Mainly rectangular, big front-side screen, button on the side, camera and flash light on the back - they all look very similar those smartphones, wether it's a Nokia N9, a Lumia 920, Blackberry Z10, iPhone 5 or a Samsung Galaxy. Yet, they're different, matching various tastes of a diverse clientele.
The times where only functionality was written big, are over. Hardware designers are facing several challenges and controversies demanded by modern smartphone users: Solid & resistant vs. slim and light; high-quality photos vs. small & thin camera-lenses; good calling quality vs. invisible microphones & speakers; long battery-life vs. powerful hardware and many more...
"Hardware designers are facing several challenges and controversies demanded by modern smartphone users."
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| Nokia 206 |
The optimal combination of all those elements doesn't leave phone manufacturers a lot of space for creativity and therefore makes all current smartphones look similar. In 2011 the buttom-free, Nokia N9 polycarbonate chassis brought some colors into the black & white dominated smartphone world.
The Nokia design team did an excellent job and created a timeless design which never get's old. Hardware and software both look classic, modern and futuristic at the same time. It's so good, that even Nokia kept it, despite throwing everything else away: From the beautiful Lumia 920 to the small, simple Nokia 206 - they all wear the look of the older MeeGo device. Unfortunately the over-use of that design pattern can have a bad side-effect: Some people already claim that it's getting boring.
"Hardware and software both look classic, modern and futuristic at the same time."
Not only Nokia
But not only Nokia stuck to that design. The HTC 8X, running Windows Phone, looks suspiciously similar. Same goes for the Thrill 430g running Android, being manufactured by the Philippine company Cloudfone Mobile. Some people even claim, that Apple took the N9 design for their newest iPod nano. That's probably not the case: A proper look back to 2010 shows up that their iPod rather was an inspiration for the final N9 design.
But not only Nokia stuck to that design. The HTC 8X, running Windows Phone, looks suspiciously similar. Same goes for the Thrill 430g running Android, being manufactured by the Philippine company Cloudfone Mobile. Some people even claim, that Apple took the N9 design for their newest iPod nano. That's probably not the case: A proper look back to 2010 shows up that their iPod rather was an inspiration for the final N9 design.
However that's not the only misunderstanding: Many popular newspapers, websites, blogs - well even Nokia itself, seem to forget that the colorful designs we see now in 2012/13, originated from the N9 - not the Lumia 800.
Hardware and Software combined
With the N9, Nokia not only delivered beautiful hard- and software, but a beautiful combination of both of them. Many design elements on your N9 chassis/case are also reflected in MeeGo Harmattan.
With the N9, Nokia not only delivered beautiful hard- and software, but a beautiful combination of both of them. Many design elements on your N9 chassis/case are also reflected in MeeGo Harmattan.
Have you ever realized that those sharp and curved corners on your N9 are the same ones used in the Harmattan user interface (first picture left)? If you look onto your phone vertically (second picture) you see that form is also the one used for virtual buttons - same applies to the metal camera cover and even volume, lock-screen buttons.
This combination of physical and digital shapes is something you won't easily find on other smartphones. It also explains why Windows Phone looks like it wouldn't belong the same way into a Lumia 800 as MeeGo Harmattan belongs into a N9.
In the upcoming Part 2 of this topic we'll have a closer look at MeeGo Harmattan, it's offsprings and possible ancestors.
