Nokia for whatever reason didn't step into smartphone business and when they realised smartphones are future, again they made another mistake by not using Android instead they opted to Microsoft windows mobile software on its lumia smartphones which is the reason nokia didn't survived in new mobile market.
By the time, Nokia entered smartphone business they already in huge losses due to thier old and outdated keypad phones which has high quality hardware but poor symbian software, while everyone crazy about iPhone and Andriod smartphones, anyhow thanks to Nokia's international brand name and loyal customers they're able to sell Nokia lumia smartphones.
In terms of hardware Nokia lumia smartphones are super high quality that no other Android or iPhone can ever beat but as we said earlier the biggest mistake of nokia is not installing Android and they didn't even utilised app developers well to full-fill thier windows store, while Google's Android is getting millions of useful apps on play store every day.
The blunder mistake of Nokia is they installed closed software like windows on lumia smartphones which leaded them to biggest failure eventhough apple also has closed software but they utilised and paid app developers to build amazing apps for iOS for app store so users of iPhone didn't ever though to leave iPhone.
Here, Google played brilliant idea they open sourced it's Android software and created easy process for app developers to make apps and push them on Google play store, thus with in few years Android become world's most popular software for smartphones and play store is one stop destination for millions of apps.
Nokia and windows didn't even provided developer friendly procedure to make apps for lumia smartphones, thus the apps that we see in play store and app store are not available in lumia's windows store, anyhow nokia eventually ended it's manufacturing of lumia smartphones officially.
There is this popular quote which says one should learn from other mistakes, nokia failed terribly and Microsoft knows it very well but they didn't learned from failure instead they manufactured Microsoft windows smartphones and end up with same fate of Nokia lumia and then they completely ended software support to both lumia and Microsoft smartphones back in 2019.
However, there are some customers who really like windows phone, just because of top notch hardware and premium stylish design that are available on Nokia lumia and Microsoft windows smartphone, even today they are numerous users who still search and ready to buy windows phone.
While, people who already owns nokia lumia and Microsoft windows phone are tired off as there is no sufficient and essential apps to play on this modern digital era, anyhow if you're an windows phone user then most probably you may atleast once thought to install Android on windows phone even though it's not at all possible but hopes never gone, right?
The hopes of nokia lumia users are surprisingly full-filled by XDA developer Samuel Ridosko aka Sam with username 'sjrmac' a developer who created a project named Android4lumia and installed Andriod on Nokia lumia 520/1/5/6, 620, 720 phones, fortunately we got the chance to interview Samuel Ridosko and he said his story to us which is not known publicly, so are you excited to check out this interview? If yes let's know little more info before we begin.
• Android4Lumia official support •
• How to Install Android on Nokia lumia 520/1/5/6, 620, 720 Windows phones •
Q1 - How did you learn coding ?
A - I’ve actually only have taken two formal classes, one being cyber security related and the other was an introduction to computer programming. I’ve been lucky to have access to computers since I can remember and spent lots of time just experimenting and playing around to learn things. Honestly, I’ve learned a lot from friends, online research, and just trying to figure out things. I started to learn some coding stuff back in 2013-2014, but never fully took on the task of learning. To this day, I don’t know any language or how to write code from scratch, but I can piece things together and usually figure it out via trial and error. Plenty of resources online!
Q2 - What is your first mobile device?
A - My first mobile device was an iPod touch second generation. I was very intrigued by Apple devices at the time until about 2013-14. I spent plenty of time learning what was possible with this device, through jailbreaking and such. This was the first device that really got me into playing with modifications and seeing what was possible with it. I eventually got my hands on a fourth generation iPod touch, the first one with a camera, and spent time jailbreaking that one as well. The first true mobile phone I purchased on my own, was the Lumia 521 in August of 2014, which is really just a T-Mobile version of the very popular 520. Great phone and I still love it.
Q3 - Do you like Windows phones?
A - When I am asked why I loved the Lumia branded devices and Windows Phone as a whole, my typical answer will always be about the OS first. I really liked the layout and how smooth and user intuitive the device and the OS are. In my opinion, Windows Phone as a whole was a solid idea, but Microsoft never took it the right direction unfortunately. As for the devices themselves, I enjoyed the build quality of several models and so did many other people. The Nokia piece to the puzzle really brought the design aspect out as at the time, it was pushing innovation that we didn’t see from other manufactures.
Q4 - Which is better Nokia lumia or Microsoft windows?
A - Nokia Lumia was better than Microsoft Lumia in my opinion. I think many people will agree with me on this. Microsoft really brought Lumia down as a whole in the end, even though Windows 10 Mobile kept some interest alive.
