Modu CEO says all Nokia can do is pray

While we certainly thought Modu's modular handset had promise when we played with it at MWC a couple days ago, the company's founder seems to think the little handset is about to shake things up in a big way -- in an interview with Israel's TheMarker, Dov Moran said that "all Nokia can do is go the church on Sunday and pray." According to Moran, the Modu is based on the reverse of Nokia's build-it-all-in philosophy, which has led to stagnation in the Finnish company's devices -- "I've been to the Nokia booth, and it's boring. Same device only with 16GB instead of 8" -- and the Modu's flexible nature will combat that. We're not sure -- that N96 was pretty hot -- but we love a good rabble-rouser, and it looks like the staid mobile industry just found one.

[Thanks, Benhur; Warning: Hebrew read link]

[bondsbw @ Feb 14th 2008 10:43PM]

The name "Moran" seems appropriate. I'm not sure why he thinks his device has so much more potential to knock off Nokia than, well, anyone else.

[Austin @ Feb 14th 2008 11:13PM]

I disagree! I say again, this thing is the next logical step in the lucrative "tamagochi/pocket monster" industry, and if you can't embrace the idea of a living, breathing, starving virtual pet in every corporate executive and elementary student's pocket, you are part of the problem.

[modu-Insider @ Feb 15th 2008 1:28PM]

Again the comments which were posted TheMarker are absolutely false. Dov Moran has never made such comments towards Nokia.

And now, for a dose of Reality check this out:
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2044329

The modu team takes of Mobile World Congress!

[YourTechSupport @ Feb 14th 2008 10:44PM]

Wow. His mouth is in some fierce check-writing mood, isn't it?
Let's see some more product lineup and a less ugly default interface and we'll talk.

[Ignatius @ Feb 14th 2008 11:27PM]

Hey, you got to give it to the guy, he's apparently introduced a new prayer feature into the Nokia phones for those Jews on the go!

[mushrooshi @ Feb 15th 2008 1:06AM]

Unfunny.

[Flashpoint @ Feb 14th 2008 10:47PM]

NOKIA sucked since the 90's. The only people using these were people who needed GSM in Europe and Asia. Motorola has dominated the American market for good reason - Nokia was no competition and now they are only gonna fall further behind since their handsets are weak, ugly and boring.

[riggs @ Feb 14th 2008 10:54PM]

dude... you still stuck in the early 2000's?

[Hyponx @ Feb 14th 2008 11:18PM]

I'm pretty sure that motorola isnt going bankrupt because its "dominating" the North American market,all it had was the razr's and they killed them with multiple rehashes and remakes leading to a totally stagnant and now dying market share. I have a three year old Nokia brick and it has lasted me longer then any other cellphone from any other ive ever heard of (even the battery still holds its charge). Sure its not the prettiest thing on the eyes but i'd love to see a razr try to last that long (actually i have and it's not even close).

[Ypoknons @ Feb 14th 2008 11:03PM]

So show me all your CDMA Motorola handsets with GPS, 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, xenon flash, some kind of OS, webkit-based web browser and 2.5"+ screen. Also, CDMA coverage doesn't count because it is not a handset issue.

[Soze @ Feb 15th 2008 2:35AM]

By reading this you do know that they are biggest guy in the market with 72% smartphones and 40% of all phones sold globally.

About NA well i have yet to see even single advert or anything from Nokia in USA and they dont have any s40(after all s40 phones are the one that makes that 40%)phone that has been major hit in Europe and Asia selling in NA and they dont have pretty much anything selling via carrier.

Why havent they made the push because they would have the cash....i have no idea. NA market is anything than high end phone market, but still big market.

[Backlin @ Feb 14th 2008 10:49PM]

That's probably all that the pictured model displays.

[Gremlin @ Feb 14th 2008 10:56PM]

Yawn. Modu blows. Nokia is killing in the market right now, and all Modu has are glorified sim cards with screens.

