Fondling Phones in Public

ON SOME OCCASIONS, I publicly fondle things--like phones. Nokia GoPlay offers just that opportunity and as the big event unfolds in Old Billingsgate, I think I'll make a special effort to find and fondle the beefed-up Nokia N95 (stack of the first edition displayed here). I think the new edition results in the N95 getting more memory, a sharper screen and a more distinct housing. And although Nokia will unveil plenty of other interesting items at the GoPlay launch, the mainstream press will probably give more coverage to the iPhone being unlocked through a clever hack instead of Nokia offering a clever way to update music, podcasts, and phone software over the air. Some business and technology writers easily forget that Nokia sold 40m smart phones in 2006--half of the market. The company may reach a 40% share of the entire mobile phone market by the end of the fourth quarter of 2007 and that would be remarkable if it occurs during the same time frame that Apple's iPhone debuts in Europe. Unlike the iPhone, Nokia does not tie its users into only a browser window to engage with content. Nokia's 900m established customers seem to appreciate simple and intuitive interactive experiences that run on the phones themselves, not through an open browser connected to a mobile phone's network. Time will tell if Nokia has correctly groked the evolving multimedia phone marketplace. The financial analysts think the company is headed in the right direction. Within a few days, I'll have some of my own reflections, based on first-hand observations and interviews with Nokia staff.

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Most interesting photos taken at Nokia GoPlay throughout the world. And the Nokia photos too.

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