Comments on: If You Want To VoIP, Wait Before You Buy Nokia N96

By: Nokia’s Touch Phone on Oct 2. Too Little Too Late? - GigaOM

Nokia’s Touch Phone on Oct 2. Too Little Too Late? - GigaOM — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:01:39 +0000

[...] device focused on their hot growth markets such as India. In a post earlier this month, I had asked about the whereabouts of this touch screen phone. It has been over a year since the iPhone was launched, and Nokia still doesn’t have anything new [...]

By: Texrat

Texrat — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:03:16 +0000

Finnsense, where did you get this wacky idea that all Nokia employees get free N95s?

By: James Body

James Body — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:12:49 +0000

The small battery, comparatively high price and cripple VoIP are all criteria that make the N96 much less attractive. Also, despite being announced with fanfares in Barcelona at the beginning of this year, it has still not made it out into the retail channel.

Comparing the N96 with the E71 is an interesting exercise; the E71 IS available now (in both European and NA models), is considerably cheaper and has a HUGE battery with commensurate working time. The E71 has fully functional SIP VoIP and push e-mail, coupled with a very pleasing form factor with a very useable full QWERTY keypad.

I suspect that the E71 will sell in very large numbers; the N96 (when it eventually arrives) probably will not!

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:28:28 +0000

@glu

I agree with you that nokia needs those early adopters to keep the momentum going for these expensive devices. i think it be interesting to see how it shakes out. as a company they have some good ideas but execution is slow. I mean they want to compete in internet time, unfortunately their processes are still from another era. I have experienced it and the iPhone is one of those devices that can cause them problems of perception. I got Truphone working on an iPhone and that's it. The N-series is sitting in a drawer somewhere without much usage. It used to be my big reason to carry a N95.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:38:22 +0000

Well said Didi…

One of the reasons SE has taken so long with the Xperia is to get the UI right – typically one of the biggest complaint/problem area for WinMo devices. I had an opportunity to see a demo unit – definitely waiting… No other device comes close.

By: Subhash

Subhash — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:21:25 +0000

Om, Try using T9Nav (www.t9nav.com) on your N-series. It is still in beta but absolutely fantastic. It'll probably make the iPhone menu navigation look slow and cumbersome :)

Btw, I have absolutely no connection to T9Nav. I am just a genuinely delighted user of their app.

Subhash

By: NOKIA N96 Launched In Europe - It Rocks! - CrazyEngineers Forum

NOKIA N96 Launched In Europe - It Rocks! - CrazyEngineers Forum — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:20:20 +0000

[...] N96 Launched In Europe – It Rocks! As reported by Gigaom here – If You Want To VoIP, Wait Before You Buy Nokia N96 – GigaOM , Nokia N96 is the Swiss army knife of mobile phones! However it does not let you do the VOIP [...]

By: Didi

Didi — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:15:50 +0000

I wouldn't call Nokia too bureaucratic. They are, however, very large and very cautious. Anssi Vanjoki has stated that they will have touch devices across the product lineup, and at the E71/E66 launch, company reps seemed to refer to multiple touch devices due this year. At the very least, we will see the Tube - and I suspect this will happen sooner than most think. I think that's going to be the main device for Nokia Comes With Music.

Also, HTC isn't tiny. It has over 50 percent of the WM market worldwide, and has easily been the most innovative WM phone maker.

Just doing "touch" is, imo, pointless unless you do the UI well. Of the devices we've had here in Israel, HTC's are the only ones that come remotely close to the iPhone experience. LG is far behind and Samsung's touch UI is terrible. Hopefully, Nokia are waiting because they want to get this right.

By: glu

glu — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:43:22 +0000

@om HELSINKI!

I guess the question comes down to whether the power users that are the N-series demographic really care about VoIP. They certainly care about an out of the box tethering solution so that's a huge loss. Can Nokia afford to lose more power users to the blackberry/iphone parade?

By: Eric in Cupertino

Eric in Cupertino — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:26:41 +0000

One could pickup the E51 with SIP support for 250$

Nseries is a fashion statement.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:12:15 +0000

Finnsense – nice to know that iPhone is doing well inside Helsinki. that is just funny.

By: Finnsense

Finnsense — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:17:04 +0000

Word in these parts (i.e. Espoo, Finland) is that Nokia’s forthcoming touchscreen phone is due out this quarter but is a bit rubbish. You should see the number of Nokia folks wandering around with their new iphones – even though they all get N95s for free.