TechCrunch welcomes Nokia back, bright report on Lumia

On the news that Nokia swiftly had become the top WP Manufacturer (6 weeks), TechCrunch surprisingly has reacted surprisingly quite positive to both the news and to the Nokia Lumia products.

“Welcome Back, Nokia

If my Mom asked me what smartphone to buy right this second, I’d tell her to wait — wait until the Nokia Lumia 900 is released. It’s that good. Windows Phone 7 is that good. It’s faster and more idiot-proof than Android and presents core functions like phone calling and messaging better than iOS. Windows Phone is, in my humble opinion, a fantastic product.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/24/just-try-a-windows-phone/“

It’s rather nice to hear this being said about a Nokia product. They seem to have an opinion that it is the appearance of Windows Phone that is saving Nokia. They see the partnership as nearly perfect (though some would argue it is more Nokia that is saving WP – and I wouldn’t disagree – though they have been advantageous to each other). Nokia and Microsoft are apparently working to each others strengths that can be a major force. They mention the N8 to which on hardware they felt was one of the finest phones but just felt Symbian OS made it unsellable. Well, the beef everyone has isn’t really with Symbian OS, it’s that UI that bothered folks more and it’s a damn shame we aren’t seeing the likes of Belle (Carla or Donna) in 2010 – because then the whole scene would be totally different right now.

Matt Burns mentions TechCrunch’s Lumia 710 review which perplexes me as they praise the heck out of its battery life.

“it’s impressive to a point. The battery easily lasts days, outlasting an iPhone 4S or even the Droid RAZR MAXX.” I’m all for bigging up WP and I have heard some quite positive news (and not so positive) regarding battery life. At best its mixed – with those happy with it getting at least a day. The Droid RAZR MAXX is the one with a cray 3300mAh battery :S and the Lumia 710 in their tests outlasted that? Are folks who review Lumia’s getting special battery packs :p It’s not actually the conclusion I got from the review it links to. :S

Marketing:

Something else though that I really agree with is how Nokia and Microsoft need more aggressive marketing. Good products will need to be recognized. The market is saturated, mindshare dominated by iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Nokia Lumia devices are essentially some pretty decent devices (and we seek more diversity, better high end, more value at low end) they perform core smarpthone functions brilliantly, the likes of the Lumia 800/900 have achieved much praise in design, so they and their successors deserve to at least be an option for consumers, something to consider amongst the usual iFluff and haemadroids. Whilst I drive some banter with their names, they are strong in both branding/mindshare and are also very good choices for the consumer too. It’s up to Nokia to get public awareness for their product (with more marketing muscle) and then make them desirable (with EFFECTIVE marketing).

We need lots of exposure but it needs to be effective. Too much meaningless fluff would have negative consequences. It’s Nokia’s job to point out the strengths of their products, to show folks how these devices can fit into their lives, how there are certain tasks that are performed much better on their devices (without focusing too much or giving too much time and attention to your competing products). From your strengths, make it seem the most important thing. Focus only on your product and that selling point. Make the consumer CONNECT with that selling point. It’s all good having a magical phone but why is that important to the consumer? Why will it benefit them? Why might they be at a loss without one? Plenty of these ‘Amazing everyday’ videos are fun and great. But there are others that I’m just thinking, “what on earth was your message“? I understand that these aren’t their proper ads – and the official Lumia ads have been better, but the whole effort has to be cohesive. I’m looking forward to seeing how Nokia makes sure the world knows of PureView and how they will position their flagship devices.

Looking ahead

We shall see how Nokia’s strategies will evolve tomorrow, February 27th at MWC. Nokia isn’t just Lumia. Perhaps they will serve to bring a halo effect, raising the profile and reputation of other Nokia devices (as we had always hoped they would so many years ago – wishing for Nokia to deliver a real flagship :S) from the strange and very wrong opinion that Nokia’s are just old, invincible bricks.

Back to Matt’s article: He reckons that Nokia’s bet on MS is looking smarter all the time. At least as we note certain gradual ‘achievements’ such as reaching best sellers lists and quickly ruling the ‘WP roost’, it shows perhaps some promise that this direction might be a good one (if they were not, then we would all have valid reasons for concern).

As we have reiterated many times, the ‘success’ must be seen in context.  There is still much work to be done to ever reach Nokia’s own standards of dominance. In WP, Nokia is the big fish of a very tiny pond. TINY. Their efforts must be like of the past, to carve an ocean and be the big blue Finnish whale they once were – but just in size and not the lack of agility to respond to changes. Nokia and MS need to expand that tiny pond, send a flood and increase their reach, with Nokia the largest and most aggressive leviathans.

Source: techcrunch

Cheers all for the tip.

Category: Nokia, Rant