The title's not mine, it belongs to Robert Hall who, in his blog, makes the interesting observation (and one which in a way complements my own 'Three apps on my smartphone' piece from last month) that the more add-on apps considered important for a device, the more the admission that the software on the device itself can't be that complete. Us, jealous of the iPhone App Store? Possibly, but Robert does make a thought-provoking point.
Read on in the full article.
Most people really don't want to spend a lot of time squinting at a 4 inch or less screen. There are only a few apps that people really need. The rest is just there for the sake of it. I've downloaded apps on my phones, then removed them after a few minutes.
I would say that all the basic functionality is taken care of in the phone. But sometimes, you need an app that can provide you a little extra. I use an external clock application that provides me with multiple alarm options, a profile app that helps me to set location based rule (movie theatre = auto silent) and rule for auto silent profile during meeting, so on and on, etc.
Sure we could live without these additional apps, but sometimes they are just so darn useful and handy.
Utter nonsense. What this blog author doesn't seem to understand is the transformation of phones to mobile computer and that their ability to improve vastly via software is a huge achievement.
Are you complaining that your Windows PC is incomplete because you have to buy certain software for particular uses? That your computer is incomplete because it didn't ship with all possible games? That it is a negative that the capability of your device can be extended via software, games, ebooks and the like?
The mobile software market has entered a new era. And it's catch-up time for Symbian and Nokia, not time to moan that the capability their devices ship with are enough.
Time for another car analogy.
When you buy a new car you can add options like alloys, leather seating, cruise control, navigation, ceramic brakes and whatnot. Cars that come with all possible options are too expensive for most of the market, but some people are willing to pay good money for the options they consider essential for their car.
Same with App Stores, think of it as the options list of a car dealership.
And to push the analogy further, some cars come loaded with options for the price, others just have seats and a steering wheel. Same with smartphones.
You can also think of apps as the equivalent of adding spoilers, go-faster stripes and extra-noisy exhausts. Not everybody's cup of tea, but apparently enough people are willing to buy that kind of stuff.
@Nemoi: just playing devil's advocate, the modern Mac (for example) comes with just about everything 99% of users might ever need. The iLife suite is all included and for anyone other than a geek, I just can't see them even looking for third party software.
It's almost the same with the Eseries or Nseries software load out. There's very little need to add any software at all. Arguably. My own (linked) article postulated that most people only need three or so add-ons.
Returning to my iPod Touch after two months in my daughter's hands, I found I hadn't missed the core OS, interface or apps one jot. I also hadn't missed the 100,000 app ecosystem at all. (I *had* missed a handful of really advanced games, but that's another editorial for another day)
He's right, he definitely doesn't get app stores. His poorly argued and often self-contradicting post illustrates that much at least.
Why does he deem it acceptable for Nokia to leave out accelerometer support in the N95 yet not acceptable for some other device to leave out bluetooth file transfer support? What is the fundamental distinction between these two examples that makes one ok and the other not?
Nokia messaging is a case in point. A very poor messaging app is shipped in the OS, so step forward Profimail, a very very good messaging app.
I think that shipping apps in the OS is suggesting that one size fits all. Why not let people select their own suite. Ship a phone just a browser and a contacts list but a voucher for five free downloads and make a selection of apps available. This would stimulate interest in downloading.
Each to their own I guess. My partner and I both own S60 devices (N86 and N79) and she is perfectly satisfied with what with the phone does out of the box (added one app I think can't remember which), and I'm a self confessed geek and have installed upwards of 15 apps. I do an app fortnightly or so but for them most part I actually use most of them. Some are things S60 doesn't do out of the box (mobbler, mytraveler, T9Nav, threadsms, greader) and others enhance the S60 experience for me (handy taskman, handy profiles, nokia photo browser), and I do have some apps I wouldn't notice if you take away but make my life a little easier (birthdays, sms preview). I like the freedom of being able to personalise my phone as I please.
Unregistered wrote:not acceptable for some other device to leave out bluetooth file transfer support?
Unregistered wrote:I think that shipping apps in the OS is suggesting that one size fits all. Why not let people select their own suite.
malerocks wrote:There are devices which do not support bluetooth file transfer??? Which ones? Such phones should be a shame.
sniff, sniff. Is that sarcasm i smell?..... 😉
UKJeeper wrote:sniff, sniff. Is that sarcasm i smell?..... 😉
I genuinely mean it. I mean if phones stop allowing you to share files using bluetooth, its actually a step backwards technologically IMO. As mentioned, I consider it a really useful option when wanting to share a few photos, songs using bluetooth with my sis, wife, etc.
