Year after year, handheld and phone companies make the same mistake, releasing buggy and incomplete products to market and then having to back pedal and fight fires for the next 12 months. Back when I was in industry, our company had a motto: "Right First Time". Now, I know phones are complex devices, but there's still got to be a better way. Read on....
Read on in the full article.
Steve,
Sorry to be off topic .
But where exactly is High Street? 😊
I do understand the connotation, but is it a real place that you are referring to?
Exactly. The N85 has very bad camera noise on almost any low light situation.
I am put off buying another until firmware comes out to fix it (assuming it does).
This is something that really should have been spotted before release.
I dont mind been a beta tester too.. 😊
bartmanekul wrote:Exactly. The N85 has very bad camera noise on almost any low light situation.
Of course I agree with you entirely, but then we're both seeing it from an engineering point of view, and it's the Marketing droids who are in charge now. They have probably costed the benefits of getting a device to market early, against the badwill caused by it being buggy.
First off, who is responsible for the testing? There are lots of different versions of the same phone with different firmwares. For example, whilst Windows Mobile devices are notoriously flakey at launch, the O2 XDA versions actually have a very good reputation as O2 take a good couple of months longer to test the devices on their networks before launching them.
Though this takes me to my other point. It's all very well saying that testing saves money but you have to make money first in order to save it. For the networks, making money is all about getting people signed up to contracts and, for that, the latest phone is one of their biggest attractions. If Nokia (or whomever) takes too long testing a device before it is released to the networks it could be old hat.
Just look at SonyEricsson and the Xperia X1. They have spent forever ironing out the performance issues and bugs. It has finally been released to general appathy as the features that were revolutionary when announced 9 months ago are now available on a dozen other devices.
This is a problem O2 also suffer. Due to their testing standards, other networks often get a 2 month head start on them with new devices and so acheive better sales. So, perhaps it isn't the manufacturers fault or the networks fault. Maybe us consumers are just too willing to forgive previous trespasses when we see the latest shiny gadget. If we really DID turn away from handset manufacturers or Networks that had let us down in the past they WOULD learn. I suspect we get what we deserve.
By 'High Street' I mean people buying phones in their local towns, usually from network phone shops.
As opposed to AAS geeks buying online or from eBay 8-)
This is a hard one that has actually been bugging (see what I did there) the s/w industry for many years on many platforms.
The problem is essentially...money! The not-very-new-but-still-current practice revolves around the 80/20 rule. Every CTO / CFO will know that it would cost too much to fix 100% of bugs and it is generally recognised that 80% is the point where it becomes inefficient to do so. The perception is that if you keep 80% of the people happy then you can spin / fix your way to success. And actually, if we take the n95 as an example, the rule would prove to be right on the basis that the line has become one of the most successful products in mobile history.
Us geeks will always have to go through some pain, but we like that really don't we - I mean, it does actually keep some of us in a job - no? But for the average Joe on the street who will maybe only use 20-30% of the phone's functionality - if it works most of the time and they can put a "cool" theme on it or impress their friends with the interface, then they're largely pretty happy.
Even with extensive marketing, it takes months for a product like a high-end smartphone phone to achieve a decent market penetration. That gives the R&D guys plenty of time to get the fixes out. In the meantime, the sales-force are selling the phone on features that most of the public will not use in 18 months as much as a decent reviewer will use in a few days.
So all-in-all, while it's frustrating, I personally can't see it changing any time soon.
ILG
Hear.. hear.. If some people in the forum would have gotten the N96 some weeks before the launch, it would instantly launch with a V20.something-firmware 😉
Off topic, but when is AAS going going to address the recent Canalys numbers?
@surer and others: I posted on the Canalys numbers just now. Sorry, I'd got behind with my Google Reader feeds..... Too much N96 testing and writing (part 3 coming soon).... 8-)
The Canalys numbers are somewhat skewed by the huge Apple numbers from a few months ago, but things should settle a little for Q4. Doubtless Rafe will chip in with his opinions soon. Or maybe we'll tackle the numbers in the podcast....
Steve
It's a tough one!
Nokia announced the N96 months ago, and now there are several negative comments about how long it has taken to arrive - and how the specs look less impressive now than they did at the start of the year.
If they had taken this time to produce a solid, almost-bug-free product, would these reviewers be less harsh? Let's be honest, it's pretty poor that after all that time it has all these (reported, I haven't used one) problems.
How about taking the N85 route - announcing the product barely a month before release; does this give them enough time to produce a decent firmware?
