Future Technologies

Nokia Pilots prepare for lift-off

By Mike on 18 July 2008

At the tail end of last week Charlie wrote a piece on co-creation and Conversations. Basically a piece on how sites like ours and ongoing projects such as Nokia Beta Labs are hoping to bridge a gap between big old Nokia and anyone out there interested in having an influence and being heard. Sure, it’s small acorns at the moment, but momentum is beginning to grow on this front which is hugely exciting for all involved.

Now, Nokia has slipped word that it’ll be launching what it calls Nokia Pilots – a global project that’s opening up the floor to even greater collaboration and co-creation opportunities.

The idea is that anyone interested in helping test devices and services in the pipeline, will be free to get involved in the development process by offering suggestions and feedback to help create the best stuff possible. That fine-tuning process has worked so well in the case of Nokia Beta Labs, and replicating and increasing that breed of uncapped enthusiasm for co-creating future handsets and software has to be the ambition.

Nokia will begin the recruitment process in September of this year, which you’ll be able to get details about via the Nokia Pilots site. Currently there’s just snippets of info echoing what we’ve touched on here, so stick it in your diary if you’re interested. Don’t worry, we’ll be following the progress of this project and keeping you in tune with what’s going on too.

What do you think about getting so deeply involved in the creation process of upcoming products and services? Is this the sort of thing you’d jump at the chance of doing, or would you rather leave it up to the ‘experts’? Let us know in the comments section below.

Photo from Del Far

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Aleksander Rus Says:
July 18th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

Are you kidding?

I would LOVE to be a Nokia Pilot.

Living in Australia though will probably reduce my chances to nothing, considering we get everything last or not at all

Ricky Cadden Says:
July 18th, 2008 at 4:14 pm

Nokia Pilots, as much as I understand from the site, is nothing short of a phenomenal idea, and part of the reason that Nokia is a world apart from its competitors – it’s actively seeking ways to listen DIRECTLY to its customers. Completely brilliant.

serantes Says:
July 19th, 2008 at 12:51 am

OMG, that would be a dream come true!
I´ll be watching all of your movements in order to get involved in this attractive project.
Won´t let it go if it´s in my hand.
Kudos for your info.
David Serantes from Spain

ARJWright Says:
July 19th, 2008 at 1:19 am

I ‘m with Ricky; this would be an excellent opportunity to not only drive the future of mobile, but also enable users in ways that mimic the wat paperboy’s announced the news on a street corner. I definitely interested in seeng more when its available.

Gomcoite Says:
July 21st, 2008 at 6:06 pm

Finally i will be able to fly without a Pilots License. Will definitely sign up. Thanks For the Info guys.

Sven Koerber Says:
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm

I cogratulate Nokia on the idea of using the pilots as a means of getting direct feedback quickly into their development processes.

I know from my experience as a UX researcher that it can be a challenge to keep such a group of people motivated for months (especially without giving them hard cash as a motivator). The pilots signing up will likely be on the early-adopterish side, but that can be an advantage for certain types of products. It’ll also be a challenge to understand who exactly the feedback comes from to put their feedback into the right context.

Anyway, this concept will provide an early reality check for the dev teams, and that’s great!