I am not aware of any current (nokia) phones that have this limitation. Hence asked. I am definitely going to avoid purchasing such phones.
slitchfield wrote:@Nemoi: just playing devil's advocate, the modern Mac (for example) comes with just about everything 99% of users might ever need. The iLife suite is all included and for anyone other than a geek, I just can't see them even looking for third party software.
Although in fairness, iLife is not part of Mac OSX, it is supplied with new Macs, but you have to pay to upgrade it when a new version comes out, I take your point though, only professionals need more.
Returning to my iPod Touch after two months in my daughter's hands, I found I hadn't missed the core OS, interface or apps one jot. I also hadn't missed the 100,000 app ecosystem at all. (I *had* missed a handful of really advanced games, but that's another editorial for another day)
But thats an iPod Touch not a phone, so you don't use it as your number one device, it is only ever going to be a secondary device.
I had an iPod Touch for eighteen months and ended up just using it for music, sticking with my N95/N95 8GB/E71 etc etc for everything else
However since switching my main device from the N97 to the iPhone 3GS, I haven't looked back, just so easy to do everything, I actually use it more than my laptop for email now, and if you combine it with a mac and mobileme, it is a no-brainer, everything stays in sync beautifully between my iphone and three macs, for example if I save a bookmark in safari on any of my macs it appears on my phone and vise-versa.
I never managed to keep three computers perfectly in sync with any of the multiple s60 devices I have owned, always ended up with tons of duplicates, even when using Nokia's own OviSync service.
I have bought and installed many applications for it, do I need then all on a phone? probably not, but amny like TV Guide, Flixster Movies, Google RSS, Tweetie 2, Evernote, Wordpress, Dropbox I use day in day out.
I still have an E52 for when I am out trail riding, but it is now used simply as a phone, can't even be bothered to upgrade the firmware on it, because it means I will have to reinstall everything
How many applications have I purchased on Symbian in the last 12 months? only one, Gravity (although I did buy it twice).
This was not a well-written piece and as people have said before, it is incredibly contradictory.
I have never owned a computer in which I didn't install additional, purchased programs. The same has been true for my phones post-Motorola Razor. In my view, that is precisely what a smartphone is: a phone in which you can install additional applications to add functionality to the phone features. On my N95, N85, and N97 all have purchased programs that added functionality to the phones (e.g. joikuspot, Gmail, Handy Calendar, Handy Shell, Best Timer, Opera, Screenshot, Profile Scheduler, Theme Scheduler, etc.).
On my Ipod Touch, I have installed several apps that add functionality to the ipod touch: e.g. dropbox, evernote, instapaper, nytimes, tripit. These apps have similar functionality to going to the web pages, but the ability to store content on my device offline from the apps is awesome and necessary. Other apps help me do online banking on my ipod touch, use my touch as a remote for my computer, sort grocery lists, get growl notifications on my touch, and read ebooks.
I suppose I can easily believe that someone has redundant apps on an Iphone, but I have redundant apps on my home computer: I have Ilife and Office, for example. Sometimes people prefer an interface on one program and the functionality of another. One size doesn't fit all - especially for people who are moderately advanced computer and phone users.
Ratkat's post is spot on the mark. Using the iPod analogy is pretty weak Steve considering it is just a media player and I can't believe that you would insult your readers this way, but then again.... Try the same thing with an iPhone and the world is different. Sure the App Store is somewhat a disaster based on all of the content but at least the content is there and it is damn easy to get. Try the same with the Ovi Store. It is a fail, fail, fail and only now added the ability to download again. I think you and your "author" are just exhibiting sour grapes and the almost insurmountable situation that Nokia has to overcome to once again be considered viable.
As per others, I think this is a pretty bad article. The whole point of a smart phone is being able to customize your personal phone via Applications. If one just wanted a phone out of the box that did things well, than one should go back and use Series 40 devices.
I use to bash the Iphone as well until I started using it....now I read my paper, trade stocks, refill my starbuck's card, pay bills, play games, and listen to music on my phone. Yes I had the N97 and it can do pretty much all the above as well, but IMO does not do it nearly as well or effective. This I attribute to well written apps for the Iphone.
