|
|
This figure has grown, something Nokia is very pleased about, although a word of advice to the Finnish company: please, please, PLEASE stop pre-announcing phones until you are ready to release them.
The N8 was "super-exciting" when announced, as the Americans like to say, but months later, and several smartphones from other companies later, the N8's shine had dimmed a bit, as had any surprise over a 12 megapixel camera, let alone an OS that still isn't Meego.
That said, something which is a bit by-the-by anyway given the latest crop of C, E and N phones from Nokia finally look like the very thin and trim iPhone-esque devices they should have looked like from 2008 onwards.
In addition, while under heavy threat from all sides, Nokia is still the world's largest seller of mobile phones, and has had access to plenty of inspiration from its many competitors, both on the OS and hardware fronts, whether Apple and its iOS, Google and Android, Microsoft and WP7, and hardware competitors such as HTC, Motorola, Huawei and others.
To better compete in today's frenzied app space, Nokia has thrown its weight behind the Qt (pronounced 'cute') development environment, with Nokia's Kenny Mathers, Head of Developer Relations (APAC) doing all he can to get developers excited about the current Symbian and upcoming MeeGo platforms.
This effort is all important for Nokia, as developer support is vital given the popularity and feature-extending capabilities that apps bring - even though Nokia had a 'Download!' app store for its N-Series of phones long before Apple's App Store even opened.
It's also worth noting that users of older N-Series devices (N97, N97 mini etc) aren't being left out of the Qt development loop, or Qt developed apps - if an older Nokia device is compatible, the relevant Qt libraries will be downloaded, preserving the utility of older Nokia smartphones and letting users upgrade to newer devices when they want to, not because they have to, safer in the knowledge they're not being left behind just because new handsets are available.
After all, just as one sees iPhones everywhere, there's still plenty of Nokia handsets in everyday use, too - even ye olde N95 is still one I see on the streets despite it being a 2007-era phone!
Clearly, Nokia is unwilling to let history repeat itself, and is thus pushing ahead as hard as possible to get developers and Nokia users as app-happy as possible.
So, what are the stats Nokia Australia has shared with the media, and thus the world, today?
Continued on page two, please read on!!!
