Nokia unlocks anti-Apple campaign

The quartet of posters above was photographed in New York city over the weekend by a MacRumors forum jockey. Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen Nokia pounce on Apple foibles, and it certainly won't be the last. Even if Nokia can't help but copy the iPhone interface design in its own future-looking presentations.

[Via reddit]

Read -- MacRumors forum
Read -- Nokia open site

[GoreTEX @ Oct 1st 2007 6:54AM]

LMAO... suck it up Apple Fanbois.. how do you like your iBrick now.. lol@u

[Zut @ Oct 1st 2007 7:06AM]

MWUHAHAHA! Best comment ever!

[jeff @ Oct 1st 2007 8:06AM]

"Even if Nokia can't help but copy the iPhone interface design in their own future-looking presentations."


Awwwwwww, looks like little Thomas Ricker had his feelings hurt that someone would dare take a knock at Apple in an ad. Cant have that, so he takes the tried and true Apple fanboy path of claiming that they copied Apple on something.

Ooooooooooooh, you really showed them.

What a D*ck.

[Joe @ Oct 1st 2007 8:16AM]

I guess I'm the only one who loves my 1.1.1 iPhone.

[John M @ Oct 1st 2007 9:15AM]

I agree with that. I was thinking "great artist steal" but just visiting engadget for the last 5 months or so I see the apple bias....Every company is ripping off the touch screen interface....its not like Apple owns the exclusive right to a touchscreen interface...Nokia's design was far less blatant than that Meizu (i think thats what its callled)M8 iphone knock off....


Also-- can you really blame Nokia for bashing Apple in an ad about locked phones and locked OS's....I cant, as too me that Apples biggest problem....Why wouldnt someone challenge them on that esp a company that can offer just as good of not superior products.... Just my 2 cents

[Dax @ Oct 1st 2007 9:57AM]

Symbian is junk. You can have it. I constantly had to take the battery out to reset Nokia's crap OS every single day. I can understand why Apple doesnt want 3rd party apps right not. Most are garbage, make the OS look bad, and cause it to crash.

[Malagent @ Oct 1st 2007 10:04AM]

Having owned several Nokia phones over the years and being locked into their respective providers I don't really see the point in the posters.
It's not Apple or Nokias fault that service providers require contracts and try to keep you locked into their service with whatever tactic they can - not limited to locked devices.

I knew it would only be a matter of time before Nokia and every other phone maker would copy the iPhone, but it's pretty low to copy it and then attack it as well. But that's business and Nokia's attacks have not really hurt Apple all that much previously, I'm sure this will be no more significant than something Engadget can write about.
And no people, I am not an iPhone nut, I don't have one because I'm locked into another year on my current contract & device so I don't see it as being cost effective to switch. But that will change when the contract is over.

[Jonathon @ Oct 1st 2007 10:30AM]

@Dax - I think you are a little confused. If an application can cause the OS "to look bad" then the OS isn't doing its job very well. A "good" OS should be able to handle just about anything that userland throws at it without calling it quits.

I've never purchased any Apple products (disclaimer: my wife had an iPod mini that I do use for running though, and it does its job well). The iPhone was the first product that I was somewhat seriously considering. Although I knew I was going to wait a while for price drops and letting them get any kinks out. But now, the only way I would begin to consider it again is for them to open up the platform. There is just no way that I would accept using such a (potentially) powerful device only to have it crippled (no A2DP??? just one exaple) and its programs restricted to only what Apple deems "useful."

I really don't know what will be my next phone, but one that I am at least considering is the OpenMoko phone. Not perfect hardware, and the software has a long way to go. But still it has the ability to become "my phone" since I can fully customize it any way I see fit.

[Xzavier @ Oct 1st 2007 12:51PM]

Wait a sec...

I am looking at those posters up and down and I don't see anything iPhone related or anything Apple Related to it? Those posters could be talking about any/all phones out there which claim to be the best or have their customer base make those claims; or maybe... just maybe, Nokia is finally going to give people what they want! FREEDOM; for customers to do whatever they want to do on THEIR new phone! Leave it to Engadget to start/continue the iPhone wars...

Good show Engadget!!!

