Symbian recently announced that its OS has powered 100 million phones. That's not bad - it's a lot of licences - but then, mobile phones shift around a billion units a year now. But a phone with Symbian isn't any old phone. It's a smartphone. 
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Member since:2006-01-06
Even if it manages to compete against other smartphones, the fact of the matter is that the market for smartphones is really just a niche. And it's no wonder: $499 is a lot of money to pay for a phone. Apple is counting on people who would otherwise be thinking about buying a separate iPod and phone to purchase the iPhone as a unification device. Since the device isn't available publicly, it's tough to tell how much value it adds over separate iPod and phone devices. It has been my experience that so-called "convergence devices" tend to be lesser cousins of the devices that they sought to replace; that is, apprentices of many devices and masters of none. Apple does have a good track record on industrial design; however, Apple isn't immune to the realities of hardware tradeoffs. Economies of scale can only be stretched so far. Time will tell, though. I wouldn't bet against Apple's success, but "success" miht be pretty underwhelming if the reach is relatively small, compared to the larger market for phones.
Member since:2005-07-06
>classy
I'd say, looks like a toy.
>ease of use
S60 is very easy to use.
>itunes
That monstrous piece of software paired with DRM infected music store? Thanks, no.
>incredible screen
480x320? Nokia 7710/Communicators have had 640x320 displays for years, upcoming E90 will feature 800x352.
>8GB
There are already 8Gb smartphones on the market, Nokia N91 for instance.
>edit: do you really think that the nokia can compete on all fronts with the iPhone?
Apple should try to compete with Nokia, not vice versa. Currently, with that expensive iPhone gadget they hardly can.
Edited 2007-01-10 22:36
Member since:2006-11-15
Member since:
2005-07-06
classy, ease of use, itunes, mac osx, incredible screen (166 dpi), 8GB, touch screen, no fixed keyboard, videos, wide screen, from apple. Need anything else?
edit: do you really think that the nokia can compete on all fronts with the iPhone?
Edited 2007-01-10 22:18