Even a thinner, more stylish version of the E90 would be nice. Just make it have the same keyboard feel as the E71.

Nokia have some amazing devices upcoming.

I don’t need email and I also don’t need a QWERTY keyboard which is a major departure from my N999 vision:
http://www.rolandtanglao.com/tags/n999

After using an iPhone for a year, touch screen keyboards are “good enough” for me.

That would be the perfect phone for me. I wouldn’t mind a touch screen but, until the morph comes out in like 50 years, a non-touch with actual keys would be just fine.

Mini QWERTY isn’t good until it gets too big and less portable. Even the E90 was slow to type compared to my N95 8gb. It was my only other issue with the E71 besides the camera.

How does the S40-powered 6290 have a 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, and the low to midrange 6220c S60-powered smartphone has the same, yet the premiue E71 has this embarrassing camera.

I wrote about this in an open letter to the Nseries director on the Symbian Freak site. While we all like options, we believe these should be a clear entry level, midrange, and premium models, with certain expected hardware and features. I’m completely fine with a high end feature finding its way into low to midrange devices, but Nokia keep the Eseries and Nseries closer to high end. Otherwise, the 6220c’s, 6290’s, N81’s, and E71’s will all detract from one another.

A more clear cut differentiation and positioning would breed loyalty, incite low end users to upgrades by keeping certain features in all E and Nseries models, give an entry point for young new users, and an upgrade path for previous users.

I hold the N95 8gb in high esteem myself, and think it is the best S60 mobile media convergence computer since the N90. I see the N96 as a sidegrade or even downgrade. Nokia had it spot on when the N95’s/82 were released. Now they’re throwing everything into a tasteless soup that’s not refined enough for the high end I’m now accustomed to from Nokia. I await a suitable N95 8gb replacement to this day. Since they can’t deliver, for the first time, my new-Nokia Nseries-device-every-four-to-six-months has ended, and I’m seeking a replacement of any brand.

Nokia needs to reposition its devices. They seem focused on fashion and design instead of making better, more powerful computers. This could spell suicide with their geek userbase, but Nokia thinks the mainstream market needs more attention. I think a clearer differentiation and positioning strategy would lower costs, increase sales, AND cover the mainstream and gadget enthusiast/geek demographic.

I’m STILL waiting for that ultimate high-end phone. And there are some sick phones out there now or very soon, but they’re STILL missing the full package. What Apple and Google have done, most importantly, is raise the standard for OS and usability experience. If you combined the usability of those phones with the features of the N85, N96 or INNOV8, you would have one snazzy device.

Perhaps Nokia can wow us all with the 5800 and subsequently similar devices. Not that touch screens are important, but they do add to the usability if done properly.