Nokia's iPhone -- no, seriously

Oh come on, what the hell is that? A Nokia branded iPhone? It was presented during Nokia's GoPlay event this morning as a glimpse into the future of Nokia interface design. Oh, and it's due out next year. When pressed during the Q&A about the striking similarity to the little Cupertino device, Anssi Vanjoki -- Nokia's Executive VP & General Manager of Multimedia -- said, "If there is something good in the world then we copy with pride." Well, ok then. See what we mean after the break.

[Thanks, James B]

[John @ Aug 29th 2007 7:36PM]

Ridiculous.

[Killian @ Aug 29th 2007 10:53AM]

at least they're proud...

[Xavier Gill @ Aug 29th 2007 11:22AM]

Steve Jobs "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0UjU0rtavE

[Rjay @ Aug 29th 2007 11:35AM]

Proud of what?

The low-res jpg of the idiot grinning? If youre going to copy (and wait a year to release it) at least try to improve on that which you are copying.

[Froggy @ Aug 29th 2007 12:43PM]

@Rjay - that's not really fair. All you get to see is a low rez youtube video. Maybe the Nokia will be 3G. I say good for them, let them copy it. Hopefully it will be $300 or less and easily unlocked.

[cdman98 @ Aug 29th 2007 12:57PM]

It might be available unlocked! Thats a major improvement over an iPhone straight away.

Also it would most likely be available world wide.

Does it hurt yet Cupertino?

[enemes @ Aug 29th 2007 12:59PM]

and it will most likely have better radio and overall phone function. this is where iPhone fails miserably.

[Ryan @ Aug 29th 2007 1:11PM]

It is illegal in Finland to sell phones locked to a provider, and all phones must be unlocked. So, if it is coming from Nokia, there will be no service provider lock-in. That evil job is left to T-Mobile and other companies that sell Nokia phones in the U.S. ;)

[Johan S @ Aug 29th 2007 3:04PM]

This phone looks exactly like the iPhone, I wonder if it's a spoof or fake video.

Nokia could easily make a phone that competes with the iPhone on features. For one thing, they can make the screen longer, give us a higher ppi than what the iPhone has .. give us 800px width minimally.
Now features I think they can add because they arent Apple's inventions are:

Kinetic scrolling (grab & drag)- Existed in Adobe & even Microsoft tablet products. Also, firefox has had a plugin called grab and drag for the last few years.

Accelerometer based "right side up" technology - This existed in the MyOrigo touchscreen phone (from Finland).

Multi touch on a zoomable UI - This has existed for before, though I am not sure if it existed on a phone.

Different touch gestures - Not sure if all these are owned by Apple .. if so an alternate is to use spiral to zoom instead of pinch .. maybe edge/center dragging etc.

GPS - They can add GPS

Videoconferencing - They should add easy videoconferencing (AT&T Video Share) and "show you what I am seeing" features. This is good for tech support and maybe other stuff.

Touchscreen phones were being asked for on the net by many people but the existing players refused to listen and make a decent one.

Come on, it's easy to compete with iPhone.

[Samara @ Aug 29th 2007 9:43PM]

Hmm! not even close to iphone.. Iphone is shinier than this :D


Samara
http://www.prankvideoz.com

[nh @ Apr 8th 2008 4:22AM]

"Different touch gestures - Not sure if all these are owned by Apple"

The very idea that someone could own, or think they own, a gesture makes me feel sick. What next, medieval archers suing Churchill for the 'V' Sign?

[John Meyer @ Aug 29th 2007 10:53AM]

You have to be kidding me right? Doesn't it seem like everything Apple comes out with, some other company copies it?

[Robert Kieffer @ Aug 29th 2007 10:55AM]

I agree, this is just ridiculous.

[Iain @ Aug 29th 2007 10:56AM]

And what if they can make it better?
Say it has HSDPA, MMS support, none of the SMS-related flaws that the iPhone has, isn't ridiculously over-priced on a contract and isn't locked to one network; then what does it matter that Apple came first?

Surely, at the end of the day, if Nokia can make an iPhone without the crap bits then that's a good thing?

[Pans @ Aug 29th 2007 11:06AM]

When Apple does it to another companies device, these same people will rush in to tell us that it's ok because they can make it better.


So no surprise that the usual suspects, and the person who posted this story are acting so pissed. Wait until Apple does it again and you will hear a totally different tune.

Apple can copy whomever they want WITHOUT question from this site.

[Alan Strangis @ Aug 29th 2007 11:05AM]

Like a touchscreen interface using icons on a phone? They should sue Palm... oh wait...

Seriously, everybody 'copies' everybody else. Most tech is evolutionary, not revolutionary. This isn't a knock on the iPhone, but it's worth pointing out that Apple didn't invent everything and I welcome the process. It means more competition, and more options for the end user.

