Mark Bridge writes:
I still have my Nokia 2110. When the world is taken over by cockroaches and the MRSA bug, my Nokia 2110 will still be in working order. The MRSA-infected cockroaches will probably use it to build their own cellular network.
I loved the Nokia Communicator. It was a real game-changer, a device that paved the way for today’s smartphones.
I went to the press conference at Mobile World Congress where I was wowed by the Nokia 808 PureView, a phone that’ll take 38-megapixel photos. Never mind clever lenses, this baby can almost zoom in to an atomic level.
I enjoy hearing from that Nokia. The Nokia of innovation.
But there’s another Nokia. Dull Nokia. Corporate Nokia. Gauche Nokia. The Nokia that sent me this week’s press release.
With a little help from Microsoft it’s now starting to catch up with Android and Apple devices. Or, to quote the headline, “Nokia Lumia drives further ecosystem momentum with new app partnerships announced at CTIA”.
Excuse me for a moment while I recover from being underwhelmed.
What are those “new partnerships and app updates across key consumer verticals”, you ask?
A PGA app, already out on iOS and Android. It’s coming to Nokia Lumia smartphones at the end of June.
ESPN. Already available on iOS and Android.
Angry Birds. Already available just about everywhere else, from theme parks to t-shirts. Now coming to Windows Phone.
Groupon. PayPal. AOL entertainment. All on their way.
Now, I know that Nokia’s Lumia smartphones have only been available for the last six months.
But there’s really no need to say this stuff. All it’s doing is emphasising its competitors’ lead. “You know all those cool apps that are already available elsewhere? Well, we’re going to get them soon as well”.
And then yesterday I saw John Pope engaging Tomi Ahonen on Twitter. Tomi, in case you didn’t know, is an author and consultant who’s often critical of Nokia. John is Nokia’s Director of Communications. John took issue with Tomi’s description of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as having “admitted” a number of issues.
Now, I’m no social media expert - but I’d say this is another of those times that “the better part of valour is discretion”, to quote Shakespeare.
I want to hear more from Nokia. But when Nokia doesn’t have anything much to say, it needs to keep quiet.