[Raiden @ Feb 14th 2008 11:13PM]

well, they are making a point.. given a phone's main feature IS to make phonecalls... thus a simcard with a built in phone does sound appropriate... Then using different sleeves to give it additional features, now that's something innovative, except, it might be alittle, limitating...

you can only use 1 sleeve at a time.... and then you need to buy more sleeves for more features?

I think that Modu has potential, but not exponential potential, might appeal to the normal people, geekheads that dies for all-you-can-eat feature jam packed gadgets can't go wrong with the N96, once they saved up enough for it that is...

[Wolfticket @ Feb 14th 2008 11:01PM]

I bet Nokia are shaking in their solid gold, diamond encrusted boots.

[tuomasb @ Feb 17th 2008 11:27AM]

Nope. They are shaking in their rubber boots. Nokia used to make rubber boots and batons long before they started making cell phones. Google "Nokia rubber boots"
The first Nokia product I ever owned was a pair of rubber boots when I was 6 years old :)

Quote:
"The Finnish Rubber Works had establish a factory in Nokia(city called Nokia). In the 1920s, the Rubber Works started to use Nokia as their brand name. In addition to footwear (galoshes) and tyres, the company later went on to manufacture rubber bands, industrial parts and raincoats."

[Iain @ Feb 15th 2008 12:44PM]

IIRC, there's a village somewhere in Finland is rich because it was bequeathed (as a whole) some huge number of shares in what was, at the time, a small Finnish welly-making company...

[Ypoknons @ Feb 14th 2008 11:08PM]

The N96 is for me a disappointment - the best thing about it is the DVB tuner. Still, this is just rabble rousing - it's only this one release that has been pretty dry. Modu needs to demonstrate more, a lot more before being this cocky.

[Soze @ Feb 15th 2008 2:42AM]

Aye i agree i have started to like some of these Nokia phones after noticing the morfing keybads and N78 is actually rather good looking.
N95 when it came was so much ahead of it's time that N96 is enough and will probally be sold fair amount not as much as N95 thought.
This year will be more about getting those features to slimmer shells and to high end middle phones. S60 3th edition fp2 that N96, N78 and 6210 got seems really good.
These where good add to portfolio that Nokia has.

As a phone junkie i cant say i'm too happy, but will probally get N96 or N78 when it comes out.

[Ypoknons @ Feb 15th 2008 3:40AM]

You make a good point about the N95 - it was a large and significant leap over other market handsets, including Nokia's own N93/73 and N80. The N96 is probably quite significant - even more so if you ignore the interim N95 8GB - but I'm still disappointed Nokia stuck to basically the same form factor. Since it has TV, I really wouldn't have minded a more iPhone size - or an iPhone with a slider? I also feel it looks too much like a N81 - probably why so many promotional photos show it slide the other way.

Also, Sony was very bold with the X1 - whole new factor, OS. That probably made the N96's impact less.

[Rich @ Feb 15th 2008 5:44AM]

Hardware is becoming less important. Sure, they could have upped it to a 8MP camera, but what's the point?

What REALLY excites me about the N95, and now the N96, is the SOFTWARE possibilities. We're already seeing some incredibly cool applications that use the accelerometer and I'm sure that trend will continue.

Developers are really starting to innovate on top of S60.

[Ypoknons @ Feb 15th 2008 11:52AM]

Sure, you have a point, but Symbian's hardware glamor has always been a major reason a reason why people buy it over Windows Mobile and other smartphones.

[sdlvx @ Feb 14th 2008 11:14PM]

Tic-Tac-Toe, anyone?

[Fruition @ Feb 15th 2008 1:46AM]

At last! I've been waiting for a device that utilizes advanced tic-tac-toe technologies (otherwise known as tic-tac-toe-tech). I'm sold!

[Eric @ Feb 14th 2008 11:37PM]

Different strokes for different folks. I think there is a trend for the all purpose devices, at least in the US. Basic phones aren't attracting an audience these days, but that could be due to the upgrade cycle and how the cell companies play you to upgrade (and renew your contract).

