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Nokia VP of Multimedia Computers Jonas Geust on the iPhone

By: , IntoMobile
Friday, March 2nd, 2007 at 1:41 AM

Barron’s:

Jonas_geust
Tim Long, an analyst at Bank of America, wrote a couple of useful research notes today based on a conference call he hosted yesterday with Nokia VP of Multimedia Computers Jonas Geust. The Nokia exec told Long and his clients that Nokia believes the market for converged devices – phones with music, cameras, Web access and video – was 90 million units in 2006, heading to 250 million in 2008.

According to Long, Geust said that about 60% of users who have MP3 players on their phone actually use them.

Perhaps the most interesting comments from Geust involved his thoughts on key features of the Apple iPhone.

  • Touch screens: Geust said that Nokia has heard some positive feedback, but also noted that some people have issues with keeping them clean, and that some people dislike the fact that they are hard to use with one hand. (Which makes them hard to use while driving.)
  • Bandwidth: Geust says he does not think 2.5G technology (which is what the first iPhone will use) will be fast enough. He says devices should have 3G and/or wi-fi access for a rich user experience.
  • Cameras: The Nokia exec said the sweet spot will be 3-5 megapixels.
  • Storage: Geust says 4GB to 8 GB of storage should be enough for music alone but that 16GB or even 32 will be needed to store music, photos and video.

I’ll be honest with you. I’m not going to buy an iPhone, but I sure as hell will make an effort to stop by an Apple store and give it a good once over.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • Ricky Cadden

    I think you and I have the same feelings on the iPhone. It’ll be fun to play with, but that’s about it.

    However, 2 things I want to point out (one of which I’ve harped on endlessly before).

    1. The iPhone has WiFi (and can surf the internet with it)
    and
    2. I find it interesting and completely stupid that several high-ups at Nokia (leading me to believe this is the “official” response) hounding the iPhone for not having 3G. That’s odd because Nokia also has yet to release a US 3G phone, and the iPhone will be launching exclusively in the US at first.