Nokia Gets Design-Conscious … Again

Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s slim-phone miscalculation was a business decision rather than a failure of the design team, Nokia says. Still, the decision to elevate the visibility of design shows that Nokia, which has tended to emphasize function over form, is becoming more fashion-conscious. "As a company we are moving more and more to where consumer marketing and design are more important," says Chief Technology Officer Tero Ojanperä.

To be sure, Nokia probably owes its current dominance of the mobile market to its early recognition in the 1990s that phones were personal fashion statements as well as technology.

And the connection of design to technology is only growing, as people come to rely on their handsets not just for making phone calls but taking pictures, listening to music, and using the Internet. Making phones that look cool is only part of the job. "It’s not only about how it looks, it’s about how you interact with the device," says Ojanperä.

Source: Business Week

I hope stick to function over form, last thing I need is a piece of bling that’s garbage on the inside.