As long as people keep buying these unfinished phones, Nokia (and pretty much everyone else) will keep making and releasing them early. The only way to prevent this in the future is to wait for Steve and Rafe to give us the 'all clear' before purchase.
I was part of the beta testing for both the N95 and N95 8GB. I spotted the red tint (Mars Effect) on the N95 photos before general release, but I think it was about 4 or 5 months before Nokia corrected things in Firmware. Hey, at least they did correct it!
There's a reason why these pesky customer satisfaction surveys keep showing 90% for the iPhone, and it has nothing to do with marketing. There is only one iPhone and practically everybody at Apple has their attention focused on the iPhone like a laser beam, and it shows.
This scattergun approach to product design and product launching is going bite Nokia on the bum in 2009.
as was said the average joe wouldn't know anything about the workarounds the average geek would know about.seems to me nokia etc have a baseline product which is acceptable by joes standards then developers etc come along to satisfy the geek.seems a pretty fair balance which reminds me of a time when someone mentioned the mobile should come with a are you joe public or are you steve litchfield switch built in.no offence intended mate.looks like nothing will change to me too to be honest as the base product actually does what it says on the tin to start with.
Thats the main reason I decided I would never go with a nokia product again. Dropping 500-600 dollars on buggy products that doesnt 'just works' and sluggish OS.
They need to take a cue from Apple on that. Take a N96/N95 that was released and compare the same with iphone.. in Plain english Iphone just works fine. Just wondering why cant they even do basic testing before releasing phones that cost bomb. Nokia has used me as guinea pig with buggy products like N95, N800 that needs continuous firmwares just to work propelry. Thanks nokia. Would never buy your product again.
My ex-boss purchased an N96 on the day it came out. She expects me to explain the blinking envelope icon on her new N96 and but I can't tell her its the icon that shows up when you don't have enough space to receive a new text message, she would be quick to show me the 16GB free memory on the phone not realizing that the icon is probably because of a bug.
@Steve, you've pulled the exact nerve that hurts, its a real issue and lets hope Nokia does something about it.
One main reason for problems is the insistance of networks that they should have their own firmware instead of the standard SIM-free firmware, it means each phone model has to be tested dozens of times instead of just once.
And I think Bassey has the other main reason right here:
If Nokia (or whomever) takes too long testing a device before it is released to the networks it could be old hat.
So on the one hand the networks say "give us our own firmware", and on the other they say "give us the latest hardware as soon as possible".
And if the manufacturers don't do that, people and networks may turn to other manufacturers instead. The manufacturers are in an impossible position.
And it's worth remembering that phones are unlike anything we've seen before in the computing world:
- Mobile phones sell a billion units a year so their users are utterly diverse with totally different needs and budgets. There is no typical phone user, they cover the entire human race, which isn't the case for any other computing device.
- One manufacturer alone may have to release dozens of models a year to serve all these different target audiences and get a respectable market share.
- Each model has to have dozens of variants for different frequencies and/or network operators. Add all those up and you're looking at literally hundreds of different device configurations to be tested every year from just one manufacturer, and they have to then be re-tested if new firmware versions come out.
It's easy enough to test one version of one phone with one firmware version, but that's just not a realistic mass market model in today's global phone market.
Some people wondered why Apple was restricting the iPhone to just one network in each country and releasing just one model each year, but a big part of that is because they wanted to avoid this testing headache. The downside of that is the severe limits on how well the iPhone can sell, which is part of the reason it's only got a 2% market share. If Apple is happy in that niche that's fine, but if they try to expand significantly beyond that they will have to spend less time testing each model, and have to accept a lower level of quality control.
They need to take a cue from Apple on that.
You think Nokia should restrict their expensive phones to just one network operator, and refuse to make SIM-free versions?
You think Nokia should release just one phone model a year?
Completely agree.
And this is why I brought back a new N85 this week and went back to my e51. Although that has only half the functions, it at least almost never crashes on me, doesn't wobble around and is speedy even with several applications opened...
Nemoi,
I am surprised that you found N85 so much buggy that you had to switch to E51.
It has worked well for me (1-2 crashes in last 2 weeks).
bartmanekul,
>>Exactly. The N85 has very bad camera noise on almost any low light situation.
True. I was not able to take evan a single half decent photograph in low light condition. But I think this will be an issue with almost all the similar mobile cameras.