One thing that the iTunes App Store generally doesn't support is free trial versions. There are a quite a lot of cut-down versions of apps which can be downloaded for free, but many/most apps have no free trial at all, which I find to be a great weakness, when compared with other platforms. I know that many App Store apps are quite cheap, but it's still nice to try something before parting with your hard-earned cash...
Then surely this should be "All About S40", right? Why do you care about Symbian or S60? That's the biggest difference between the two Nokia OSes - one offers native apps and the other doesn't. Your argument and Robert's is, boiled to its essence, "we don't need no stinkin' applications; everything should be built in!" Therefore, Steve, why are you using any S60/Symbian devices? Surely you must be delighted with a S40 device?
I don't think either your or Robert Hall seem to get the notion of an app store. The app store is a way to centralize the acquisition of applications and to make it easy for the end user to discover applications, buy them and use them. In addition, I don't have to pay up front in the cost of the device for an application I'm not going to use.
So think about it. Your argument is "we don't need apps, thus we don't need app stores". My argument is "we need apps, and an app store helps us find and use those apps, so why not an app store?" The quality of the writing on this site has truly reached a new low. Thanks for all the fish and good riddance from my RSS reader.
Yes Im the author.
I think alot of peple are misunderstanding the point Im making. Its not that apps are a waste. The point Im making is that I would like devices which came with more out of the box.
Lets use the "great car anology". How many of you would purchase a car and then have to go to their repair shop to purchase the steering wheel? You wouldnt, would you?
Thats the point Im getting at. That "steering wheel" should have been there from the get go.
Part 2 is up in which i answer to some comments and critics.
By the way, thanks Steve for linking my blog!
Read Part2, with apps like mobbler and greader, relative to total number of smartphone users, how many use Last.fm and how many use Google Reader. I wouldn't expect Nokia, Apple or whoever to have those apps preinstalled. I happen to use those two services so I installed the apps but John Doe wi. Of course we all expect a basic level of 'punch' out of the box and wish it would cover the majority of bases, but there's a limit to how many different types of users a manufacturer can cater for with preinstalled apps.
quote: "Yes Im the author.
I think alot of peple are misunderstanding the point Im making. Its not that apps are a waste. The point Im making is that I would like devices which came with more out of the box.
Lets use the "great car anology". How many of you would purchase a car and then have to go to their repair shop to purchase the steering wheel? You wouldnt, would you?
Thats the point Im getting at. That "steering wheel" should have been there from the get go."
This has got to be the lamest argument I have ever seen regarding this type of "store" topic. When I buy a car, the steering wheel is there, because the steering wheel is essential to the operation of the car. Do I need a DVD player in the car, or say electric mirrors, or Dolby Surround? No as they are necessities that help in the operation of the car. The same can be said of app stores. They are there to enhance the user experience, and customers decide what is and is not needed for their experience. I would not expect Apple, MS, Nokia, etc... to give me something other than a standard package because anything more becomes them telling me what I need.
Sorry dude, but you sound like a whiner that wants something for free. I will not waste time reading your whinging blog.
blkmagicwoman wrote:This was not a well-written piece and as people have said before, it is incredibly contradictory.I have never owned a computer in which I didn't install additional, purchased programs. The same has been true for my phones post-Motorola Razor. In my view, that is precisely what a smartphone is: a phone in which you can install additional applications to add functionality to the phone features. On my N95, N85, and N97 all have purchased programs that added functionality to the phones (e.g. joikuspot, Gmail, Handy Calendar, Handy Shell, Best Timer, Opera, Screenshot, Profile Scheduler, Theme Scheduler, etc.).
On my Ipod Touch, I have installed several apps that add functionality to the ipod touch: e.g. dropbox, evernote, instapaper, nytimes, tripit. These apps have similar functionality to going to the web pages, but the ability to store content on my device offline from the apps is awesome and necessary. Other apps help me do online banking on my ipod touch, use my touch as a remote for my computer, sort grocery lists, get growl notifications on my touch, and read ebooks.
I suppose I can easily believe that someone has redundant apps on an Iphone, but I have redundant apps on my home computer: I have Ilife and Office, for example. Sometimes people prefer an interface on one program and the functionality of another. One size doesn't fit all - especially for people who are moderately advanced computer and phone users.
lol i love stories like this, it never ceases to amaze me the reactions of some people xD