Hello Ladies and Gents,
I decided to take a quick break from compiling LOTS of intel gathered today at the DigitalLife Press-only preview at the Javits Center. Basically I didn't want to leave any of our faithful readers, who have come to expect AskTheAdmin to be on the cutting blade-edge of technology, hanging. As we've mentioned before, we have visitors as well as admins from all over the world checking us out. So I want to make sure our beloved viewers who aren't able to get down to NYC are in the timely loop of things. Onward and upward...
As I walked into the Javits the first thing that struck my fancy was the Nokia-fied Ford Mustang with some very stylish exterior accoutrements. This car was packed to the hilt (tastefully) with some of the newest pro audio out. But the most impressive thing about this blazing Ford 'Stang was the fact that Nokia has retro-fitted this car to 'mind-meld', so to speak, with some very cool Nokia Mobile media devices.(see pics). I was pleasantly surprised by my own audacity at getting the display girl to pop the hood for me!
To my disappointment, this seemingly suped up Stang was a poser car, with only superficial enhancements to the body and grille, and sadly she was all stock under her skirt (the car, not the girl). At first this led me to wonder if Nokia was really making a conscious foray into the the high-end mobile audio market. But the lack of under-hood appeal signified, to me anyway, that Nokia wasn't trying to hit the high-end car enhancement market perse, otherwise the car would be equally jacked up under the hood as outside. I mean, lets face it, this is a tech show, not a 2nr show. So I came to the conclusion that this was just a showpiece emblem and that Nokia might not actually be getting into this market. However, being a 2nr fan myself, I can really appreciate how well this Mustang was decorated (see pics).
The form factor of the radio sleeve in the front was very striking at first when I thought it was a Nokia head unit for the car's stereo. But I was later shown how its not a removable faceplate up there,
And totally removable! I wouldn't be surprised if the retro fit unit charges the media player. Though I get the feeling this was a superficial concept, I would strongly suggest that be a feature when it hits shelves and 2nr shops. All in all, the car was nicely, stylishly done. And the Nokia retrofitted head unit with removable Nokia portable media player is a very interesting concept which seems to achieve that removable faceplate security and marry it with a portable media appliance.
The verdict: You've got a way to go in developing this concept Nokia, but your on the right track. I think that it could either be a crux or a crutch, that you're reaching out to 2 very distinctly different markets with your product concept - the Technophiles and the 2nrs - 2 VERY different breeds of people, although commonalities do exist. After all, underneath the stigmatas, its all 0s and 1s in the end - and its all tech.
Karl and I will be spending some quality time over here so what do you guys want to hear about? See? Who do you want us to harass? Stay tuned kiddies, for more Digital Life goodness with a touch of geeky humor.
Peace...
Commodore64 (The one you used to play Bruce Lee on)
