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2008-06-12
, 07:16
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Posts: 34 |
Thanked: 6 times |
Joined on May 2006
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#2
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Dont count on one unless Nokia gets a sudden influx of Apple inspiration ;-)
The problem is the same as always - Nokia does not want to get into the telco negotiation business with the tablets. They have always argued that to implement any kind of cellular connectivity would raise the price of the tablets beyond acceptable levels because of licensing issues (or similar). I think they caught a break with the WiMAX because it is not governed by telecom but by government - at least in most of Europe as far as I know.
The problem is the same as always - Nokia does not want to get into the telco negotiation business with the tablets. They have always argued that to implement any kind of cellular connectivity would raise the price of the tablets beyond acceptable levels because of licensing issues (or similar). I think they caught a break with the WiMAX because it is not governed by telecom but by government - at least in most of Europe as far as I know.
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2008-06-12
, 13:01
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Posts: 11,700 |
Thanked: 10,045 times |
Joined on Jun 2006
@ North Texas, USA
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#3
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Kny, out of curiosity, where did you read those statements?
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Nokia Developer Champion
Different <> Wrong | Listen - Judgment = Progress | People + Trust = Success
My personal site: http://texrat.net
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2008-06-12
, 13:23
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Posts: 1,540 |
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Joined on Feb 2007
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#4
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They have always argued that to implement any kind of cellular connectivity would raise the price of the tablets beyond acceptable levels because of licensing issues (or similar).
The absolutely cheapest mobile phones can be bought brand new and unlocked for about $30 or $40 without taxes or subsidies. That's the cellular radio, the keypad, the casing, the battery, the phone's processor, the speakers, the LCD screen etc plus profit for the phone maker.
All the tablet would need is the cellular radio, because it has all the rest. I can't believe it would add more than about $10 or $20 to the price of a tablet at the most. Even if it cost the same as an entire phone, that's still only an extra $30 or $40 on the price of a $400 tablet, hardly "beyond acceptable levels". 3G would cost more than 2G, but even then it's difficult to believe the cellular radio alone would go beyond $50 or so.
It would be an especially small percentage increase in Europe where the tablets cost closer to $600, and Europe is where the cellular function would be appreciated the most because European countries have particularly high fast mobile network coverage.
Also, by making the tablet a phone it would become available on phone contracts which would hide the price anyway. Look at Apple's supposed $199 iPhone, it actually costs several times that amount, but the contract hides the rest of the cost in monthly payments.
In fact I don't need to argue this at all, Nokia already released a cellular tablet way back in 2004, it was called the 7710 and it did pretty much the same things as the modern tablets, albeit much more slowly and using a different OS. It was pricey but not prohibitively expensive, as I recall it was about the same price as the tablets are now.
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/revie...Nokia_7710.php
They have already done this before, there's nothing to stop them doing it again.
Last edited by krisse; 2008-06-12 at 13:41.
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2008-06-12
, 15:00
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Posts: 356 |
Thanked: 38 times |
Joined on Nov 2005
@ Finland
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#5
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I have a 770 and the only reason to upgrade would be 3G. As far as I know listening to local (Finnish) radio stations, mp3-stream, is not possible with IPhone. Otherwise I really would be tempted to switch to iPhone. I use 770 for listening Last.fm through Vagalume with a separate, cheapest available 3G phone and hate the fact I have to have a separate gadget for the 3G.
__________________
N900 as day to day phone
N770 for childrens music
N900 as day to day phone
N770 for childrens music
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2008-06-12
, 15:04
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Posts: 3,790 |
Thanked: 5,718 times |
Joined on Mar 2006
@ Vienna, Austria
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#6
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Originally Posted by mrp
??? so, if the tablet had 3g, wouldnt you use a phone any more?
... cheapest available 3G phone and hate the fact I have to have a separate gadget for the 3G.
I would. the 770 doesnt fit into the pocket of my jeans.
