S60 Open to new features

For me the problem is not so much that a device is released without 3rd edition, it's that an N-series device is released without 3rd edition. I've been impressed with the branding of Nokia are using for N-series but they're positioned as the best, most feature-packed phones Nokia sell. The N72 is a good phone but I don't see any need to dilute the N-Series brand rather than stick a more traditional number on it.

I bought a N70 back in October just as it was released. It was my first S60 phone and I didn't know much about Symbian in general. When I heard that Symbian v9 was coming soon, I kicked myself for not waiting to get the latest. However, now that I'm no longer a newbie... or less of one anyway... I'm really very pleased with my Symbian v8 S60 phone simply because it's really nice to have such a wide variety of software. I was replacing my PDA with a smartphone so I think I would have upset if I had a smartphone that I couldn't make smarter because the software wasn't available. Sure, I'd like UPnP, a higher-res screen, WiFi, and auto-focus on the camera, but I really have been so impressed with my N70 that I'll live with it until S60 v3 is ready for me.

Many of the end users may not know that they are using S60 2nd Edition or 3rd Edition phones.
I think there are a lot of discussions that many users just look at Quadband, 3MPix, MP3 player, 2GB memory card, etc.
For me, I like 2nd Edition because it is faster and less complicated than 3rd Edition.

Tom has it right. The problem isn't that the N72 is 2nd edition, the problem is that it's "N72".

Think about an "average" consumer that learns a little about N-series and does some research. When this person finds info on N72 and N73, there's bound to be confusion. From the typical point of view, these should be almost identical models -- after all, 73 comes right after 72. But the differences between these models is pretty major.

What Nokia should have done (or do in the future), is have more "letter series". There's already the E-series for buisness -- if the N72 is meant for a radically different audience than the N73, then the name should be radically different. Why not "G-series" (think "Go!" maybe?) or "M-series" ("Mobile" M vs er, "Next? for N?)

Or abandon the whole weird letter and number combination and give these models names. Motorola's RAZR gets a lot of recognition not only for it's design but for it's name. Now they have the SLVR (sliver) and PEBL, and even though the names are all "leet speek" and dorky, they are recognizable.

Antony, in what way is 3rd Edition slower than 2nd Edition? I have both Nokia 3250 and N91, they are at least as fast than 6630 for example. By complicated do you mean for developers? The user interface looks pretty much the same between Edtitions (which is something I think is not good..).

All, I agree it's confusing to have both 2nd and 3rd Edition mixed in Nseries. But I also think for most users it won't matter since they will look into the specs, be it camera, quadband or whatever. Or the design :)

"But I also think for most users it won't matter since they will look into the specs, be it camera, quadband or whatever. Or the design :)"

Huh? Do you mean they *won't* look into the specs, or that they will? Because looking into the specs is what will create confusion.

Let me explain. From what I've seen, there are three types of phone buyer. The first is what I'll call the "impulse" buyer. This is someone who basically chooses a phone based on what is available at the store they are signing up at. My wife fits this: She has a Verizon plan, and when her last phone died she just stopped in the local store and picked a free phone that looked nice to her. She didn't really give it much though.

For the impulse buyer, this debate about N72 doesn't matter. if they happen to be in a store that has both N72 and N73, they will pick one based on something like "the N72 comes in pink" or "the N73 is a bit thinner" and won't worry about the OS, they might notice that the N73 has a better camera than the N72 based on the Carl Zeiss branding, and that's about it.

Then there's the "casual" buyer, who may spend a bit of time looking for a phone, but only to get one or two features they really want: "It's got to have a decent camera" or ""It has to have bluetooth for hands free calling in my car".

The casual buyer is going to have a hell of a time figuring out which features are "standard" on the N-series and which are only on certain models, etc. Yeah, the info is out there, on a zillion different tech specs sheets and what not, but it's not easy to figure out. Remember that most of these people aren't looking only at Nokia phones but other companies as well. If you're lucky, the casual buyer will just make sure the phone they are looking at meets the checklist criteria, and doesn't worry about the other stuff as much.

Finally, there's the "enthusiast" people that read sites like this. :) I'm looking for a replacement for my 6600, and I have a spreadsheet out listing various models, with columns comparing sizes in height, width, thickness, weight, camera capability, etc. I'm the one going "the N80 is too thick for me, really like the E60 except it doesn't have a camera, maybe I should consider the E70, wait, the N73 was just announced, that's pretty nice, but on, the screen is different, and hmm, how will this compare to the Sony Ericsson k790a coming out soon?"

And seriously? I'm a geek, but I shouldn't have to do this much work. Why can't I just download the "Nokia Summer 2006 catalog" that has all the current phones listed with splash pages for each one, a comparison chart in the back, etc.

So in summary: impulse buyers don't really care about most of the details, casual buyers just confirm a few key features exist, and enthusiasts can figure this all out, but really shouldn't have to do this much work. :)

Jukka, yes you're right it is more complicated from developer's point of view (that's why I said "for me" in the comment).
From the user's point of view, they may not notice, except when they are asked a question related to Platform Security, e.g. "Do you allow this program to do...?" Other than that, end users won't really notice the difference.
About the performance, that might be very subjective. I've been using S60 devices since from the first one, 7650, to the latest one, N80. I notice that the performance is slower for newer devices. It is quite understandable because newer devices have more features. I think there was a discussion about this issue already somewhere.
Just an example, I notice that Camera and Gallery applications of N80 is relatively slow. I think it may be because the screen resolution of N80 is double than N91 & 3250 and the camera resolution is higher too.

Antonyt, yeah I think it is exactly the 352x416 screen that is making it slower.

I do have to agree with Phil in his statement. Having a 2nd edition Nseries device might not be such a bad move. It makes the transition from regular 2nd edition s60 to Nseries a bit more welcoming for the beginning user. But since the question that was asked which would I chose... a 3rd edition Pink S60 phone. (smile) But I am glad that Nokia finally made a s60 phone in pink. (wink)

I also agree with Phil. The 2nd edition seeems to meet the needs of these lower-end users and these users won't get turned off by those problems perhaps encountered by 3rd edition users. Some people like to be part of the cutting edge ... I'm with Phil; I'll jump in after I see it's safe!