None of the iLife products iDo what i want them to iDo.
Thanks, Hedge, for this little zen haiku!
As for the notion of 'commercial success', I think Nokia is certainly taking the long view, opening up markets instead of trying to corner them. The N800 isn't all that 'puzzling' when you consider that, yes, Nokia, is trying to figure out what will work and what won't; and, consequently, what will sell and to whom. I think it is significant that Nokia offers an entire range of products, not just the choice between white and black or 2 or 8G. They have a different business model, so to speak. I agree with Texrat, use of the term success must be qualified, especially because short-term sales figures alone are not a sufficient metric for a long-term project.
BTW, I'm off to IKEA for a new couch to go with my N810. Does Nokia have a stake in IKEA?
I generally find that most of the stuff he says there is just "waaaaaah, why isn't it exactly like my Newtooooooooon?!?" Same thing that's going on now with the iPhone comparisons.
And as I've said before, I see the internet tablets as a very close analog to the original PCs.
The mainstream didn't know what to with those, either-- even as people such as myself were exploring the new frontier and discovering all sorts of potential. I remember PCs being mocked by business writers because they were advertised as recipe file managers and checkbook balancing tools... yeah, I'll pay $3000 for that!
Anyway, rs-px nails it on the head. The use will define (or redefine) the internet tablets. Certain Nokia employees adamantly disagree with me on that-- but it's real. It's here.
Thanks, Texrat! That's high praise from somebody as knowledgeable about this field as you.
Bearing in mind we could be on the brink of one of the paradigm shifts people often talk about, I've been seriously contemplating launching a website or even print materials aimed at the burgeoning area of personal digital companions (not mobile phones, not laptops!).
Then again, it might be a little early for that kind of thing just yet.
There have certainly been products that launched very well, and very large, only to turn out to be seriously flawed over (sometimes very short) time. So we need to qualify that "commercial success" description...
Commercial success was indeed the wrong term, as it would be defined by what the producer earns from the product.
I was thinking about things like market share, the way consumers respond to a product etc.
My perception in this thread was that for some people, the high acceptance App|e-products currently enjoy is something like an undeniable proof of their quality. I found this rather surprising - in my world, market performance and quality are mostly unrelated. One is a matter of marketing and sales skills, the other depends on the product itself.
Thanks, Texrat! That's high praise from somebody as knowledgeable about this field as you.
Bearing in mind we could be on the brink of one of the paradigm shifts people often talk about, I've been seriously contemplating launching a website or even print materials aimed at the burgeoning area of personal digital companions (not mobile phones, not laptops!).
Then again, it might be a little early for that kind of thing just yet.
You have one of those "Managers corporate word of the day" calenders don't you.
I believe it's Thomas Kuhn who gave us the notion of "Paradigm Shift" as a way to understand scientific revolutions. You know, stuff like going from thinking that the universe revolves around the Earth, to thinking that it revolves around the Sun, to thinking that it don't revolve around nothing.
It all works very well until you start looking at what individuals thought and did. Then it ends up being pretty hard to figure who does what.
But another "paradigm" is a usage paradigm, and, if there is a shift, we're in the middle of it.
Think of the calculator. For many people, the first electronic computer to enter their home was a calculator. Very few people use the calculator regularly as ends in themselves. They use them aside papers with figures, or sometimes to run up numbers in a conversation, or whatever: the calculator plays a support role in a number of tasks.
Now, think of the Personal Computer. Back before multitasking, you'd run a program; you'd sit at the computer, and you'd operate it.
With multitasking, we do the same thing, but we're bombarded from several different directions with things that require our full attention. (office tasks, programming, games)
Computing power has grown considerably, so we can also run "passive attention" stuff (music, movies, television): once we set it on the way, we can pay attention to it without continuous interaction. This class of tasks ("lean out" computing, as opposed to the "lean in" of the first class) has spawned dedicated computers for media centers, and personal media players.
Where do these Internet Tablet Things fit in? Back at the calculator. They do the things that require a computer to play a supporting role. And companies are converging on this group, trying to hit the home run: Asus with their Eee PC, any number of companies with Intel UMPCs and a Tablet edition of Windows, and Nokia.
But I've said all this before. How it applies to Apple vs Nokia is: frankly, I don't care. Apple I'm sure puts out a fine product, and iPhone/iTouch owners should be very proud. I'm also very aware of the limitations of the n800 I pack around (and constantly recharge). But, for its shortcomings, it not only fills my needs, I find uses for it I hadn't imagined. A stylish web browser attached to a media player would not meet my requirements. That's not even in the class of devices I need.