[Pans @ Aug 29th 2007 11:32AM]

@Alan Strangis

More options for consumers only applies as a reason when it is Apple that is doing it.

When other bring options other than the Apple device then it is a matter of them being rip-off artist that cant be original, and thus they must be derided and jeered.

It's all about protecting Apple.

[Alan Strangis @ Aug 29th 2007 11:18AM]

@ Pans: In all honesty, I'm thinking of giving up going the headlines into the comment section exactly for that reason. I don't understand the cult-like worship. The ignorance of fanboys makes me WANT to hate the company that makes Final Cut Studio 2 (which I love to death).

[Todd @ Aug 29th 2007 11:21AM]

@Pans-

The difference is that Apple doesn't create devices that copy feature for feature another company's offering. They try to improve the user experience, which doesn't necessarily mean adding more features (sometimes it even means removing features).

What it seems most people fail to acknowledge with these iPhone copies is that it is not the hardware alone that makes the iPhone successful. It's not even the software. It's Apple's end-to-end product strategy- iTunes, iTunes Music Store, iPod Dock, iPhone. The hardware on its own would fail, but when combined with convenient tools like iTunes and the Dock it makes all other copycats laughable.

Until a copycat realizes that it takes more than lookalike hardware and a cheap price, iPhone copies will be about as successful as iPod copies. And we all know how successful those have been.

[Alan Strangis @ Aug 29th 2007 11:29AM]

@ Todd: Reduced functionality is a bonus?

Maybe on a corporate level, but not for the end user who wants to do more, and not be tied to one company for all their needs.

[James Kever @ Aug 29th 2007 11:35AM]

At least the phone will be open to any carrier and able to run third party applications without any hacking. Symbian rocks anyhow.

[Chrisphillers @ Aug 29th 2007 11:42AM]

Errm and who did Apple copy for their iphone!? Read a bit before making silly comments - the LG phone touchscreen was out a mile before the iphone - funnily enough almost exactly the same..

[fraggle_rocker @ Aug 29th 2007 12:38PM]

If something like a touch screen exists then people are free to use it however they want.. How that rips apple off i don't know, I mean apple wasn't even first to the table with a touch screen phone.

With that said, i will always think these things are aimed at the britney spears of the world, and will always give them a miss.

[JD @ Aug 29th 2007 12:39PM]

Chrisphillers- I think they ripped off Linksys's iPhone. :)

[Stevemax @ Aug 29th 2007 3:09PM]

@Todd
From a picture of a work-in-progress you can already tell it doesn't improve, even with Nokia constantly making the best phones out there? I'm quite sure this phone will not be tied to a single carrier on a single country, and that it will have the top mobile technology they can get on it (HSDPA/HSUPA probably), and an open OS in which you can actually install stuff without resorting to third-party installers (AKA Symbian).

[cromas @ Aug 29th 2007 12:58PM]

Symbian rocks? Given my yearlong experience with my S60.3 N-series phone, I'd offer the humble opinion that Symbian is absolute shit.

[norman619 @ Aug 29th 2007 1:20PM]

Yeah right. Nokia had the large touch screen in concet long ago. Apple is just the first to come out with a full implimentation of it. It was even featured here.
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/19/nokia-concept-phone-n-gage-2/
http://blog.landspurg.net/nokia-concept-phone

How soon the Apple fanboys forget. Sorry but Apple wasn't the first to come up with the idea. They were the first to market. And it's not a really innovative idea. Everyone in the industry knew this was where cellphones were headed hence Nokia's concepts.

[TOBER @ Aug 29th 2007 2:28PM]

"they" copy everything. Including the prescription medication you get at the pharmacies. Yes thats right, drywall filled prescription medication. Duplicated to look EXACTLTY the same as say your heart or cholesterol meds. Copies are often made CHEAPLY. This is where Apple will prosper. keep your "drywall" filled imitations.

[DarkAardvark @ Aug 29th 2007 2:24PM]

do you not realize the iPhone is a copy of the LG Prada? ohdamn

[silvrdragn @ Aug 29th 2007 3:48PM]

Please, do you know apple rips off other artists?
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/05/apples-little-problem-with-ripping-off-artists/

[Caboose127 @ Aug 30th 2007 1:27AM]

I'm not sure if you've really been paying attention over the last 20 years, but the way it's looked to me is Apple has a pretty clearly scripted production strategy. I'm guessing it goes something like this.

1: Find something that everybody uses,or should be using
2: Make it shiny, and simple enough for your one armed grandma to use.
3: Come up with ridiculous new features that will attract buyers long enough to spend the money, but not long enough to think they don't need the new version in 3 months
4:Fill with lackluster features that are easily "improved on" by the newest line of Apple branded accessories.
5: Market the hell out of it.

I'm pretty sure thats the same check list that they've used for every product they've made over the last 15 years. Show me an Apple product, and I'll show you a product that does twice as much for half the price.