[Jeff @ Feb 14th 2008 11:45PM]

Hmmm a SIM card shell eh...I bet they're gonna charge $800 for one unit too.

Unless they're like $50, I don't think the market is gonna bite.

[polak @ Feb 14th 2008 11:49PM]

I think Nokia has always made quality handsets. They are simple to use and Nokia remembers that a cell's primary purpose is to make/recieve phone calls. All the other features are a bonus, but its the phone call that should be most important, and in a Nokia it is.

As for Mr. Moran, he can go talk to the wall and hope for an answer.

[Fred @ Feb 14th 2008 11:51PM]

This thing looks like I ate a Merlin game and crapped it. I'm no Nokia lover but jeez, this thing has a long way to go before it beats anybody let alone Nokia.

[holycow @ Feb 15th 2008 12:21AM]

one word: lollerwaffles!

[DT @ Feb 15th 2008 12:24AM]

Now, I'm an Apple guy (no iPhone for me though...I'm on Verizon)...but to say Nokia can only pray because your device is SO MUCH better is just hubris. Nokia makes some damn fine phones, and they deserve more respect from a 2-bit upstart.

[aalqadaffi @ Feb 15th 2008 12:37AM]

Umm who? And what?

[AlexHD @ Feb 15th 2008 12:50AM]

LEDs? Now THAT's old school.

[j614 @ Feb 15th 2008 1:05AM]

hm. i'm still rooting for Nokia to make a come-back in the US Market and they need to step it up now that Motorola is quieting down. Nokia's N series has a lot to offer. And this Modu looks like a garage clicker. He just sounds like an ass. If you wanna go into modular wireless devices I'd sway to BugLabs.

[Pdexter @ Feb 15th 2008 2:46AM]

N and E series are of course nice, but Nokia should start selling s40 phones via carriers in states and not some crappy phones that Nokia havent even made just branded. I mean those s40 phones that have actually been a hit everywhere else.

[Superprime @ Feb 15th 2008 1:28AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/12/give-up-77-3m-symbian-phones-shipped-in-2007/

Really I doubt they need to pray

[Stephen @ Feb 15th 2008 1:58AM]

maybe it's me but I don't see what's so attractive about this. i can only imagine a holy hell of RF interference issues as you move the innards into increasingly different mechanical housings... say you change the ergo, maybe a touch wheel, joystick, d-pad... how is software going to accommodate for something that happens a year down the road?

[KJa @ Feb 15th 2008 2:48AM]

+ 380 million s40 phones they sold last year ;)

[Jason Barbarich @ Feb 15th 2008 9:56AM]

I have an n95-3, and while I think Modu being a reason for Nokia to be worried is ridiculous, I would straight-up buy one of these little beasts if they turn out to be under $100.
Sometimes you don't need a full-featured phone that you're worried about losing.
Plus it seems absurdly small, good for stuffed pockets.

[Toink @ Feb 15th 2008 10:39AM]

Dear Modu:

Sony-Ericsson, Samsung, LG, Motorola, RIM, Palm and even Philips or iPhone (?) are all waiting in line....


Goodluck, Chuck!


Nokia

[Jesse S @ Feb 15th 2008 11:35AM]

So is the small part basically just the GSM/CDMA radio, and the shells are the ones with the evdo/HSDPA, big screens, storage, etc.?

[modu-Insider @ Feb 15th 2008 1:34PM]

Official Comment from modu:

The information which was taken from TheMarker is completely misquoted: Dov Moran has nothing but respect and prais for Nokia. Mr. Moran has never made such a remark towards Nokia.

[modu-Insider @ Feb 15th 2008 2:56PM]

(official comment)

The comments which were posted by TheMarker are absolutely FALSE.

Dov Moran ceo of modu never made such comments towards Nokia which he greatly respects.

And now, for a dose of Reality check this out!
The modu team made it's way to Mobile World Congress to spread the news on modu.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2044329

The modu team takes on Mobile World Congress!