If you read this site regularly you would notice that I haven’t been writing as much as I normally do. This is not because there was nothing to write about, it’s because I received a Nokia Lumia 710 to demo for two weeks and have been trying to wrap my head around Windows Phone.
While it is a good OS and could be great with a few tweaks on function I am not going to concentrate on that right now. What I am going to concentrate on is Nokiafying Windows Phone and making it palatable to current Nokia users. If a Lumia is your first Nokia phone then you have no expectations of a Nokia phone and you will love Windows Phone. But for those of us who have used Symbain/MeeGo for the past decade Windows Phone is quite limiting.
Because of this I fear that Nokia will lose a HUGE part of their base to the more Symbian like Android. Nokia can lessen this loss by using the latitude that Microsoft gave them and Nokiafy Windows Phone. How you ask? Here are a few things that Nokia could do to help make the transition from Symbian/MeeGo to Windows Phone easier.
Ability to Change the Hubs Landing Pages: Hubs are a nifty little thing in Windows Phones that group like functions to make your life easier..the problem you ask? When you push the “hub tile” it lands where ever it feels like, doesn’t matter if that’s the most useful spot or not to you.
Example? When you push the dialer button you don’t get the dialer like you would expect…No, you get your call history then you have to push another button to get the dialer. It’s like that with all the hubs, sometimes it lands in place where it makes sense and other times not so much.
If Nokia would make a setting so you can change the landing page on your hub that’s all it would take here. Even just if the hub would learn what you use most and land on that page it would work for me.
Unlocking the Phone: Unlocking a Windows Phone right now requires you to find the power button (and the power button only) push it and swipe up to unlock. On a Symbian phone any front facing button will do, and on a MeeGo phone you simply “double tap” the screen and swipe any direction.
For Nokia users this “find the power button” game is annoying. Nokia could easily fix this issue by giving Windows Phone the “double tap” feature and by letting me swipe anyway I want to unlock my phone.
Themes! We need themes! I don’t know about anyone else but changing the tile color on my phone does not count a personalization in my book. When you are use to Symbian and the ability to personalize everything about your phone, (to the point where it acts like an iPhone, Windows Phone, etc..) this changing the color of tile stuff doesn’t cut it.
Nokia could easily allow themes on Windows Phone and not affect the core of Windows Phone at all. A picture in the background of the start screen that stays there in the hubs, different fonts in the live tiles, etc…
Control of Normal Functions from the Start Screen: To turn on/off simple things like WiFi you need to dig in the secondary menu, swipe down to settings then chose what you want turned on/off, then flip the switch. (I just tested it on my 710 it took six gestures six!) There are apps in the Market Place that fix this issue but we shouldn’t have to get an app for a basic function like controlling our WiFi.
Again easy fix here for Nokia, all we need is a live tile with a toggle switch for the basic functions that you toggle often. If a third party can do it so can Nokia.
Wifi That Stays on When Phone is Locked: This one just dumbfounds me. When you lock your Windows Phone it shuts the WiFi off which leads to your carrier data being used, which leads to you using up your entire data plan too soon.
Nokia I don’t know why this happens but it HAS TO be fixed there really is nothing else even to say about this one it’s so simple.
Real Multitasking: All Nokia needs to do here is bring the multitasking us Nokia users expect on our phones to Windows Phone. (The pausing programs in the background and calling it multitasking is not multitasking.) We expect real multitasking on our Nokia Windows Phone because all Nokia phones have it. In fact sometimes I am running (really running) 16 things on my N9. So to go to a phone where I can’t really multitask at all is a disappointment to say the least.
Bottom line for Nokia:
This is merely a starter list that would “Nokiafy” a Windows Phone. With every other Nokia phone you can customize every aspect the phone to your likings. There are VERY FEW options for the user right now. While this will get new users, it will infuriate the loyal Nokia base and push them toward an Android phone. Symbian users will be searching for that “Nokia experience” and sadly they will not be able to get it on a Nokia phone anymore. This is why a Nokia Windows Phone doesn’t “feel like a Nokia” and Nokia need to take steps to “Nokiafy” it or risk losing there their very loyal base.
Kevin Everett
Proud Nokia Geek since 1997 who loves to collect old Nokia phones (owns everything from the 1992's Nokia 100 up to the very latest Nokia N9) and is very happy to share his knowledge with you. He is a writer for Daily Mobile and Nokia Innovations. Enjoy his Nokia nerd knowledge and feel free to follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/NokiaKnowings
http://www.nokiainnovation.com/
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