Nobody copies Apple, Apple just brainwashes consumers into thinking that their product is the only true version, and all else are just copies. Case in point: how many times have you heard someone call any Mp3 player an iPod, not because the iPod is least expensive, or because it has more features, but because everyone thinks that it's the only Mp3 player on the market. And thats exactly how Steve wants it.

So kudos Nokia, anyone who thinks your phone is a rip off of the iPhone (a name which, by the way, was ripped off from Cisco) try bringing their iMac into the tub with them, doing us the favor of cleaning up the gene pool.

[Max @ Aug 30th 2007 12:15AM]

Is it any different with any other company? You could argue that everyone is just copying BlackBerry with RedBerries. And hey, Apple's entrance into real existence was because of the UI they took from Xerox.
--
Max ... Out!
http://www.cmyos.com - free online operating system

[Texrat @ Sep 12th 2007 10:51PM]

Yeah... it's not like Apple copied anyone like Xerox PARC with their first UI.

Oops...

[nh @ Apr 8th 2008 5:15AM]

Apple didn't do anything particularly revolutionary with the iPhone, what they did was make it acceptable to break established rules. Remember the touchscreen SE P800... and then the P900 which brought the keypad back? Now it's acceptable to have no keypad even if it is just as awkward as it ever was.

[Iain @ Aug 29th 2007 10:53AM]

I don't suppose there are any indications as to what the specs are?

[bob @ Aug 29th 2007 11:46AM]

i'm gobs-macked, that is shameless lol

[joe @ Aug 29th 2007 11:18AM]

wow that's sad

[phi @ Aug 29th 2007 10:55AM]

I have a feeling Nokia will become like Lexus is to BMW for this product...always one generation behind.

[khamel @ Aug 29th 2007 11:26AM]

if they really are like lexus they will have better designed, cheaper and less flaky products that can be fixed without going to a special shop. oh wait, thats EXACTLY it.

[JD @ Aug 29th 2007 12:51PM]

Of course, BMW's are miles away in terms of how fun to drive they are. Makes all the hassle worth it- I'm never gonna pay $40k for a Camry, I mean, ES350!

[LJKelley @ Aug 29th 2007 1:44PM]

How is Nokia behind when there product will most certainly have 3G support as well as WMA support (as all their latest highend phone offerings). In fact it will probably even have a better camera and will defineately allow you to record video unlike the iPhone. My high end Nokia has the best reception of any phone I have ever used, and is extremely standards compliant in regards to MMS, SMS etc... In fact it has stored it its memory the settings of networks worldwide and by the touch of a button I can install the setting for whatever SIM i put in my unlocked phone.

Nokia is the #1 mobile phone company simply because they make the best phones and though SonyEricsson might make more hip phones and have been the first to market with a colour screens etc..., Nokia is STILL Number One!

[daaper @ Aug 29th 2007 10:58AM]

Or vice versa. Ever hear the phrase "Why reinvent the the wheel?" It's the way business works, get used to it...

[Leemo @ Aug 29th 2007 10:58AM]

Great. Just what the industry needs.

By the time something along these lines comes out from Nokia the iPhone will have been updated - whether with software updates or a complete refresh. They'll already be behind.

[Pans @ Aug 29th 2007 11:14AM]

Like what?

Copy and pasting? Or maybe a camera that doesn't suck?

Get that apple unstuck from your arse.

[Leemo @ Aug 29th 2007 11:20AM]

I love it - you assume I'm an 'Apple fanboy' - I actually have a Nokia N95, the supposed 'beast' with a 5mp camera etc etc.

It's shit.

How about you stick my N95 up your arse?

[BEN! @ Aug 29th 2007 12:59PM]

Why do you want him to stick your phone up his arse?

[enemes @ Aug 29th 2007 1:04PM]

well, they are behind on any phone function. what they do well is all of the non-phone things like music player, web browsing etc. As a phone IPhone is TERRIBLE. It has a really cheap RF chipset. Call quality and reception are sub-par and more like on cheap low-end phones. Nokia makes very solid phones. I can care less if they have as pretty a UI as long as it's a solid phone.

[Nomi @ Aug 29th 2007 2:21PM]

I actually like the new N95, its has a huge screen and hopefully a faster UI.

[Karl Viklund @ Aug 29th 2007 10:57AM]

"If there is something good in the world then we copy with pride."

LOL. Nokia should be ashamed... Instead of innovation, they copy. But they are not alone in that respect. Just look at all the iPod clones.

[Alan Strangis @ Aug 29th 2007 11:11AM]

Jebus! Apple didn't INVENT the portable mp3 players, and they certainly didn't INVENT the smart phone (nor the smartphone with music/video playback).

They (very) arguably designed a BETTER one and certainly marketed it better.

Don't confuse the two.