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2008-06-13
, 01:53
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Posts: 2,802 |
Thanked: 4,491 times |
Joined on Nov 2007
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#7
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On Nokia's side, Ari Jaaksi has stated several times (with good reasoning IMHO) that they have no intention of turning the tablets into cellular phone. For what it's worth, I believe that's a good decision. I wouldn't be prepared to sacrifice rtcomm, bluetooth OBEX etc just to keep the operators happy.
I wouldn't completely rule out a model with a built-in cellular modem for data only to complement the WiMAX version and/or for markets where WiMAX is not available, but that comes with a bunch of new problems:
[1] I'd be more than happy to be corrected on this if anyone knows otherwise
I wouldn't completely rule out a model with a built-in cellular modem for data only to complement the WiMAX version and/or for markets where WiMAX is not available, but that comes with a bunch of new problems:
- people are already confused enough by the Nokia logo on the ITs, imagine the marketing and support nightmares if the specs actually stated GSM/GPRS/UMTS!
- most tablet owners probably already have a phone or three that they can (if the operator hasn't crippled it) use as a cellular modem for the tablet.
- operator data plans still have not caught up to the 21st century. Here in the UK at least it seems impossible[1] to find a semi-reasonably priced contract that does not force one to pay for a lot of "minutes" they're never going to use and does not expressly forbid VoIP/IM. If I have to remember to switch all my accounts offline before each time I bring the tablet online via a cellular network to avoid breaching the contract it's just not worth the trouble.
[1] I'd be more than happy to be corrected on this if anyone knows otherwise
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2008-06-13
, 02:14
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Posts: 11,700 |
Thanked: 10,045 times |
Joined on Jun 2006
@ North Texas, USA
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#8
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Originally Posted by lma
Is that really what Ari said?
I'd be more than happy to be corrected on this if anyone knows otherwise
__________________
Nokia Developer Champion
Different <> Wrong | Listen - Judgment = Progress | People + Trust = Success
My personal site: http://texrat.net
Nokia Developer Champion
Different <> Wrong | Listen - Judgment = Progress | People + Trust = Success
My personal site: http://texrat.net
Last edited by Texrat; 2008-06-13 at 02:17.
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2008-06-13
, 04:10
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Posts: 2,802 |
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Joined on Nov 2007
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#9
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Well, I can't claim to read anyone's mind but that's what it sounded like to me. A few quotes from the blog entries I linked to above:
And a much more recent one:
which (again, to me) sounds like they're not seriously thinking in that direction at the moment but acknowledge that a decent open-source "traditional phone" OS might be possible.
There is the name Nokia on the 770 Internet Tablet. I bet that is why so many people ask me: "Are you gonna put a cell phone into your internet tablet?" And I answer: "No."
I'd like a true operating system (Linux) and advanced middleware (GTK, Gnome, DBUS, ….) power new exciting connected mobile devices. I want to use the devices and their software as innovation platforms and want to create something new; not just re-implement something that has already been done. And yes, you are able to talk, see, hear and communicate through these devices but they are not your old cell phones. They are something else!
We designed the 770 not only for WiFi but also for such combined use with a cell phone. That is one reason NOT to have a cell radio in the 770 -- because I bet you already own a phone. But yes, some people don't want to carry many devices. They may then need a Swiss army knife sometimes called a smartphone.
In the traditional phone business, things may be a bit more difficult. Traditional phones have already good operating systems and software optimized for their reasonably narrow set of use cases and for fixed business ecosystems. So, it’ll be more difficult to change that landscape to more open direction. I thought the same was the case with the PC – but Ubuntu may be proving me wrong. So you never know about the traditional phones either.
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2008-06-13
, 10:40
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Posts: 356 |
Thanked: 38 times |
Joined on Nov 2005
@ Finland
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#10
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Originally Posted by benny1967
I have a company phone, with no 3G. I use my 3G phone solely for data, no phone calls. I would be satisfied with a tablet with 3G data only.
??? so, if the tablet had 3g, wouldnt you use a phone any more?
I would. the 770 doesnt fit into the pocket of my jeans.
__________________
N900 as day to day phone
N770 for childrens music
N900 as day to day phone
N770 for childrens music
N900 as day to day phone
N770 for childrens music