Considering Nokia is just another OEM, and that they have shown us three new Windows Phones, two with stunning design, and one that harks back to it’s general budget form. They might just get to market with the first LTE/4G Windows Phone as well. Let’s think about it though, both the Lumia 800 and Lumia 900, design wise, an extension of the Nokia N9, not something new to market, and not something hugely successful for the company. Why, it’s Symbian OS was adapted for full touch, so it came historically from a world of hardware buttons, and the adaption didn’t work very well.
So Nokia comes up with a couple of Windows Phones made on the same Template, and people are going wild for them. Design aside, what is it that makes the hype surrounding the phones as encompassing as it is. There’s Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps, taking us away from the normal Bing services, with offline functionality. Similar to other third party navigation apps that you can buy on the marketplace. Nokia music allowing downloadable music that seems to equate to about 12 hours worth. SO there’s some initial value adding there, but they are still add on programs to Windows Phone. Since the partnership was announced, and in the lead up to the Lumia announcements, there has been this optimistic speculation that Nokia would do something to the OS that would make it significantly different. Like other OEM’s though, there is very little modification that can be done to the core of the OS.
What is it then that makes Nokia’s range of Windows Phones, hot property, other than being second generation devices, and gives them a sales advantage over other released second generation Windows Phones. Marketing and public perception. Recently local carrier Telstra released the Samsung Omnia W [i8350T], with no fanfare, online availability only, and for all intents and purposes, they might have launched a modem.
Looking at it logically, Nokia have released a couple of uniquely styled Windows Phones, and marketed them to a cool younger demographic, with huge events all over Europe. The phones have taken the world by storm, before they are widely available through carrier retail channels. All of the spectacular media has been able to camouflage some of the system issues the hardware has been having, thus not affecting sales in any way.
What will make the Nokia devices unique though? not users that have been on the platform since day one, not it’s ability to do anything different from other WP devices and definitely not the Lumia 800/900 styling. Everything gets old, and when the major marketing rollout, that most of can only view via websites or YouTube any way.
What makes the Nokia phones unique, the amount of web noise around the brand and devices that keeps the real usability, day to day workhorse, daily driver comparison reviews well hidden. While I like the look of the devices, it still feels like we haven’t really seen how they perform on different networks. The devices still feel somewhat distant, and in a way mythological. and any slight problems that people find, will be dismissed lightly, or patiently dismissed as a fix is waited for. Nokia created the perfect device without ever starting one up, and the residual from the advertising campaign, will make any faults with the Phone, especially when they can not be immediately differentiated from the hardware, will probably accepted. Unique is a hell of a lot of money spent on advertising.
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