[hoyce @ Oct 1st 2007 2:12PM]

mine works just fine asshat. get back to your quaint old cell phone.
Keep up with the "hater" ethic, it makes you look soooo petty.

[kevan @ Oct 1st 2007 8:21AM]

I believe this goes for Verizon as a whole too. You have great service but crappy crappy phones.

[DBrim @ Oct 1st 2007 7:05AM]

So, then, why is the 6555 locked to AT&T?

[PDexter @ Oct 1st 2007 7:09AM]

Because people from usa arent buying anything other ways.

[Will @ Oct 1st 2007 10:55AM]

Can you purchase the iPhone untethered?
Can you purchase almost anyother phone for GSM untethered?

[James @ Oct 1st 2007 8:42PM]

The difference is, your locked-to-your-carrier Nokia still lets people write new software for it, and the iPhone does not. Which is so stupid that words fail me, so I'll just stop typing.

[luisengard @ Oct 1st 2007 7:07AM]

Why do you keep saying nokia ripped iphone?

The iphone is then a copy of the Qtek "S" series...

The innovation of the iphone is the interface and the OS, not how it looks

[PDubNYC @ Oct 1st 2007 9:01AM]

And what do you think he said here?

"Even if Nokia can't help but copy the iPhone interface design"

He even used the word interface just like you. Come on, I mean Ricker may be a total putz, but if you are going to take issue with something he says, is it so hard to go after something he actually said. And why you are being marked highly is beyond me, except for all of the Apple haters love to do battle with the Apple fanboys, and will rank any anti-apple-ish comment up.

[Balzac2m @ Oct 1st 2007 7:07AM]

Nokia now uses OpenMoko as platform?

[onitake @ Oct 1st 2007 8:41AM]

nokia has their own gnu/linux-based platform: http://maemo.org/
as of now, it's only used in their gsm/umts-less web pads (n700, n770, n800, ...) tough.

but you have a point here... their phones are not as open as they could be. symbian sucks in terms of openness and nokia os is totally closed, except for maybe j2me.

[ethana2 @ Nov 21st 2007 11:50PM]

So... how many mobile distros are we up to now? Are we going to need a mobile standards base?
Android may just end up being the mobile reference distro...

[PDexter @ Oct 1st 2007 7:11AM]

Btw whats up with engadget about this copy thing i still havent seen any iphone/nokia device... have any of you?

[L @ Oct 1st 2007 7:13AM]

iPhone-like interface design combined with the openess of current S60 versions?

Gimme Gimme Gimme!

[Alan Zeino @ Oct 1st 2007 7:39AM]

No one would ever pick Symbian over OS X.

[Rich @ Oct 1st 2007 8:19AM]

I would! iPhone OS X is locked down and limited. I prefer platforms where 3rd party applications are actually *encouraged*.

[Jamar @ Oct 1st 2007 11:32AM]

Are all unlocked Symbian phones guaranteed to brick with each update? If not, I'd go Symbian too (were it not for the fact that my current phone provides most of the features of the N93 for a third of the price; Series 60 isn't worth that much).

[suv4x4 @ Oct 1st 2007 7:13AM]

I like iPhone overall, I like Nokia's devices too. But those constant attempt at Nokia to "bite" Apple appear quite desperate, don't you think.

On one side, it's smart since anything Apple is in the news. Hence, anything Apple-related (like Nokia making fun of Apple) is making the news as well.

But the news this time is "Nokia: iPhone sent us in panic".

[josh @ Oct 1st 2007 7:29AM]

Desparate? Would you not say that about the "Im a Mac and Im a PC" commercials then? It has nothing to do with desparation. More to do with great ads and truth in advertising.

[Stuart @ Oct 1st 2007 8:04AM]

It does seem more desperate and nothing like the I'm a Mac ads.

Nokia are more dominant than Apple in the mobile market, the adverts appear rather out of proportion, it's not like Apple are selling more phones than Nokia.

[Dave @ Oct 1st 2007 8:15AM]

To Josh,
Truth in advertising????
What they are saying might be true but its also true for Nokia

At least Apple can say "we kept a constant interface on our phones" unlike Nokias which are often changed by the phone carriers and made worse from a usability standpoint.

