Nokia's diminished its "flagship" potential in the U.S. market by selling $50-$100 phones like the 6301 and E71x. The U.S. customers that covet a flagship device are not going to pay several hundred dollars to a brand that sells at the low end. AT&T is the target carrier because of GSM and iPhone success. But AT&T does not add value to an OEM brand, and instead commoditizes the product with subsidized pricing and its far-flung distribution across agents and retailers. AT&T CEO's commented about the Pre with the statement "We want a broad selection of devices". And almost every week, AT&T's VP-Mobile Phone Portfolio makes a handset announcement. AT&T's phone portfolio is glutted. Nokia will have to wait until it can get "flagship" attention in the U.S. market from a carrier like Verizon's LTE.
Hi Phone Flagger–interesting. So do you think phone brands in the US can only be one or the other–ie. high end or mid-low end? Nokia doesn't seem to have this problem in Western Europe.
First of all, it's unfair to say the N97 is $400 more than an iPhone, when an unlocked iPhone costs $900.
I think a brand can be both, but there is absolutely no awareness in the US of the high-end Nokia devices (namely, the N and Eseries). And carriers here seem unwilling to try new things. In Europe, you can get a Nokia 5800 Music Express with the Comes With Music service (all the music you can download, for free!) on a 2yr. contract for 20 pounds/month. That's a level of subsidy we do not have here in the US.
Our mobile phone carrier market needs a serious shake up
Yes the N97 is a great phone, but itâs not all the better than the other N Series to justify paying those exorbitantly high prices. I have just done what was mentioned earlier, I bought the Nokia 5800 here in Ireland for 99 euro till to see me over till the N97 is going to market at a more reflective value for money price.
I am currently using the original N95 and its brilliant but the competition is closing in now, the iphone appâs are very well advertised and make you feel like Nokia is letting us loyal customers down. Come on OVI
Kevin, you're right, that the price comparisons are not an apples with apples comparison, but unfortunately, that won't matter to the consumer who will see an iPhone priced at $199 and a Nokia n97 priced at $699, if they see the N97 at all, since without carrier support that means it will only be available online, at Nokia stores, and maybe a big box store if they can swing even that. Anthony, if you're in Ireland, you'll have better luck at getting a subsidized N97, though I don't think any operator there has come forward? I know in the UK, Vodafone is supposed to be offering it in July.
"hefty, non-subsidized price of $699, roughly $400 more than the iPhone and the Pre".
That pretty much represented the "Subsidized, Bundled and Locked Elephant in the Room" dilemma for the US martkets as well as the rest of this article.
Journalism??
Bundled and Operator-.Locked Journalism??
Ignorance (bundling always leads to price ignornace among customers, seems to be a desease for journalists too??)
The difference of Western Europe is unlocked phones, multiple SIMs, multiple phones. Also, Europe has fewer operator-owned stores and exclusive agents and more dealers selling multiple operators. As Kevin says, "carriers here seem unwiling to try new things". In the European space, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic can be pushed to create demand. For the U.S., the market is pulling customers and tying into rate plans. The U.S. mobile model has emulated wireline in which network is built to demand instead of creating demand. Verizon's announcements for migrating to LTE are merely a ploy to get out of CDMA. And more innovative mobile-only carriers cannot compete against the duopoly of AT&T and Verizon. AT&T's 3G contention for the iPhone exemplifies the building of network to demand. Europe is pushing demand for new applications; U.S. is pulling in revenue to justify network build out. Nokia will have to build its services business into a revenue scale that justifies opening U.S. retail stores. AT&T and Verizon have to reduce the more than 10,000 exclusive agent stores that were opened for new subscriber activations. The U.S. market opportunity will be for stores that support devices and operate profitably with online customer interaction.
Nokia will strengthen its brand in the U.S. by promoting their app market as Nokia Ovi Store instead of just Ovi Store. Americans will not relate to Ovi meaning "door". Americans are akin to yards, instead of door motifs. The American passion for front yards and backyards fueled mortgages into a global economic downturn. In time, the Nokia Ovi can come to be known as the "Nok" or "Noki" Store for American coolness.
@Phone Flagger:
"The U.S. customers that covet a flagship device are not going to pay several hundred dollars to a brand that sells at the low end."
So basically the US consumer isn't concerned about functionality, only the label on the phone??
Bottom line is that all the high-end devices, except iPhone maybe, are extremely similar so folks looking for those types of handsets are generally more than happy to get whatever subsidized handset they can get from their carrier.
