Nokia maps out next 12 months
Better UIs, downmarket Symbian and flat growth
Nokia has laid out its plans for the next year, expecting to maintain its market share in handsets and infrastructure while the industry grows slightly.
Handset volumes, across the industry, will apparently rise by about ten percent over the next twelve months. Nokia reckons it can maintain its 38 per cent market share with a completely-redesigned Symbian UI and a computer running Meamo 6, along with more touch screens and the tiny keyboards so beloved of Americans.
That 38 per cent is by volume, but Nokia reckons it can increase its share of the more lucrative end of the market during 2010. It aims to achieve this with a complete re-engineering of the Symbian user interface, which should be launched by the middle of the year. It is also planning a Meamo-6-based mobile computer with an "iconic" UI, to hit the shops around the same time.
Nokia also reckons Symbian is ready for its downmarket push:
As an operating system, Symbian has reach and flexibility like no other platform, and we have measures in place to push smartphones down to new price points globally
That push will be backed with more developer tools, and more Ovi, along with more QWERTY keyboards and touch screens everywhere.
The plan plays to Nokia's strengths, and recognises what needs work. However, converting that into actions will be hard. It's going to take more than words to put Nokia back where it used to be. ®
COMMENTS
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Maemo 5 (in the N900) and 6 both use QT, yup. Can't see why you want to put either on the N8xx tablets, as they lack a phone !
Handset volume increase?
"Handset volumes, across the industry, will apparently rise by about ten percent over the next twelve months."
Bugger. Won't be able to fit my nice Nokia folding phone into my jeans little tiny pocket anymore. 10% volume increase? Not a chance. At the moment, it's as snug as a bug in a rug. Fits perfectly.
I guess it (the pocket) will revert back to its obviously intended use of storing condoms. Sadly, the recipient of said new home hasn't increased by ten percent, no matter what spam I subscribe to.
Icon might help...it's Friday tomorrow...YESSSS!!
Newer Nokia OS not always better
Considering I had to roll my N800 back to OS 2007, and its speedy Opera browser, to get decent battery life again after a year of that slow-as-mollasses Gecko based browser that came with OS 2008, I'm not so sure I'd fancy trying any even newer/slower/power-hungry OS20xx from Nokia on that piece of hardware.
OTOH, Maemo 6? That's the Qt based one, right? Unless Nokia manage to do something quite unmentionable (in a fine publication like El Reg) to that well designed, and even better documented, platform, I might just have to give it a whirl.
(Paris? Another well documented Qt.)
Meamo?
Actually that's "Maemo" - and people are still upset that Nokia told N800/N810 users that the newer versions won't run on those tablets. Nice to shaft your early adopters like that, eh?
