El Reg has news that Nokia’s latest firmware update for their flagship cell, the N95, actually removes a previously free GPS “you are here†feature for use with Nokia Maps. As The Register points out, “even Microsoft would balk at removing without warning a feature through Windows Update.â€
Following the *fairly* successful iPhone launch, Nokia has indicated that it sees its own N95 as Apple’s rival (the Nokia has a much better camera, SD memory card support, video, 3G, and some great apps – such as IM clients – that the iPhone currently lacks), and has increased the phone multimedia capabilities – and its head-to-head specs – by boosting the (onboard) memory to 8GB. So surely, if Nokia wanted to steal the initiative at every juncture, it shouldn’t be removing good features to chase meagre potential revenue streams. It doesn’t make any sense.
What Nokia needs to do, if it is to have any chance of heading off new entrants to the mobile market (and following news of Google’s Android platform, there are bound to be numerous, not to mention existing rivals such as Samsung and Motorola) is to concentrate on hardware – its core market and strength, and allow third parties to develop the software and even the operating system. Nokia are not software experts, they’re hardware manufacturers. Windows Vista is a perfect example of a company that has taken its eye off its core business, and Nokia shouldn’t follow in Microsoft’s footprints.
tygerland archive 
Since when did big business ever have any sense?
Since when did big business ever have any sense?
Hi Jennie,Tech companies like to see themselves as solution-based businesses, rather than specialists. Software is sexy, but manufacturing plants and supply chains aren’t necessarily.Companies should specialise and concentrate of what they’re good at. Nike and Gap gave up manufacturing clothes years ago, they knew they were about design and marketing. Tech companies are quite young, they’ll take a while to realise that specialisation is the key to a healthy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_on_capital_employed“ rel=”nofollow”>ROCE.
Hi Jennie,Tech companies like to see themselves as solution-based businesses, rather than specialists. Software is sexy, but manufacturing plants and supply chains aren’t necessarily.Companies should specialise and concentrate of what they’re good at. Nike and Gap gave up manufacturing clothes years ago, they knew they were about design and marketing. Tech companies are quite young, they’ll take a while to realise that specialisation is the key to a healthy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_on_capital_employed“ rel=”nofollow”>ROCE.