rdcinhou wrote:Nokia was not lying when they proclaimed the N97 as "the worlds most powerful mobile computer".
It has lots of power--like a tractor has more power than a car.
And like a tractor it does better OFF the road (which is why the GPS keeps jumping into the fields next to the highway!) and occasionally gets bogged down in the mud.
Like a tractor it isn't pretty--it picks up all the odors of the farm, attracts dirt and even smells like diesel fuel and sweat.
Unlike a car, there also aren't many accessories for a tractor--just the basics. No flashy apps that make you say "Wow".
Also like a tractor--it doesn't go very fast but you can run a dozen programs simultaneously--if you're willing to wait a few seconds for the results of your screen press to show up on the screen.
Nice analogy. 
And it worked beutifully, until that last paragraph. Have you ever tried running several applications simultaneously on the N97? Ever seen the message about no memory, please quit some application?
It does multitasking, in theory, but in reality it's almost useless. It don't have the resources to handle it, sadly enough.
If they had just done some proper testing of the software before releasing the phone, and fixing the obvious bugs, as well as atleast implement a few more features that they have in almost any other phone they have manufactured, the N97 would have blown the competition away. As it is, it's something to tell jokes about when you meet others.
If the ipod taught us anything, it's that you can never, never, ever out-Apple Apple. Ever. Years later, there still isn't anything that does what the ipod does better than it does. Different things, yes. There are features, some of which, like drag and drop, I won't live without that ipod doesn't include. But nothing can lay a glove on it on its home ground.
Why am I talking about ipods in a phone forum? Because the same thing is playing out right now on a much bigger playing field, the whole burgeoning mobile cloud thing, where a phone isn't a phone anymore, it's a part of your life. Fair enough, it is, no mistake. But everyone isn't the same, and while it would be nice to have a phone easy to use AND with bleeding edge tech, I don't live on that side of the rainbow. I'll take the tech, and the solid basics, every time.
But Nokia seems to be learning one "lesson" of apple (why give people apps when you can sell them to them) without realizing that they aren't apple, their customer base isn't apple's, and if we wanted an apple, we would've jolly well bought one. (Also, while I don't have one, I don't think apple makes you pay for EVERYTHING, such as basic pdf functionality on a flagship. Yes, I'm talking to you, Mr. N97.)
I know things change, but Nokia has to decide who they are. Are they the technology leader, or are they going to try and forever play catch-the-wind, squandering what they do have for what they can never achieve. I still love you nokia, but now we have issues
