infoSync's Sindre Lia interviews Nokia's Vice President of Multimedia solutions, Jonas Geust, to find out where Nokia's multimedia smartphones are headed.
Nokia recently announced the Nokia N900 powered by Maemo 5, the first smartphone powered by the Linux-based Maemo operating system. Moving forward, Nokia will offer smartphones based on both Symbian and Maemo. We recently talked to Jonas Geust, Vice President of Multimedia solutions at Nokia, about the direction of Nokia's multimedia products. Here's an interview with him:
Will Nseries phones use both Symbian and Maemo in the future, or primarily Maemo?
Symbian and Maemo will be a two-fold deal moving forward, with Symbian focusing on powering mass market devices and Maemo focusing on powering high-end devices. The best examples of this strategy right now are the Symbian-based Nokia 5230 for the mass market and the Maemo-based Nokia N900 for the high-end market.
Does the introduction of Maemo for smartphones mean that we'll see a clearly defined Nseries lineup in the future, or will there ultimately be a range of different Maemo smartphones in a specific market even?
The Maemo smartphones will be developed based on what customer groups are looking for, meaning that there will not be a single development path when it comes to answering those needs. The Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 mini is one example of how that's done with Nseries phones today. That said, the new Nokia N900 is a 4th generation Maemo device, with a 5th generation coming down the road.
Does that mean Maemo will end up as landscape/portrait agnostic, or will the landscape mode continue to be preferred?
It's important to see where the 4th generation is coming from here, namely the Internet Tablets. Now that Maemo is moving into smartphone territory, it'll need some time to get warm. The user feedback on Maemo 5 and the Nokia N900 will also play a role in what the 5th generation will offer.
Does that mean that we for instance could see a Maemo-based all-touch phone down the road, given that there are now also all-touch Symbian phones for the mass market?
We can't comment specifically on what the 5th generation will offer as far as form factors are concerned, other than saying that we're primarily focusing on the overall solution a given smartphone should provide.
Right now, we're for instance working on expanding the language support in Maemo, which will be crucial to provide a Maemo experience worldwide. We're also currently focusing on the mobile computing aspects of Maemo, aiming to provide a powerful high-end experience to end-users.
Will we see more integration of Web and multimedia services in Maemo down the road, or will plug-in based software like the Maemo browser and the Canola media player continue to be the primary focus here - which of course is in line with the mobile computing idea?
We're aiming for Maemo smartphones to offer a versatile experience, both when it comes to integration of leading Web and multimedia services as well as when it comes to providing the mobile computing solution that enables users to access the full Web on the go.
Does that mean that we could for instance see Facebook integration in Maemo down the road, like we've recently seen introduced for S60 5th Edition?
Yes, we will continue working with the major brands also when it comes to Maemo. This could for instance mean that Maemo will integrate services like Facebook, Gmail and other large services.
However, it's also crucial for Maemo to offer a powerful browser so users can easily access the thousands of Web services that for obvious reasons can not be integrated in Maemo. That way, our customers will get the best of what the mobile industry has to offer combined with everything the desktop Internet provides, only wirelessly.
What kind of role will Qt play in all of this, and what's the overall vision with the introduction of Qt as far as the end-user experience is concerned?
With the acquisition of Trolltech and its Qt technology, both Nokia developers and third-party developers will be able to provide a graphically appealing user interface coupled with the advanced functionality found in Symbian and Maemo. Qt will also provide a cross-platform developer environment, which is crucial when it comes to how customers purchase products.
Most people buy products based on brand loyalty, rather than the technology under the hood. It's the "Nokia experience" that attracts and will continue to attract customers also in the future. In other words, Qt will play a vital role in providing the next-generation "Nokia experience", but customers will not have to worry about the underlying technology used, Qt included.
What's the time perspective for when Qt reaches "critical mass"?
It'll obviously take some time until Qt reaches "critical mass", and it's too early to make a statement of exactly when all this will be phased into Nokia's phone portfolio. That said, there's already a Qt port for S60 and a Qt 4.6 Technology Preview was recently released, meaning that there's a steady move towards the point when the Qt ball will start rolling faster.
If we say 2011, will every Nokia phone be released with Qt then?
"Every Nokia phone" sounds like a very strong statement, but we'll make official announcements when the time is ready.
Should Nokia fans get their hopes up for U.S. carriers picking up Nseries phones tailored for the American market then, with for instance scaled down camera technology to keep the price low? Or will Nokia continue to focus on selling Nseries phones in its flagship stores?
That's quite a narrowed down question for me to answer. Although we can't go into specifics about our discussions with carriers, which go both ways, we have a continuous dialogue with carriers regarding what type of phones they're interested in subsidizing. As far as Nseries phones tailored for the American market are concerned? No comment.
We fully understand that, which leaves only our last question.
What is Nokia's vision for LTE smartphones in the U.S. market specifically, and when will they hit store shelves?
The way we see it, the always-on wireless broadband connection will be a center-piece here, regardless of continent. That said, when it comes to LTE in general, we think it'll be a matter of timing as well as how carriers choose to take advantage of LTE. Will it be a matter of radio technology alone, or will other factors play a role as well?
Regardless, Nokia recently announced its first LTE modem for phones, and we aim to be at the forefront when it comes to offering LTE solutions. Maemo and its mobile computing experience would obviously be a natural fit here eventually, and the recently introduced Nokia Booklet 3G is another example of what type of products we think will be important in the years ahead.
When it comes to market availability and specific LTE solutions, it's still too early to make any statements.
And with that said, we would like to thank Jonas Geust for sharing his insight with our readers.
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