Q5 - Why do you think Microsoft stopped development of Windows phone •
A - Microsoft stopped development probably due the Surface Duo devices, but I think it was due to the fact that Windows 10 Mobile wasn’t going anywhere. Nothing was moving forward for a long time and no new hardware from MS was released too.
Q6 - Why people like Windows phone?
A - Like I said earlier, people loved the interface, simplicity, and hardware that surrounded the Windows Phone platform. The platform was ahead of its time for a while. Windows Phone 7 was arguably ahead of its time as well when it was active.
Q7 - Do you think Microsoft pre-load Andriod on it's devices near in future?
A - Microsoft just announced the Surface Duo recently, so we’ll see. I was reading the rumors surrounding this device before it launched, but with Android installed and Microsoft’s suite of apps loaded on, only time will tell what the experience of Android is like, done the Microsoft way. The price is high and the specs are not the latest available from what I’ve heard, so some articles have said it may be dead on arrival. I think that the device needs to be in the hands of reviewers before we can see some solid feedback.
Q8 - When did you start development of Android4Lumia project?
A - Android on Lumia device development started in early 2016 or late 2015 (I don’t remember exactly). Many of the original project members moved on over time and I discovered this project in October of 2016. XDA user “Thinhx2”, who was part of the group of developers working on the project at the time, replied to my direct message and helped me install an early build on my 521 with my spare motherboard installed. XDA user “feherneoh” was leading the project at this time and I joined the team Slack as a tester that November. It’s funny that I ended up getting a leaked build installed for me :D
Q9 - What challenges have you faced to install Android on windows phone?
A - To get stuff working, well, it’s really a challenge in itself. Drivers and parts of the device tree code need to be custom written. Certain things are inspected on the Windows Phone firmware side to see how we can approach solving the issue on the Android side. Lots of people ask about why things are not fixed. The answer is that there is a lack of interest in this project and developers see no point in working on devices that are quite old.
Q10 - Do you have team on Andriod4Lumia project?
A - Honestly, the people I’ve met and even introduced to the project have been awesome. Matthew, aka “mattschwantes” on XDA, has been absolutely fantastic to work with. He’s put in countless hours to figure things out with us and I can’t thank him enough. “TBM13” has been great as well. He did our GitHub project website and has helped out with plenty of things since joining us. There are plenty of people I’m forgetting at the time I’m writing this, but thank you to those who have contributed in one way or another!!
Q11 - Who actually started the project to install Android on windows phone?
A - I kind of explained this earlier, but I did not start this project. XDA made it’s initial existance well known, then I doubled those efforts when I created the review video, and followed up with a install tutorial, which I released on July 22nd, 2017 and has 809,836 views as of August 14th, 2020. I’ve mentioned way too many times that I will make a update video regarding the project and am finally committing to it. I have the time, so it will be filmed and released soon. Keep an eye out, as it will contain info on the project and the future of it as well.
Q12 - How to did you build software for Lumia, is it on cloud server or PC?
A - When I started to be useful (ha!) and contributing things slowly for the project, I dedicated my old Dell XPS 420 tower to being a build server for the team. Building on a old machine is slow, but it’s better than nothing and worked well for a while and I hosted it from home.
The rest of the project is hosted solely on GitHub and some of the downloads are linked to my OneDrive, which I never use, so no need to worry about some of the downloads ever breaking! :) I did manage to get a server sponsor for some time through someone I knew that owned a hosting company called SpryServers.
Our intent was to make it a server for Over-The-Air updates that could be used by Android4Lumia project users that installed the newer builds with working WiFi. Unfortunately we never got around to fully implementing it and our sponsor time expired. Maybe OTA will return in the future if someone takes on the project
Q13 - How to donate developers of Android4Lumia?
A - People can donate to the individual developers via their XDA pages that have the PayPal link! The following people invested many hours:
“sjrmac” - me
“Feherneoh”
“Mattschwantes”
“TBM13”
“Heathcliff74” - this man gave us Windows Phone Internals, the tool that made nearly everything possible for Lumias!!
Q14 - Ain't you pro developer?
A - Haha! I’m far from a pro developer and honestly, I don’t see myself getting there. I just don’t really have the interest if I’m being honest although I dive fairly deep into any project that I find interesting. I love to figure out things and the solutions for them. I have a lot of respect for the developers that grew up with this mindset and pursued it, that’s pretty awesome!
Q15 - What is your inspiration?
A - Honestly, I get inspiration from all sorts of things I come across. I like when people are detailed and in-depth when it comes to explaining and going over something. It’s nice to know that someone can explain even the complicated bits of a project to someone who isn’t at the same level knowledge wise, but can feel good knowing they understand the general idea. Linus Tech Tips and channels alike on YouTube do a great job of this in my view.
