Has Telefónica Taken The Shine Off Nokia’s Windows Lumia Phone?
The recently announced Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows phone 7.5 OS has suffered a major setback. After a positive response from most analysts the European Division Manager of communications giant Telefónica, Simon Lee-Smith delivered a crippling verdict against the new Nokia mobile phone; subsidiaries including O2 and Movistar will not stock the device, considering it to be overpriced for what it offers.
What Does The Lumia 800 Offer?
In addition to the claim of the Lumia being the first real Windows phone some analysts considered the touch and feel of the new Nokia Smartphone, screen to be excellent, even extraordinary.
The SIM free mobile features an innovative slightly curved 3.7” screen that ensures images filling the available width and offers clear black display technology with gorilla glass and performs well in high illumination environments.
Cautiously received were the three touch screen buttons below the screen. They permit immediate response to Back, Home and Search; the downside appears to be a propensity to respond to the slightest accidental touch.
A 1.4GHz single-core processor drives the OS system and is backed up by 512MB of RAM, and incorporates an Adreno 205GPU graphics controller.
While the phone’s camera is not as impressive as that of the earlier Nokia N8 phone it is Carl Zeiss 8 megapixel quality and aimed at the average user, not the enthusiast.
The new Lumia 800 was also considered robust, with the synthetic body espousing quality and improving reception.
What Then Is The Lumia’s downside?
Telefónica considered the device to be overpriced in comparison with current alternatives, failing to unlock new incentives to return to Nokia products.
The lack of a front-facing camera, the average quality of the camera itself, the fact that like all other Windows Phone handsets there is no microSD memory card slot are cited as negatives.
However the biggest issue is probably the price. At £467 SIM-free, the Nokia Lumia 800 is bordering on the same territory as the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple iPhone 4S. Both those handsets offer better screens and better cameras for similar money.
Will Nokia Decide To Clean Its Windows?
Perhaps Nokia, after such a detrimental decision by a major Network, will re-think pricing as they conduct negotiations with competing networks such as Vodafone. If you do buy the phone elsewhere and want to use it on Movistar or O2 then just have the Nokia Lumia unlocked by UnlockWorldwide.com.
With the brand diminished in the eyes of the trend setting segments Nokia must take decisive measures to secure a profitable niche for the Lumia and to advance technology beyond Android or iPhone’s next great product.
Failure to compete against these players pits Nokia against the surging low cost brands from India and China. Unlockworldwide.com suspects that Nokia has so many Windows to clean that upon completing the task it may just be time to start again.