I got rid of one of my phones even after I unlocked it as I couldnt get rid of the custom firmware a certain phone carrier added which was rubbish.
So yeh, Nokia is really standing up for the consumer in face of the big telo-cos ... what a joke

[John @ Oct 1st 2007 10:42AM]

The "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads seemed a lot more desperate, although not quite as spur of the moment. Oh shit guys, we need a marketing campaign to disguise the fact that no one writes software for Macs and that we lock you in at the hardware level so you can't get out. I know, let's make claims that you can only use PCs for business applications despite that far more games and programs in general are released for PCs than Macs. And we'll imply that they're insecure because there are a lot of viruses for PCs, despite that the vast majority of them have no effect on any competent user.

And then you have the Nokia ad campaign where they point out that you are locked down in every conceivable way by Apple. Which one's more accurate.

[HookersCustomer @ Oct 1st 2007 11:22AM]

@ John

I'll tell you what's NOT accurate, your lame description of the Mac ads.
No one writes programs for the Mac? Here is another example of a Mac hater that knows nothing about them, most likely has never used them, which Engadget seems to be infected with. These jackasses want to know why you cover Apple so much? Because they are innovative & cutting edge - more so than any other computer maker.
Deal with it. Call me fanboy or whatever else makes you feel better about yourself, but that is just a fact.

By the way, I can't seem to think of any ad that has been parodied more that the I'm a Mac ads, can you? That indicates great advertising.

[Jesse S @ Oct 1st 2007 12:35PM]

Hookers, Apple is hardly innovative. It's true though, there are many more programs and games written for the PC. OS X is a piece of crap anyway. I honestly think that the interface is ugly (I don't like Vista's UI either), and it is a crappy UI anyway. And OS X's real strength, which is SMP/multi threaded applications, falls short, because Linux completely trounces it. I'm talking about programs like CAD.

Show me where Apple has been innovative in the last 15 years. The iPhone? Hardly. Multi-touch has been around for years, developed by many different people for different purposes. It isn't even hardware, it's fully software. And OS X on iPods and phones? So what. My phones have Windows on them, and I've owned phones with Linux on them.

And Nokia's ads are true. Apple locked down their OS for a reason, so it would be stable. Why do you think Symbion and Windows Mobile on some phones crash and lock up all the time? Too many third party apps, or too many bad apps. But that locking down makes the iPhone completely useless to anyone that actually uses a phone with Windows Mobile, or Symbion, or whatever. The iPhone is for people who want a cell phone and an iPod together, and that's what they got. It isn't for people like me, who need a keyboard, Kayako, proprietary billing applications, document editing, database management, SSH, real navigation (Google maps is no substitute for a real GPS receiver with a real navigation program), and for fun, Sling player.

The iPhone is just that, a phone. It is useless to anyone that needs a pdaphone, completely and utterly useless. Not to mention it pulls off being a phone badly, with crappy voice quality. It's not like iPods have ever sounded even ok out of the headphone jack, or that it matters. Most people just use the Apple earbuds and think nothing different of it.

Apple is not innovative, they haven't been for decades. Their BS about specific hardware stability is just that, BS. I can go take OS X, and stick it on a machine that supports SSE2 (preferably 3), and it will run fine. I can get all the components of something like the Mac Pro, and build it for a lot less, and put it into any case I would want to.

Fanboys suck. All you fanboys really need to just kill yourselves. Apple is a corporation, they are just as "evil" as Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony. But Steve Jobs is a genius, a marketing and business genius. He takes cheap components, puts them together for next to nothing in an attractive package, marks the price up exponentially, makes great ads, and the public (and fanboys) eat it up.

[FermitTheKrog @ Oct 1st 2007 12:39PM]

Hackster:

I have a Macbook Pro, and I find myself using parallels an awful lot to use software that just does not exist on the OS X platform.

[Laughing @ Jesse S @ Oct 1st 2007 2:37PM]

@Jesse S

DUDE! You are living in some serious denial!
You yourself are a fanboy of the worst caliber - a fanboy of being 'anti fanboy' so much so, that you'll make statements that expose your ignorance regardless of the consequence.

