Hasta La Gadget!

So picture this scenario: Nokia has its global conference and developer event — the aptly-named Nokia World — scheduled and set in stone for months. HTC swoops in just weeks ahead of time and schedules a conflicting press event in the same city (which we’re covering in just a few moments). You might imagine there’s a little bit of bad blood there, yeah? Well, Nokia’s taken it to the next level here, sending a phalanx of young folks with giant red balloons reading “I know where I’m going with Nokia’s Ovi Maps” to stand directly outside the entrance to HTC’s event. We know where we’re going, too, Nokia… and it’s HTC. Sorry! We’ll be back to Nokia World soon, we promise.

Update: Oh, and Nokia handed out “HTC press conference survival kits,” too. Pitiful, really. Peek it after the break.

Update 2: We spoke with HTC representative who told us that the company had originally planned to hold its launch on the 14th before Nokia had announced its dates for Nokia World — and when it found out about the dates, it switched to the 15th to make room for Nokia’s announcements. Seems fair to us.

[Thanks, Jonas]

Continue reading Nokia crashes HTC’s London event with red balloons, hate

Nokia crashes HTC’s London event with red balloons, hate originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One look at the N8 and E7 should be enough to convince the casual observer that Nokia is serious about design. The man behind Nokia’s hardware and software design for the last year is Marko Ahtisaari, Senior Vice President of Design and former CEO and co-founder of Dopplr. We asked Marco what it would take to be successful in the US market. His response, while not direct, was still illuminating and gives us implicit insight into how MeeGo, not Symbian, might be Nokia’s near-term play to conquer the American smartphone market. While gesturing to the N8, Marko had this to say:

“In the US I think it will require a somewhat more consequent approach in the high end. No matter how smooth and fast we make this, and we improve the camera — this is the best camera right — it still won’t cut though enough until we do an operating system level innovation. It will do extremely well in the market but it’s not a breakthrough device.”

Marko later added this clarfication:

“In order to cut through in the media environment, I think you need to do operating system level innovation. The products will be cut-through successes in the market, in people’s hands, in share of palms and share of thumbs it will be successful. But in order for it to cut through and people to say, whoa, why didn’t somebody else think about that and that’s kind of what Nokia should do, it will be easier to cut through, from the media point of view, with MeeGo.”

In other words, it’s the media (read: us), in Marko’s opinion, that will affect consumer opinion by influencing enthusiasts (read: you) who will in turn evangelize Nokia’s products throughout the US. MeeGo, not Symbian, is the product that will generate that degree of buzz and excitement. Marko finished by adding, “My goal is that very soon it will be cool to upgrade to the Nokia.”

So, what will Nokia’s high-end MeeGo devices look like? Click through to find out.

Continue reading Nokia’s VP of Design has a plan to crack the US market with MeeGo, and we’re all accomplices

Nokia’s VP of Design has a plan to crack the US market with MeeGo, and we’re all accomplices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now this, this is what we call exciting. Nokia has managed to scoop up Peter Skillman from the wreckage of the HP/Palm merger. One of the many senior VPs to leave Palm upon its assimilation into the HP empire, Peter spent 11 years with his previous employer and was in charge of the design team that produced the deliciously curvaceous Palm Pre. Now at Nokia, he’ll be heading up the user experience and services division for MeeGo, which means that if you weren’t excited for the platform already, you’ve now got a very good reason to be.

Update: We met with Marko Ahtisaari, Senior Vice President of Design at Nokia, to get comment on this story. His response? “Right, I just hired him.” So why not announce it, we asked, this is pretty big news? According to Marko, “We have products today, products are more interesting. Peter is looking after the user experience design of MeeGo and services and is a great new addition to the team.” Marko’s team, to be specific. To us this seems like another component that could help Nokia break into the US market with MeeGo.

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Nokia hires Peter Skillman, former Palm Design VP, as MeeGo user experience chief (update: confirmed)

Nokia hires Peter Skillman, former Palm Design VP, as MeeGo user experience chief (update: confirmed) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia has been kicked around as of late, both in terms of sales and perception. The culprits, it seems, is fairly clear for executives at the Finnish company: Apple and Google. Cupertino was firmly in the company’s sights at the kick off of this year’s Nokia World in London.

“We’re not going to apologize for the fact that we’re not Apple or Google or anybody else,” Niklas Savander, the company’s EVP told a crowd at the event, “we’re Nokia and we’re unique.” Savander took a direct jab at Apple, highlighting the iPhone 4’s much publicized reception woes, saying of the company’s N8 handsets, “they perform, day in, day out–no matter how you hold them.”

The executive was also quick to call one Google’s much celebrated services out by name, saying, “Contrary to popular perception, Nokia–not Google–is the leader in mobile navigation. functionality quality and reach. Ovi Maps is far, far less hungry than the Google service. Why? Because it’s optimized for mobile use.”

Savander also took the opportunity to point out that, while his company hasn’t been a media darling like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android, Nokia is still a sales leader. “In the past quarter,” he told the crowd, “people bought far more Nokia phones than Apple and Android combined. On average, people buy 260,000 new Nokia smartphones every day–that’s more smartphones sales than any other company by far, period.”

We’ve just spent a little bit of time ogling a very, very green E7 here in the so-called Experience Lounge at Nokia World 2010, and needless to say, this thing makes an impression — you might think from the shots you’ve seen so far that it’s roughly the same size as the N8 (especially since it shares the same case design), but it’s actually quite a bit larger and more imposing. A friendly booth rep walked us through the beast’s hardware and software highlights on video; check it after the break. Oh, and yes — when it launches, it’ll be available in five colors, so you don’t have to get the green if you’re not cool enough for it.

Continue reading Video: Nokia E7 demoed live at Nokia World

Filed under: Cellphones

Video: Nokia E7 demoed live at Nokia World originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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