> > Think small? The 7600 is small.
> > I'm guessing that the 7600 is about half the volume of the Sony 505i.
>
> But compare it with the smallest and lightest phone in the 505i lineup,
> the F505i. At 105 g it's 15% lighter, and at 98 x 48 x 21 it's more
> than 20% smaller. And this is still quite a bit larger than the "stick"
> phones of the old days.
Although the 7600 is large, it is not too deep and so is a comfortable
handset to use and carry in one's pocket. I chose to illustrate my point
with the Sony because it too has an interesting form factor.
> Also, these are phones with large displays, meaning that they have to be
> physically larger and heavier. If you look at much more basic phones,
> the Japanese ones give you phones with far more capabilities (colour,
> web, e-mail, scheduler) that are significantly smaller and lighter than
> the low-functionality Nokia phones.
The 7600 has colour, web access (XHTML/WAP 2.0), email (POP/IMAP), SMS, MMS,
scheduler, MIDP 2.0 (348kB download limit per application).
The screen size is nothing compared to a 505 but is ample for day to day use
and comparable with the smaller Japanese handsets. Pixel sizes and fonts on
the 7600 have been substantially improved compared to prior Series 40
handsets. And prior Series 40 handsets were already pretty good.
IMHO, the only thing really lacking is the advanced imaging capabilities
from Japanese handsets.
For these reasons, and returning to the original theme of this thread, I
would argue that the 7600 is not a guaranteed 'flop'.
I recall a previous discussion on this list where someone pointed out that -
in Japan - the purchase decision for a handset was still largely emotive -
driven by first looks. The 7600 has the looks and does the job. It may
well be a big seller.
On the wider discussion of Symbian/Series 60, then 2004 must surely be the
year when Series 60 either makes it mainstream or simply becomes an
'also-ran'. The Nokia 6600 is a great business handset but it is way too
large. (I have no experience with nGage so cannot add anything to the
discussion.)
Clearly Series 60 handsets need a smaller form factor (depth), Sendo X looks
and better imaging capabilities. 3G would of course be a bonus. Then
Series 60 can move into the space occupied by the mass market Series 40
handsets.
Chris
Received on Fri Feb 20 01:15:24 2004