Daniel Ratcliffe
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Which is, frankly, about as laughable as the "keyboards are dead" meme.
Wait... does this meme actually exist? *thud*
Which is, frankly, about as laughable as the "keyboards are dead" meme.
In this article: http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/five-surface-devices-microsoft-should-make-2013 Paul Thurott says:
I disagree that Nokia is circling the drain what with their shares going up and up and just today the news that the 920's in China sold out in 2 hours. They are hands down the best built phones around I've found and support their products better than any other company I've found. I'm not against him other comments though. Any thoughts?
In this article: http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/five-surface-devices-microsoft-should-make-2013 Paul Thurott says:
I disagree that Nokia is circling the drain what with their shares going up and up and just today the news that the 920's in China sold out in 2 hours. They are hands down the best built phones around I've found and support their products better than any other company I've found. I'm not against him other comments though. Any thoughts?
No, he's actually right. The user experience is pretty bad. I just use it because its the only mobile OS with geek potential.I'm sorry, but this is downright laughable...
I'm sorry, but this is downright laughable...
And as measurements will tell you, the 8X is thick. Period. It's thick compared to 2012 devices, so if you care so much about the progress of shrinking phone thickness, go rip into HTC while you're at it. On Windows Phone, only Samsung has "succeeded" to meet 2012 "standards" with the Ativ S.Not true. As anybody who has owned both will tell you, the 8X is a totally different ownership and user experience in terms of hardware aesthetics. It feels thinner, lighter, more pocketable and lighter weight.
Oh, the literal interpretations. The 920 is not so thick that it is a hindrance. Can you still hold it comfortably? Yes, you are perfectly able to comfortably hold a 200g slab. Your hand was also able to hold the 11mm thick iPhone 3GS, and it has not changed dramatically over the past few years. Can you put it in your pocket without a problem? Yes, your wallet is probably twice as thick as it. It will not impact you in any big way, it's fuss over about an aspect that doesn't have a meaningful effect on the device's usability or your workflow. Fine, you want a thin phone. That doesn't mean the 920 is pathetic, backwards or ridiculous, it means it doesn't suit your specific desires in a phone.So anybody who wear's women's jeans -- such as women -- shouldn't buy a Lumia 920? That's excluding 50.2% of the general population right there. You're off to a great start. /eyeroll
there's still a demand for physical keyboards
There is no mainstream demand for physical keyboards on smartphones and that is why HTC axed the slider form factor from its line-up, despite being what I would consider the best slider smartphone manufacturer. No one except for RIM is selling a bunch of phones with hardware keyboards, doesn't that make you think that it isn't (just) the hardware keyboard that is succeeding? Moreover, the traditional BlackBerry form factor is not well suited to modern smartphone platforms and capabilities - as I've pointed out, RIM's future with BB10 debuts on an all-touch device! I'd venture to say current Blackberries are almost a completely different market segment. And brmiller, how about this for a comparison - how are keyboard smartphones selling relative to slab smartphones?Keyboard phones from RIM alone are outselling Windows Phones this year, 4:1.
There is no mainstream demand for physical keyboards and that is why HTC axed the slider form factor from its line-up, despite being what I would consider the best slider smartphone manufacturer. Making a niche product doesn't win you relevance nor cash.
Read the rest of my paragraph there. If it isn't a niche form factor, why is every manufacturer apart from RIM distancing themselves from it? I personally think RIM is a special case and BlackBerries sales represent the business user, or legacy user who isn't willing to try something new. I know many who carry BlackBerries because of their work, then also carry an iPhone or similar for use as an actual smartphone.If it's a niche product and nice products don't win you relevance or cash, why would ANY company make them? RIM still do it (although admittedly they are launching with an all-touch), it's their bread and butter. I do still believe there is a strong demand for keyboard phones, although it is probably dying out.
Not to be Donnie Downer again, but Commodore was consistently announcing "sell-outs" of inventory in 1993 and 1994 too. Turned out that they didn't have enough cash left (due to mismanagement) to buy parts and build product in sufficient quantities to generate cash flow and pay debt. As a result, they imploded.
I'm not saying that will happen in this case, just urging you to take "sold-out products" with a huge grain of salt. There are only two numbers that matter -- quantity and margin per sale. Everything else is less-than-conclusive.
Read the rest of my paragraph there. If it isn't a niche form factor, why is every manufacturer apart from RIM distancing themselves from it?
i dont think commodore's issue has anything to do with nokia. they're not even in the same genre. you're trying to correlate apple's and oranges with no actual numbers to back it up. which is why this post's article is flawed.
And as measurements will tell you, the 8X is thick. Period. It's thick compared to 2012 devices
if you care so much about the progress of shrinking phone thickness, go rip into HTC while you're at it. On Windows Phone, only Samsung has "succeeded" to meet 2012 "standards" with the Ativ S.
Oh, the literal interpretations. The 920 is not so thick that it is a hindrance. Can you still hold it comfortably?
,Your hand was also able to hold the 11mm thick iPhone 3GS
Can you put it in your pocket without a problem? Yes, your wallet is probably twice as thick as it.
It will not impact you in any big way
There is no mainstream demand for physical keyboards on smartphones
RIM's future with BB10 debuts on an all-touch device!
how are keyboard smartphones selling relative to slab smartphones?
No, I am pointing out that "we sold out of inventory" means absolutely nothing without numbers. Commodore excited shareholders (and saw shares shoot up) several times during its death throes by announcing "we sold every Amiga we had in inventory, sales are overwhelming our ability to supply the market." But they weren't supplying the market adequately to break even.
Whenever any tech company (including Microsoft and Nokia) starts blowing smoke up my derriere with word games like "four times better sales than a year ago" or "we've totally sold out" while refusing to provide actual sales numbers, it takes me back to my high school days watching Commodore melt-down (which culminated in being there during an internship in my freshman year in college in 1994, when the company actually shut down).
A company that is performing well doesn't need to say "we're selling at 16 times the rate of 25% of the sales rate of four quarters ago." They say "we shipped 7 million devices, sales are strong."
I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'm steeling myself for the worst, so I don't get caught off guard the way all the Amiga people did when Commodore posted huge losses. "What happened, the Amiga 1200 was selling out, they had such strong demand they couldn't meet it, how could the company lose $177 million in one quarter?!?"
Yes, it is true that many people use smartphones for work. Many people also use computers for work.You see, lots of us use our phones for real work... especially e-mail. And I absolutely loathe those typo-riddled e-mails I get from colleagues with Android and iOS devices that have incorrect words in them due to autocorrect failures, with a signature that says "don't blame me for the typos, sent this from my cell phone." I want accuracy.
And while the WP onscreen keyboard is much better than the Android or iOS ones, it's still a compromise. A poor experience.
Remember -- user experience is king. For those of us who use our phone as a tool for work, we want accuracy, always.
Content consumption is more popular than content creation. Games and social media are more popular than productivity apps.