My greatest nerd/teenage years were around the time when Apple ran it's famous "Think Different" campaign. Late 90's were probably the peak of my Apple fanhood as well. But it all began much earlier.
It was in 1991 when my mom bought the first computer to our household. It was her work machine, but naturally the rest of the family got to try it. The computer was Macintosh LC and I still remember my first comment being something like "I'm never going to learn how to use this". How wrong was I =)
It wasn't long 'till I was indeed the nerd/tech support guy in our family. I also loved creating drawings with KidPix, animation/first multimedia applications with HyperCard etc. etc. I always tried to tell my friends how great, easy to use and cool system Mac was, but only got mocked in return. In that aspect, "Think Different" suited me well amid all my pro-PC/Windows friends. Naturally, I thought of Windows as the pure evil itself.
After Steve Jobs returned to Apple he basically rocked the grey IT-industry with the candy colored and beautifully designed iMacs. I think the move to consumer electronics with iPod was the point when "regular" people also started to give Apple a try (Graphics design/Ad companies had always been the core Apple users before).
Meanwhile, in the early 2000's I also got my first phones from the Finnish national pride, Nokia. Their devices were greatly popular, I guess because they were easy to use, stabile and well-built. Much like Apple's computers.
So there I was, happy, to finally see Apple bloom, while using my iMac and sending SMSes with my Nokia (Windows was still something I never ever wanted to use).
Then, in 2007 came the iPhone that truly changed the game. I was probably the first one ready to jump over to Apple's vision of a mobile device. And just like me, millions of others saw it as the future and Nokia's descent began. Nokia has been in trouble since and Apple has been making more money than ever. But I am not so happy.
The reason? I think it's because Apple has lost it's underdog pioneer status, and (as a result?) it's innovative speed seems to be falling behind competition. I think this is the exact same reason why Nokia has had troubles. So things do change. I was literally stunned when I first saw what Windows 8 would be all about - I saw the future. Equally delighted I was to see and try Nokia N9 and it's sexy, new design.
This has truly made me think differently. What if Nokia has gotten it's golden touch back? What if Windows was the pioneering OS now?
I admit I still love Apple's products, but I refuse not to give a try at something new. I give great respect to Microsoft for having the balls to try something so fresh. Same goes for Nokia. Then there's also Google with Android, who knows what they have in their sleeves? In any case, I look forward to see the gadgets of the near future - and try to keep thinking differently.
The "try something fresh" is what it's all about these days, seems like such a pressure for companies to come up with new ideas and just when you think all the ideas have been taken, some company will release something you didn't think could even exist :) I think Nokia has lately given us a lot of those things, they are now in a stage when I see them as a company that refuse to slow down... they are truly pushing their products to the people while Apple seem to rely more on just their brand image and not that much marketing / social media / campaigns etc! So Nokia seem far more entertaining for the public, as a brand.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's how I also feel =) I hope we an all agree Apple has many times in the past been the "refresher" on many tech stuff, but like you said, they seem to be getting too interested in status quo rather than innovating. This has made it possible for Nokia to make a true come back, in particular with the Elop's ballsy (how you type that one? =D) move to switch OS. Like Marko Ahtisaari said about N9, "We've outsimplified the iPhone", which is true. And the design looks absolutely stunning, truly showing that Nokia is the king of design once again =)
ReplyDeleteAnd what you say about Nokia's identity in the market scene is also true, I appreciate that they at least seem to be "humane" and eco-friendly. I hope they can keep up to that and that it'll pay off in the future.