Will Nokia (NYSE: NOK) ever crack the US market? The Finnish handset giant
Nokia's diminished its "flagship" potential in the U.S. market by selling $50-$100 phones like the 6301 and E71x. The U.S. customers that covet a flagship device are not going to pay several hundred dollars to a brand that sells at the low end. AT&T is the target carrier because of GSM and iPhone success. But AT&T does not add value to an OEM brand, and instead commoditizes the product with subsidized pricing and its far-flung distribution across agents and retailers. AT&T CEO's commented about the Pre with the statement "We want a broad selection of devices". And almost every week, AT&T's VP-Mobile Phone Portfolio makes a handset announcement. AT&T's phone portfolio is glutted. Nokia will have to wait until it can get "flagship" attention in the U.S. market from a carrier like Verizon's LTE.
Hi Phone Flagger–interesting. So do you think phone brands in the US can only be one or the other–ie. high end or mid-low end? Nokia doesn't seem to have this problem in Western Europe.
First of all, it's unfair to say the N97 is $400 more than an iPhone, when an unlocked iPhone costs $900.
I think a brand can be both, but there is absolutely no awareness in the US of the high-end Nokia devices (namely, the N and Eseries). And carriers here seem unwilling to try new things. In Europe, you can get a Nokia 5800 Music Express with the Comes With Music service (all the music you can download, for free!) on a 2yr. contract for 20 pounds/month. That's a level of subsidy we do not have here in the US.
Our mobile phone carrier market needs a serious shake up
Yes the N97 is a great phone, but itâs not all the better than the other N Series to justify paying those exorbitantly high prices. I have just done what was mentioned earlier, I bought the Nokia 5800 here in Ireland for 99 euro till to see me over till the N97 is going to market at a more reflective value for money price.
I am currently using the original N95 and its brilliant but the competition is closing in now, the iphone appâs are very well advertised and make you feel like Nokia is letting us loyal customers down. Come on OVI
Kevin, you're right, that the price comparisons are not an apples with apples comparison, but unfortunately, that won't matter to the consumer who will see an iPhone priced at $199 and a Nokia n97 priced at $699, if they see the N97 at all, since without carrier support that means it will only be available online, at Nokia stores, and maybe a big box store if they can swing even that. Anthony, if you're in Ireland, you'll have better luck at getting a subsidized N97, though I don't think any operator there has come forward? I know in the UK, Vodafone is supposed to be offering it in July.
"hefty, non-subsidized price of $699, roughly $400 more than the iPhone and the Pre".
That pretty much represented the "Subsidized, Bundled and Locked Elephant in the Room" dilemma for the US martkets as well as the rest of this article.
Journalism??
Bundled and Operator-.Locked Journalism??
Ignorance (bundling always leads to price ignornace among customers, seems to be a desease for journalists too??)
"since without carrier support that means.."
Does that mean that US operators have the same monthly fee for bunled and unbundled service-contractors??
With or without a free gratis handset??
Strange elephants in the room??
The difference of Western Europe is unlocked phones, multiple SIMs, multiple phones. Also, Europe has fewer operator-owned stores and exclusive agents and more dealers selling multiple operators. As Kevin says, "carriers here seem unwiling to try new things". In the European space, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic can be pushed to create demand. For the U.S., the market is pulling customers and tying into rate plans. The U.S. mobile model has emulated wireline in which network is built to demand instead of creating demand. Verizon's announcements for migrating to LTE are merely a ploy to get out of CDMA. And more innovative mobile-only carriers cannot compete against the duopoly of AT&T and Verizon. AT&T's 3G contention for the iPhone exemplifies the building of network to demand. Europe is pushing demand for new applications; U.S. is pulling in revenue to justify network build out. Nokia will have to build its services business into a revenue scale that justifies opening U.S. retail stores. AT&T and Verizon have to reduce the more than 10,000 exclusive agent stores that were opened for new subscriber activations. The U.S. market opportunity will be for stores that support devices and operate profitably with online customer interaction.
Nokia will strengthen its brand in the U.S. by promoting their app market as Nokia Ovi Store instead of just Ovi Store. Americans will not relate to Ovi meaning "door". Americans are akin to yards, instead of door motifs. The American passion for front yards and backyards fueled mortgages into a global economic downturn. In time, the Nokia Ovi can come to be known as the "Nok" or "Noki" Store for American coolness.
@Phone Flagger:
"The U.S. customers that covet a flagship device are not going to pay several hundred dollars to a brand that sells at the low end."
So basically the US consumer isn't concerned about functionality, only the label on the phone??
Bottom line is that all the high-end devices, except iPhone maybe, are extremely similar so folks looking for those types of handsets are generally more than happy to get whatever subsidized handset they can get from their carrier.