide show in that Nokia provides effortless connection, a big part for not trading Nokia for any other brand is their simple and intuitive GUI.

Interesting post, I'd like to see how the market responds to the iPhone (any news on brand issues?)

Aldana

[karen]

I've used Nokia phones/devices for the past 2 years, starting with a basic Verizon phone and now have an N95. The slideshow is an accurate depiction of my experience -- Nokia has a very broad product line, with phones as simple (or as complex) as a consumer might desire.

Something I've noticed about Nokia employees (whom I've met through various web 2.0 sites) is their curiousity about the consumer experience (of Nokia) and their willingness to hear both the good and the bad. These interactions have only increased my respect for Nokia as a company that wants to connect with consumers to provide products that meet their needs.

[DA]

Aldana, Karen,

Thanks for sharing these perspectives. I really like Nokia's philosophy as outlined in this deck and it's refreshing to hear users reinforce what a brand is saying they are (and what they want to be)

[CK]

Can't agree more...I give Karl BIG props for this video--thanks for calling my attention to it, gonna go give him some good words on his side. Very cool.

[Nat_Nudge]

Agree that the video is great. More companies need to takle the BIG questions facing their brand head on. Otherwise it looks like a brand is avoiding something...

[Jack Cheng]

If the iPhone didn't exist, I'd be using a Nokia right now. I think their software/interface design is tops among the rest of the (non-Apple) handset makers.

[Graham Hill]

David

Our whole family has been loyal to Nokia for over 10 years. We currently have six different contracts all running on Nokia phones. We find that the intuitive, simple GUI is vastly superior to those of Siemens, Motorola and Hagenuk that we have had at various times in the past. Until now that is.

I have long had an indestructable Nokia 6310i for private/business use, but was given a Nokia E61 for Christmas so that I could transfer all my business communications to a dedicated business phone. This involved manually transfering my contacts and calendar from a basic Palm PDA to the E61. What a mistake.

The Symbian operating system in the E61 is a LEMON. It is not intuitive, it is not simple and it took me for ever and a day to get pull/push email properly setup. (I even asked a Nokia operations manager I met at a conference to help, but it was too tough for him too). And compared to the Palm, the contacts and calendar functions are simply awful. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I am now switching back from the E61 to a Palm Treo 680 that will allow me to do everything the E61 does, but with elegant simplicity. I will have to migrate all my data back to the Treo, but it will be worth it.

I am still a Nokia fan and I will keep my 6310i for private use, but that doesn't mean I am going to put up with third-rate usability to stay loyal.

Graham Hill
Independent CRM Consultant
Interim CRM Manager

PS. I will not be buying an Apple iPhone in the forseeable future.

[phil gillman]

DA-
I've been a nokia only guy the last 8 years, until my recent purchase of an iPhone. I have every intention though of supplementing my iPhone with an n95, as I think that the experience model that Nokia upholds in their products is amazing. This deck really does a good job of capturing that model.
Of course, there are things missing in any product experience, such as the lack of US 3G in the n95 -- made more noticeable by the inclusion of the European standard for 3G. It does make one question Nokia's commitment to the US as a market.
In many ways, while extremely different experiences, the joys of experiencing an apple product and a nokia product both highlight these companies dedication to design and experience.
My experience with the iPhone so far shows it to be built around a very different experience model than the nokia phones are, and only time will tell which model proves more successful at engaging and winning users. I will continue to enjoy both for very different reasons for the foreseeable future though.

[Valeria Maltoni]

DA:
I'm a loyal Nokia customer. I waited upgrading the phone so I could have the very first Nokia flip phone in the US. Reliable, great design, intuitive user experience. In Europe the design is sexier -- I see the ads in the fashion magazines and wish I could have those models here.

Although I learned to work on the little MacIIs, remember those?, the only Apple thing I own now is the iPod mini, which is losing charge all the time... not a great experience so far. I hear the battery replacement for the iPhone is $75.00(?)

I agree with Phil, Nokia seems to be very dedicated to design of experience.

[DA]

This is good stuff. I haven't seen a lot of people with Nokia phones—less than I remember, but I know they are very popular outside of the US and the comments here offer a nice insight as to why. I'll have to shoot a note out to Karl to make sure he reads them.

[karl]

Oh, i'm reading them :-) Thanks for the kind words everybody and the thoughtful criticism. In many ways people in the US don't get to experience Nokia in the same way that people in Europe and Asia Pacific, world wide Nokia is the number 6 brand. Apparently next year 1 billion people globally will have a Nokia handset. I think the next couple of years will be very interesting in the US as better networks get rolled out, especially 4G (Wimax).

[Valeria Maltoni]

Karl:

I can't wait! I would not even consider buying a Moto or any other king of mobile phone.

[Jim Rait]

Can anyone tell me what on earth slide 12 means?