Can Nokia lead 3G?

[Ben]

Nokia still hold on to a respectable lead in terms of market share of handsets produced globally. They don't, however, hold the lead when it comes to 3G handsets. The 6680 is Nokia's first handset capable of native video calling - something you could get in the UK over two years ago!

Almost since as long as anyone can remember, Nokia have led the way. With players like Motorola and cheaper firms such as LG and NEC claiming the 3G market as their own, can Nokia still come out on top?

It certainly wont be an easy battle.

[Ben]

I've voted Yes, but that's a hopeful yes rather than a condifdent yes. I feel that Nokia should have led this market from the start, but when I look at the products actually available at 'the start' I realise just how rubbish the technology was then. 3G had a lot of bad press in those early days, partly due to the handsets and partly for other reasons, which Nokia has managed to largely avoid blame for. Perhaps holding off was the right thing to do.

[miffed]

I am not sure they are leading 2G really - I think in some ways they have become the Volvo of the handset world - with funny shaped, yet reliable , but a little boring to some , having said that , I still feel a little compelled to get a 9500 !
Will Nokia WANT to have more than a casual fling with 3G though ? OK , silly question, as it looks like they'll have to eventually , but I am guessing that Nokia have purposely held back till now , after all , look what releasing half baked 3G handsets has done to the reputations of companies like NEC and Motorola
But , if nokia do what they do best with 3G handsets (I.e. make them cheap , simple to use etc ) then they may indeed steal the mainstream "chav" pound

[CybaCowboy]

It would be unfair to say that everyone that made a video-calling-capable 3G phone was left with a bad reputation due to poor quality- Sony Ericsson's first UMTS phone, the Z1010, is still considered one of the best (if not THE best) 3G phones to date!

Besides, Nokia have had their day; a couple of years ago they were the leader because the phones were easier to use than most, and could be personalised more than most...

[CybaCowboy]

Now, most phones are on-par with Nokia's ease-of-use and in some cases, better!

It wasn't until recently that Nokia changed their user interface to the much simpler "desktop" style menu, an interface that has been in other brands of phones for some time (especially Sony Ericsson phones)...

Personalisation? Need I even go there?

With wallpapers, screen-savers, polyphonic ringing tones, themes and RealTones, everyone is on-par or better!

[CybaCowboy]

Aside from all of this, Nokia is, to a large extent, out-dated...

Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs are a hundred times more powerful than any Nokia, and are capable of a million times more!

In short, Nokia has had its day, they have nothing new to offer and it's only a matter of time before someone else takes over...

[miffed]

post ***** !

[Ben]

LoL miffed - CybaCowboy, it's probably better to edit your existing post and keep adding to it rather than posting multiple replies.

Good comments though. I know Nokia have failed to keep up with consumer demand somewhat, but at the end of the day Nokia produce excellent phones - they may not do the Cha Cha and take you out for waterside dinners, but they call and text like no other.

[CybaCowboy]

It would be nice to edit my existing post and add my new comments, but I'm posting messages using my Sony Ericsson Z1010 and Reqwireless' "WebViewer" Java Internet browser, both of which have limits on the amount of text that can be in each field...

[Ben]

Ah, well in that case full marks for putting your phone to good use

[Jon3G]

Nokia used to a very good handset maker and still are. I think they need to concentrate on technolgy inovation instead of F U N K Y looking phones or just get a balance like SE have.

Filter blocking f u n k y

[Ben]

funky... test

Edit: It so isn't You must have spelt it with a C in there I only have a handful of words in the censor, and they're purely swear words.

[Jon3G]

lol

funky

[Ben]

I think Nokia's new lineup of 3G handsets has just added a lot of fuel to this discussion. Finally we've seen some solid effort from Nokia in producing a lineup of 3G phones that will appeal to a wider audience. If there was doubt before that Nokia want to lead 3G, I'd say a lot of that doubt just evaporated.

[Jon3G]

Oh yes, those new handsets look amazing

[3GScottishUser]

The new phones look nice and will certainly turn some heads when they hit the shelves. I suspect they will be premium products though, handsets that customers will be prepared to pay extra for. Definately not like the kind of NEC/LG giveaway product that has been dumped onto the UK market.

No these look quite special and will doubtless be treated like the Motorola V3 Razr when it first appeared. Like everything else they will become mainstream once others have similarly attractive offerings but I dont imagine they will ever be the 'bread & butter' 3 aquisition tool.

[Jon3G]

Yes and people will pay that preminum for them. The overall design looks very nice and it interesting to see what the others do.

[Bleubean]

If nothing else i think it will attract people over to 3G networks! Hopefully all the manufacturers will follow Nokias example and release excellent and small 3G phones!

[CybaCowboy]

You call the 6630 SMALL?

The Sony Ericsson V800/Z800i... Now THAT'S small!

Furthermore, Sony Ericsson are just about due to announce a new 3G phone and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was SMALLER than the V800/Z800i...

[Jon3G]

Originally Posted by CybaCowboy

You call the 6630 SMALL?

The Sony Ericsson V800/Z800i... Now THAT'S small!

Furthermore, Sony Ericsson are just about due to announce a new 3G phone and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was SMALLER than the V800/Z800i...

The 6630 is about the same size as the V800

6630 127g
V800 128g

6630 size

Dimensions: 110 mm x 60 mm x 21 mm

V800

Sizes
102 x 49 x 23.6 mm

Not much difference really