Nokia, Why are things still this hard?

I’ve been dabbling with the N8 for about two weeks now and it’s a mixed bag. At first, it took a bit to get my Nokia muscle memory back in shape. The process of coming back to Nokia and Symbian is kinda like getting back together with that girlfriend you broke up with … She looks great (as usual) but once back together you remember exactly why you broke up in the first place.

I’m not going to do a full review but instead highlight a few key issues I have right from the start that are sadly baked in from the old days …

By default, the time does not get set from the network. This is a minor gripe, but it meant that the pictures and video I shot that first day all have the wrong timestamp baked in. I put the sim card in while in a taxi on my way to an after work event so i can take a bit of blame for not really paying attention, but why should i even have to?

The Nokia Social client which is featured on the first home screen is a fail. I’ve had to re-inout my password at least a dozen times and at this point I’m done. If you know the software sucks, call it beta and ask me to download it instead of including it as part of the base system.

Speaking of having to install … Why is the Ovi Store app NOT pre-installed? Including the stub to force the download is ridiculous. It’s not like you weren’t sure the store would launch in time … Once installed the client seems to be something of a digital island. It has no ability to see what I have installed to make recommendations. This missing ability means we all see the same stuff, regardless of whether you’ve already tried it or how you may have rated the app. Sigh.  Apparently this is being worked on …

Nokia Messaging … Whoa. Exchange is my default sync method and i have two rather critical issues here. First after all these years, I can’t believe that sync still need to be restarted at least once a day. Second the ability to accept appointments simple does not exist. This is a total fail.

As usual, the hardware is lovely and the camera is excellent. Think that about sums it up.

18 Replies to “Nokia, Why are things still this hard?”

  1. Great short ‘review’ – As mentioned here (http://www.rickycadden.com/2010/10/nokia-n8-reviews-show-lack-of-attention-to-detail/) it’s crazy to see the little things that apparently got overlooked with the N8, especially given how long they had from announcement to launch, and how many Nokia employees have been using the N8 for months on end.

    I’ve seen this Exchange meeting issue mentioned in several other reviews – it’s a sure sign that Nokia’s own employees aren’t eating the dogfood – I know for a fact that Nokians have meetings, and plenty of them. The notion that they wouldn’t have run into this is absurd – someone just didn’t want to fix it.

  2. Great short ‘review’ – As mentioned here (http://www.rickycadden.com/2010/10/nokia-n8-reviews-show-lack-of-attention-to-detail/) it’s crazy to see the little things that apparently got overlooked with the N8, especially given how long they had from announcement to launch, and how many Nokia employees have been using the N8 for months on end.

    I’ve seen this Exchange meeting issue mentioned in several other reviews – it’s a sure sign that Nokia’s own employees aren’t eating the dogfood – I know for a fact that Nokians have meetings, and plenty of them. The notion that they wouldn’t have run into this is absurd – someone just didn’t want to fix it.

  3. Great short ‘review’ – As mentioned here (http://www.rickycadden.com/2010/10/nokia-n8-reviews-show-lack-of-attention-to-detail/) it’s crazy to see the little things that apparently got overlooked with the N8, especially given how long they had from announcement to launch, and how many Nokia employees have been using the N8 for months on end.

    I’ve seen this Exchange meeting issue mentioned in several other reviews – it’s a sure sign that Nokia’s own employees aren’t eating the dogfood – I know for a fact that Nokians have meetings, and plenty of them. The notion that they wouldn’t have run into this is absurd – someone just didn’t want to fix it.

  4. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  5. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  6. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  7. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  8. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  9. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  10. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  11. I noticed meeting replies were missed in about 5 minutes because I put my work sim in and I was trying to actually use it. The sad thing is that this function was clearly REMOVED! It’s always been there as I recall from years of MFE use … What the hell is that?

  12. Yeah, I remember Dave Weinstein being quite impressed with the updated M4E app at Nokia World ’09 – that’s saying alot, cause that dude LIVES in Exchange and has used all the platforms. It seems as though the integration of M4E into Nokia Messaging resulted in a HUGE step backwards.

  13. I also live in Exchange thanks to working in a corporation. Gmail via Nokia Messaging is fine, but even on Eseries, MFE has always been weak. Makes it a tough sell regardless of the “cost” savings they can try to promote over a Blackberry server …

  14. Have to agree; even though there is some things to appreciate about the N8, there’s clearly some missed attention to detail in several areas that just won’t cut it except for the most daring of fans. Weirdly enough, I’m not finding the N8 compelling enough to move me from my N97 – and that is saying a lot about how bad those finishing touches to skew one’s impressions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.