Apple hasn't innovated in the last 15 years? That among other statements you've made show taht you do not know shit! You're the one that should kill yourself, you petty know-not. You just hate the company, doesn't matter what they do. And why shouldn't you? They trump your sub par OS over & over, since Windows 3.1 (I know, you've only been using PCs for 24 months, so you may not know what that is)
Now be sure to low rank along with all the other MS FANBOYS every post that even slightly praises Apple.
You are weak, physically, intellectually & mentally.

Now back to the counter, someone needs their coffee.

[chuck @ Oct 1st 2007 7:14AM]

now this is sick! s60-3rd is the most restricted platform that nokia has come up with to date!

[Jon @ Oct 1st 2007 9:30AM]

What are you talking about? You can at least install third party application on it.

[JP @ Oct 1st 2007 7:20AM]

I'm happy a company has the balls to give users what they want. I hope this teaches companies like Apple not to treat us like their prostitutes. They seem to only come to us when they want money.

What happened to businesses that tried to add value? I think, I remember reading about them in History class.

I'll ditch my iPhone the second this comes out if the UI is on the same level.

[RyeBrye @ Oct 1st 2007 10:21AM]

Sorry to break it to you, but prostitutes don't give you money.

[jwm @ Oct 1st 2007 10:54AM]

"I'll ditch my iPhone the second this comes out if the UI is on the same level."

Hahahah, that's a pretty damn big "if" there... and we both now how that will come out.

[01 @ Oct 1st 2007 1:12PM]

I agree...perhaps your confusion of the definition of "prostitute" is why you aren't making the money you thought you would.

[Bassnote @ Oct 1st 2007 7:19AM]

I laugh at those iPhone wishlists and I just think, N95, N95, N95 - answers almost every missing feature!

[grmbl @ Oct 1st 2007 7:29AM]

"N95, N95, N95 – oh boy, it is FUGLY!"

Kinda new marketing slogan for Nokia.

[Engadgeteer @ Oct 1st 2007 8:23AM]

Nokia's N95 is the most returned handset in any mobile phone store I visit - this is in the UK by the way. If you know about the technicalities of both Symbian and OS X, and you have the choice between a Nokia phone and an Apple iPhone, you are a retard for choosing Symbian. Isn't it fun joining the hate wagon?

[Stuart Ayling @ Oct 1st 2007 7:22AM]

Bless. They must feel threatened.

[Argot @ Oct 1st 2007 7:29AM]

Kind of like how Apple felt when they launched, "Hi I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" campaign?

[Stuart Ayling @ Oct 1st 2007 7:51AM]

Not especially, Apple weren't dominant in the computer market & Nokia has a much larger share of the mobile market than Apple now, so the ads seem slight ott. They're more likely to make people wonder what it's about and find out about the iPhone.

[ToniCipriani @ Oct 1st 2007 7:47AM]

They should tell this to AT&T, the FCC, and the CRTC. Maybe even the EU and the operators there, and claim that "we are subsidizing the devices to make them cheaper, and force you to use our service". I highly doubt it was actually Apple's idea to lock the phones.

I just don't see why, other than corporate greed, there is a need for phone locking.

[Vesh @ Oct 1st 2007 11:49PM]

I have owned 20+ different phones that aren't locked. If you want unlocked phone, just buy one. And stop bitching.

[ZSX @ Oct 1st 2007 9:46AM]

My understanding of the deal between Apple and O2 in the U.K. is that you pay upfront for the cost of the iPhone, and Apple continues to earn 40% of the revenue from your line rental. If you unlock the iPhone, and use it on a different carrier, this dource of revenue is denied to both Apple and O2.

I am not sure whether this revenue sharing deal also applies to the relationship between Apple and AT&T in the U.S., but it would at least explain why it is very much in Apple's interest to lock the phone to its partnered carrier.

[airmanchairman @ Oct 1st 2007 7:52AM]

Wow, all this furore about a gadget that isn't even 100 days old yet, not to mention the hundreds of web or OSX apps already coded for it!!
What scares me, and probably petrifies Nokia and Co, is that the phone has bags of RAM, Gigabytes of storage, and APPLE HASN'T WRITTEN ANYTHING (YET) TO ADDRESS THAT SPACE...
A work in progress, Steve Jobs says.
Watch that HUGE space, be patient, and very excited...