06 July 2010

WHAT DO THOSE GUYS AT
NOKIA THINK THEY'RE DOING?!?

So Nokia has no need for Android or WP7 that I can see. Just Symbian, purpose built for constrained resource environments, and MeeGo purpose built for top end hardware and extended capability. They both are cross compatible because of the Qt frameworks, both at the UI and application layer.

So there should be no confusion. Both of those OSes will share most of the same capabilities, and the main variables will be quality of hardware and price. The best devices under $425 will be running Symbian, and those over that will be running MeeGo.

From the looks of the N8 and its benchmarks in comparison to Snapdragon Android devices, and after seeing the 600 MHz N900, I don’t see why Android or WP7 should creep into the picture at all.

They are too far behind in development. Android sucks on the cheapest hardware, WP7 won’t run at all, yet Symbian sings. Symbian is even better on high end hardware, as well, but MeeGo takes it to another level, adding even more capability while wringing every ounce of power from your hardware better than anything on the market.

JUST LIKE WIMAX vs. LTE, AND THE POLITICS OF IT ALL

I think it is important to support and show loyalty to certain technologies based on your personal philosophy. It is like a political technology stance.

Take, for instance, WiMax vs. LTE. Even though WiMax was first in my country and is now available, I will bypass it and support LTE instead. I won’t waste time on WiMax because history has shown that there will always be one technology that will become favored as to become a standard, and the competing technology will usually be more costly and less supported until it dies off or falls into a small niche.

I think LTE will be that standard, and WiMax will be the CDMA of tomorrow. I’ve experienced the limitations of CDMA over GSM, and know it will be a costly mistake to do it again. Plus, WCDMA in my country is only slightly slower than WiMax in many more areas on my favorite carrier. So no thanks, I’ll pass. I support LTE’s better reach. Decisions like this can save a voracious gadget nut like me, and if its good for the goose, its good for the gander.

LOYALTY TO NOKIA OR A PHILOSOPHY?

People always ask where my loyalty to Nokia comes from. I don’t consider myself loyal to a brand in particular. In actuality, it isn’t Nokia that has my loyalty at all. It is really a philosophical, almost political stance, a philosophy concerning access to technology that Nokia and I just so happen to share.

It isn’t a religion, and I’m not really a fan boy, either. We just have a clear technological philosophy of creating the best possible opportunity to use the most current software technology to enable people all over the world, in different lands of varying economic means, to access, share, advance, and leverage the knowledge and services available across networks.

Connecting People is Nokia’s slogan, but connecting people and technology is the real mission. It shouldn’t matter where you are or what class of computer you can afford, the technology available today is such that anyone should be able to access and share in the same experiences and services.

THE VISION GOING FORWARD

I believe Qt will realize the mission Java never accomplished, allowing write once, deploy everywhere software development that works across a litany of devices and multiple processor architectures. I also believe that mobile hardware has now matured enough where Linux and Qt can be properly leveraged in commercial products with Maemo/MeeGo.

No matter where you live, how much money you have, or what language you speak, you will soon be able to enjoy our favourite web services and applications no matter where we are, on our phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, on TVs, servers, in our personal navigation devices, in our cars, and beyond.

This is the vision I myself have dreamed of for years. It is shared by many across the world by some of the best tech visionaries of our time, including Ricky “Symbian-Guru” Cadden. Once one of Nokia's most ardent promoters and supporters, he and many others have chosen to step aside and wait to see if Nokia’s execution is successful, and considering the past, I support their decision. Nonetheless, I will continue believe in and to follow the vision at the front lines. The other available platform initiatives have too far to come to get here, and don’t even share quite the same philosophy as I. I believe the Guru and others will return pleased with the realization that OUR vision is on the cusp of coming to fruition.

This vision is where my loyalty lies. And it won’t be possible in an Android, iOS, WP7,RIM or Web OS ecosystem alone anytime soon. Nor with just Symbian or just MeeGo. But with Nokia envisioning connecting MeeGo and Symbian and the common desktop and server OSes via Qt, along with aligning Symbian with WP7 with Silverlight, and MeeGo being a full touch enabled desktop class OS, anything is possible. And that’s the crux of my dream and Nokia’s vision.

STRATEGY LESSONS

So the next time people wonder why Nokia is using two OSes and not using Android, just share this post with them. I always enjoy explaining business and technology strategy, especially when I feel it is sound.

And if you really want to see everyone, and not just the rich, industrialized, or membership required set, but EVERYONE enjoy the entire web, and powerful applications and services, and computing the way you want it wherever you are, do yourself a favor. Support the only company in the world with that as their mission and ultimate goal.

WHICH COMPANY SHOULD YOU BE LOYAL TO?

I can’t decide that for anyone. But I can tell you that when you do choose a company’s device, you are also marrying their vision and mission, and that may not always be in your best interest. So it is always important to know what that vision and intent is.

What company am I loyal to? None in particular, but one does share my own personal philosophy. I won’t name that company. And I probably don’t have to.

But if Apple won’t allow cross platform technologies to be used when developing their applications regardless of the quality of the tools, it can’t be them. How else can you have the same great applications on all of your devices regardless of brand? And if they only sell $700 devices, that won’t give most of the world access at all, and in fact locks them out.

I won’t name that company, but if Google’s Android platform is so nascent as to require only robust equipment to really make it work with enough efficiency, it will be along time before Android can really make an impact in BRIC nations. If the world’s poor are locked out, it won’t easily realize that vision.

I won’t name that company, but ditto for WP7, which just costs too much and share’s too little with any ecosystem available for low cost devices. Can’t be Microsoft, then, either.

I won’t name that company, but RIM uses Java technology as its main application framework. Not advanced enough to allow users to leverage the latest high end hardware. So not them either.

Who does that leave us with? Take a guess...