Is the Nokia Communicator form factor outmoded?
Link: Nokia World Blog
In a Q&A session with OPK (check out Stephen’s earlier post if you’re not hip to that TLA), the unsurpressable Ewan MacLeod of SMS Text News brought some much-needed levity when he asked the Nokia CEO what his first handset was (a five-kilo monster in 1984 that stretched the limits of what could be a “mobile” phone), and what he’s currently carrying. It was hardly surprising to seem him pull out a Nokia E61, which seems to be the business phone du jour, at least for the Northern European set, knocking off the venerable Communicator.
The E61 is a pretty fantastic device, but its popularity raises another question: what next for the Communicator series? If mobile-phone sites and forums were to be believed, another Communicator was expected to be announced here. But with the success of a device like the E61, is the Communicator form factor outmoded and outdated? There’s not much that can be done on a Communicator that can’t be done on an E61 (camera aside, of course), and the Series 80 software platform’s been absorbed into S60, and the QWERTY thumboard is a more than capable sub for the bigger keyboard on the Communicator.
I’m in two minds about the Communicator. It’s a bit bulky for your suit, compared to an E61. I’d like to see the next generation though — if they can get it slim enough, it might be worth a look. Otherwise, I’m sticking with the E61 form factor.
Forget about bulk… if the device is good enough then people will deal with bulk.
The fact is, the last models of communicator were just too slow. I think I timed it as taking between 7-12 seconds to open the simple calculator app!!!!!
I say that’s too slow, and I use an HTC Universal… so I know slow!
Posted by dan lane on November 30th, 2006 at 4:36 am.what about blacberry support. does e61 cover you?and what about the e61 keyboard compared to the communicator’s?
Posted by sandra on August 6th, 2007 at 8:22 am.