Q16 - Do you have any project other then Andriod4Lumia?
A - Other fun projects? Hmmm… I really don’t know… I’ve enjoyed some part of every project I’ve messed around with so far, even if the outcome wasn’t what I expected or wasn’t positive. I like to look at the knowledge I’ve gained and the things I’ve learned from each and decide if it was worth it. Regardless, the experiences help, even if they were not good, I’m sure I’ve taken away something good that I can apply somewhere else.
Q17 - Will windows phone come back?
A - A feature that many people saw as a positive move for Windows Phone to come back was when Microsoft implemented a Android emulator inside of some Windows 10 Mobile builds, allowing for Android apps to run. It wasn’t perfect but I tried it myself when it was a hot topic and was surprised. I thought this genuinely would help out the platform if they worked the kinks out. I guess we all saw how that ended haha! Microsoft pulled the plug on the Android emulation for APKs (Android apps) and nothing much happened after that… It was easily another key mistake in my mind, but I’m sure people could argue otherwise and that’s fine. Nobody knows where it would have actually taken the platform I guess…
Another good example of a solid project that did last, but didn’t quite work out, was Continumm, the dock your phone and it becomes a PC thing. That brought a lot of interest, but the backbone of it relied on UWP or Universal Windows Platform. Essentially, many developers never bothered to convert their apps for compatibility, so it didn’t work out well. Continumm no doubt was ahead of it’s time in my opinion. With Windows 10 on ARM and now Apple making a transition to ARM based processors, I really believe we will start seeing more projects similar to Continumm appear. Samsung already does that with DeX to a certain extent and it’s decent. Time will tell.
Q18 - Which is your favourite smartphone?
A - The devices I use vary, so I don’t really have a favorite. I’m currently using a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge as a daily driver, but am looking to stay with Android for my next upgrade, so the new Pixel 4a might just be enough for me. I’ve used all sorts of devices, ranging from high end, to budget, so buy whatever you think is best suited for you in terms of specification and price. If you take the time to research and look, you should be happy in the end with the device you pick :)
Q19 - Is there any future projects?
A - As for future projects, I’m currently planning a small return to some tech content for my YouTube channel right now. Hopefully that content will start making its way online during September. I’ve been working on starting my own media business SJRMAC Media since 2018, so that’s why a lot of my projects and videos shifted away from tech.
I’ve still been doing a fair amount behind the scenes for some other projects, such as one with Hikari Calyx Tech regarding the new HMD Nokia Android devices, but I’m slowly exiting that, or at least I think I am. I may change my mind on that though, not 100% sure…
Q20 - Do you extend Android4Lumia project support to more lumia devices?
A - Android4Lumia will only gain more device support if someone decides to take on the project and help. As of now, there’s no interest at the moment and us main guys are or have already moved on.
Q21 - Is there any chance Microsoft publicize it's closed software?
A - Microsoft is doing interesting things with open-source these days, but I don’t know. Again, we’ll see what the future brings.
Q22 - Buying Lumia phones, is it still worth?
Buying Lumia phones in 2020 isn’t smart, unless you can have them for cheap and use them for projects like this one, or Windows on ARM for Lumia 950 and 940XL. Google “Lumia WOA” and you can find out more on that :D
Q23 - You have Github?
- My GitHub hasn’t been updated in quite some time, but I hope to change that with the tech content I have planned for YouTube. You can find my profile here: github.com/sjrmac
Q24 - How do you feel about this interview?
- This is really the first interview I’ve had regarding this project and I had been working with/on the project for quite some time before I stopped. It’s been almost 4 years since I first heard about it in fact!
Q25 - Is there anything else you wanna say to people?
A - Here’s what I have to say to people: Please learn to utilize search tools and functions online. It saved me so much time once I learned to be efficient in research. It’s gonna save you lots of time, and the developers of a project as well, as they hate receiving messages about info you can easily find out on your own and that is available. Keep the developers happy and they’ll do what they want without being discouraged and having to deal with petty users that want it all.
Remember, many of them do this as a hobby! Be thankful they spend the time to produce a tool or whatever, rather than demanding things from them. They have lives too, so be mindful of that and spend the time you would use to write them a message and put it towards research. You’ll often find your answer and learn more along the way. Devs appreciate well written responses to things that either don’t have documentation available, or something of that nature.
Finally, this is how interview ended, with all the questions answered in detailed, Kudos to Sjrmac for successfully installing Andriod on windows phone which people thought impossible, and big thanks to Samuel Ridosko for this opportunity, we're glad interview went well, what do you think ? Is there any questions that you would like ask Sjrmac? Kindly mention them in our comment section below, see ya :)
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