Brian Parsons

Read Write Web's Dan Rowinski has penned a great article with some background on Nokia's decision to partner with Microsoft and offers some opinion on how they are faring.

I disagree that Android was not a viable choice for Nokia. What got Nokia into the quagmire they were stuck in was a relentless pursuit of perfection - not just in the hardware, but the UX of the device.

Focusing this way makes it very easy to become entrenched with the underlying OS - in Nokia's case this was Symbian. It is what you know, you can move faster with it. Before you know it, however, it becomes outdated and suddenly you are stuck.

I see some of this same pattern developing with iOS on iPhone. Android is really outpacing them currently. However, I believe having the tablet product line and the need to keep pace with the constant evolution in OSX will keep Apple from getting completely bogged down.

I hear great things about the Nokia windows phones. I loved my Nokia phones and will hold out hope that eventually they build an Android-based one. I'm aware that some folks have it running on their current phones, but like I said above - part of what I want to see is Nokia's UX influence - that's one thing that is still missing in Android.

Great info here: Mobile Sites vs. Apps: The Coming Strategy Shift from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox - especially about responsive design as a tool but not the solution.

I hear a lot of talk about a single web site using responsive design being able to effectively service computer, tablet and mobile visitors. Maybe for simple sites this approach would work, but I don't think it can be as effective as a dedicated design for mobile or even a mobile "app".

Like any new trend, the short term impact of responsive design is overestimated, while the long-term impact is underestimated. This comes down to overusing it as a solution - a common trend in technology.

Content management systems will need to support different elements and tweaks for mobile. Designs and layout can be smart, just not that smart.