Am I the only one who feels Nokia's naming conventions are problematic?

[Jazmac]

1520, 920, 520, 820, 13xx, 15xx, 25xx its too much. I think its time for Nokia to come up with a name for these devices rather than assigning numbers.We geeks might be cool with it, but I can't see this as good for the average user.

 

[Chregu]

1520, 920, 520, 820, 13xx, 15xx, 25xx its too much. I think its time for Nokia to come up with a name for these devices rather than assigning numbers.We geeks might be cool with it, but I can't see this as good for the average user.

I don't know, as an average user I'd just enter a store, choose a phone I like and buy it. I couldn't care less about some numbers or names.

 

[jmshub]

It works ok for BMW.

 

[Panathas]

I want the Lumia 3210, an undestroyable device that runs Snake with 123 years of battery life!!

 

[red grenadine]

No, no you're not.

I'm an enthusiast and I can't keep the numbers straight. At least there is a rhyme or reason to the madness of a BMW 3 or 5 or 7 series.

I have no freaking idea why a 13xx series is worse than a 10xx series

I hope Microsoft really cleans up the lineup of phones.

There's no need to have 3 9xx variants. Just have one.

Make it simple. Something like - 5xx Entry level, 6xx Mid level, 7xx Mid Big Screen, 8xx High level, 9xx High Big Screen, 10xx Flagship

 

[EchoOne30]

No, no you're not.

I'm an enthusiast and I can't keep the numbers straight. At least there is a rhyme or reason to the madness of a BMW 3 or 5 or 7 series.

I have no freaking idea why a 13xx series is worse than a 10xx series

I hope Microsoft really cleans up the lineup of phones.

There's no need to have 3 9xx variants. Just have one.

Make it simple. Something like - 5xx Entry level, 6xx Mid level, 7xx Mid Big Screen, 8xx High level, 9xx High Big Screen, 10xx Flagship

Came here to say something exactly like this.

I agree, OP. It's nonsensical.

 

[Jupast]

No you're not. Their naming system is a complete mess now.

Maybe they need numbers for phones, and names for tablets, or vice versa..or...well anything but what they're doing.

 

[Keith Wallace]

I don't know, as an average user I'd just enter a store, choose a phone I like and buy it. I couldn't care less about some numbers or names.

The problem there is that naming scheme helps to identify where on the spectrum of power a device sits. If you go into a store and see a Lumia 1020 and a Lumia 1320, which will you think is better? The 1320 might have a better SoC (not sure how the 400 compares to the S4), but the 1020 offers the higher resolution (on a smaller screen, in fact), while including that 41-MP camera as well. They should be providing a better naming scheme for clarity, plain and simple.

 

[Keith Wallace]

Make it simple. Something like - 5xx Entry level, 6xx Mid level, 7xx Mid Big Screen, 8xx High level, 9xx High Big Screen, 10xx Flagship

Personally, I would make it:

5xx = Low-End
6xx = Mid-Level
7xx = High-End
8xx = High-End + 41-MP camera (if they continue to offer that, and not the 20-MP one alone)

After that, I'd use the second digit to cover screen size:

x3x = 3.8" (only screen size I've seen under 4.0")
x4x = 4.0-4.9"
x5x = 5.0-5.9"
x6x = 6.0-6.9"

Finally, do the inverse of Intel (who designates generation with their first digit), and use the last digit to indicate generation.

This would be a bit limiting though, since you'd have to resolve the 920/925 differences somehow, and you'd ALSO have to either get carriers on-board with a universal device (no more 810/820/822 fiascoes), or you'd need a fourth digit for carrier purposes.

 

[robertino23]

I feel like Nokia will do the same thing HTC did. If by WP8.1 they're still using the Nokia brand, I think they might start over from scratch. HTC went from the HTC Evo 3D to the Evo 4G, One X, One SV, One X+... all to come to the newest HTC One. Simple: brand name + phone name. If Nokia decides to do that with 8.1, it'd be easier for many consumers.

"Oh, what kind of phone is that?"

"It's a Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone."

It just seems like a lot. Ditch the Nokia name, keep it to the Lumia line. Something like "Lumia 10" or "Lumia 9" would be perfect. But hey, that's just my opinion/prediction.

 

[Ashish Saraf1]

nokia has been following this convention since its inception. Thry usually number their handsets and i find no problem with that.

 

[Jazmac]

nokia has been following this convention since its inception. Thry usually number their handsets and i find no problem with that.

Maybe its something I'll get used to but right now, I think with so many new devices coming out they need to differentiate. They have not done it with these numbers. MS is consolidating under one name and I expect it will follow for their newly acquired Nokia line as well.

 

[xandros9]

I actually like it, it makes sense to me. at least with one or two exceptions. (e.g. 810)

520 up to 1020, although the 1320 and 1520 feel a bit off, they fit in. as for the 2520, I'm meh

2 indicating which WP generation, right

and the third just denoting what variant.

the xx0's are the base models and then variants.

 

[a5cent]

You're not alone. I've been saying this too:

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-1020/234166-12-hours-lumia-1020-a.html#post2046045

As others have mentioned, the solution is to have the numbers mean something, instead of being almost arbitrary. This is what I would propose:

SSNN [Variant Designator]

SS = SoC certification number (for example, the 1520 is based on the MSM8974, which is the 4th SoC MS certified for use with WP devices)
NN = An arbitrary model number, which represents a unique hardware configuration within the line up. It may also somewhat reflect its position within that line up.
[Variant Designator] = Optional suffix to identify variations of other devices

460 = Uses the 4th SoC certified by MS, Model Nr 60
460 S = A variant of the 460, like the 925 is a variant of the 920
460 Pureview = A camera focused variant of the 460, like the 1020 is a variant of the 920 (identical internal hardware with a different camera module)