AmitKumar wrote:
True. I was not able to take evan a single half decent photograph in low light condition. But I think this will be an issue with almost all the similar mobile cameras.
No, the N82, N96, 6220C, and even the N95 can take pictures in low light without so much noise. Since its the same camera, Im hopeful a firmware update will solve it. Until then, I am not buying another.
My original got sent back for a refund, due to the GPS being faulty. It also had a loose slider.
These are all things expirenced with the N95 when it came out, and a few others.
To release a phone with bugs and issues is one thing, but to keep doing the same ones over and over....
This isn't unique to Mobile phones. In pretty much any high end electronics company the hardware is the easy part to develop. Normally needing only 2-3 revisions before completely stable.
Firmware development is normally next to stabilise then it is down to software.(when I say firmware I mean firmware as in VHDL)
In most companies software will go through peer reviews, Design Verification Testing and will not be until critical bugs are fixed.
Unfortunately due to consumer demands and the need for leading companies to be first to market means that a large amount of CVT is done (Customer verification) . From a business point of view being first to market is 1 of the most important things and this is the only way that companies like Nokia and Samsung will remain competetive and the only way we will continue to reap the rewards of their innovation.
I certainly agree. A little time for polish makes a huge difference in consumer satisfaction...
I guess Nokia will use their Pilots program for this - geeks getting unreleased phones as beta testers might help mitigate this issue a bit 😉
You think Nokia should release just one phone model a year?
Well, yes of course, they must just release the perfect phone, like Apple did, at least in the eyes of some fans...
As for the testing: I came to the conclusion that for most tech companies, for most product categories, quality just does not pay, and going for quality borders on suicide (if you don't happen to be the one exception that confirms the rule, like Apple).
Many users just don't use their phones extensively enough to hit the bugs - the phones phone and text quite alright. Then, many other users long for a new shiny toy every year and don't let get bugs in the way of that longing. Very few people are ready to wait for a quality product and then pay some premium for it (because testers also want to be paid, after all).
good article! its about time!!!
i agree these devices are complicated and therefore hard to test but we pay alot for them and deserve a decent product for our money.
I am sick to death of buying something that doesn't really work. For me firmware updates should be for adding new features or fixing the odd feature not for actually making the device usable.
the fact that people actually defend part finished products is hilarious - talk about fanboys brainwashed by marketing! have some standards people!!!
Excellent article. I agree with every point, however, I don't think the N96 would have ever been successful. The ARM 9 processor in it as opposed to the ARM 11 used in every other high-end device they have is what cripples the device into unusable status.
brendan wrote:I am sick to death of buying something that doesn't really work.
That's the easy part, the really easy part - being sick, I mean. But what will you do? It would be interesting to learn how you intend to shop for your next phone.
And, if it turns out that there will be *no* high-end phone that is reasonably bug-free - will you bite into the sour apple, draw consequences and either A) stop buying, or B) going back to a bug-free dumb-phone?
I assume that most people in your situation will simply cheat, i.e. taking the non-option C) - continue to buy phones with bugs. They just can't help themselves. A fact which then lets the manufacturers get away with their buggy phones.
It's very rare, IMHO, that consumers really go into something resembling a strike, forcing a change. In the current IT world, this is more or less what is happening with Windows Vista in the corporate area. But already comming up with a second example would be difficult, I think.
Well, yes of course, they must just release the perfect phone, like Apple did, at least in the eyes of some fans...
Iphone and Perfect? Give me a break, what you call perfect is what I call half baked. Different users have different needs Nokia as an experienced cellphone manufacturer understands that, that's why they create so many models. It takes brains to become the highest selling phone manufacturer in the world. Nokia deserves to be where it is.
What's mind boggling is the ten months they had between announcing the N96 and making it available. Ten months and they still couldn't come out with a somehow decent product.
Disappointing, to say the least.
Geeks or no geeks people are fairly competent at Google searches. Even non geeks do their research when it's time for a new handset. I believe people who do buy N95's and N96's or any high end smartphones. This explains why there are so many phone forums and blogs with many having hundreds of thousands of members and millions of hits.
The problem is the craving for the pinnacle of technology. We want it ASAP and willing to buy it with a buggy firmware knowing later the bugs will most likely be rectified. I'm in this camp too... I rather have it now than wait 6 months for a bug free-ish version.
I believe AAS underestimate the people who buy these type of phones. Your average Joe looking to upgrade from their N95 know the N96 doesn't offer anything noteworthy to be tied in a long term contract. They rather look elsewhere...