For Nokia, it appears history bites.
It's no exaggeration to suggest that many view the firm's N8 handset due to launch this September as its first real attempt to take on iPhone, yet developers are questioning whether it's really worth backing the platform.
The reason? They just don't know how long it'll be around for.
That's the view of Jan Ole Suhr, creator of Nokia phone Twitter client Gravity.
According to Suhr, nobody within the development community is sure just what kind of shelf life N8 has, simply because it represents entirely new ground for the manufacturer.
History hurts
"It's difficult for small developers to invest in the smartphone segment of Nokia when nobody knows its future," Suhr told Bloomberg.
"The new shiny things arent available and theres only the old-fashioned stuff, where it takes a lot of work to make the software look good."
While recent reports have suggested there are downloads aplenty to notch up on the Ovi Store, working with Nokia hasn't always been the easiest of set-ups for the average developer.
The company's to-and-fro attitude with the N-Gage platform relaunched, updated, and then later dropped meant studios were without a stable first-party environment to sell their wares to consumers.
Nokia also has a comparatively low market share in the US, meaning it's hard for developers working on the States to visualise the success both Nokia and the Ovi Store enjoy overseas.
Despite its high-spec set-up, it appears N8 will need to win over the development community if it is to make Nokia a genuine contender in the US smartphone market for the first time.
mocoNews
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Top Stories
Feature
May 17th, 2024
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
Events
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
Unreal Fest Gold Coast 2024 | Australasia | May 29th |
Popular Stories
Feature
May 14th, 2024
53 top mobile games in soft launch: Squad Busters, Battle Guys: Royale, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, and more
Feature
May 13th, 2024
Hot Five: Dubai's new Gaming Visa, April's mobile game charts, and Xbox studio closures
Interview
May 13th, 2024