Is there anything to this rumor? I just don't see Nokia shooting AT&T in the foot like this. AT&T has taken care of them immensely and really helped pave the way to getting them back to selling units in the US.
Um, just exactly how do you figure
that? This exclusivity agreement did little for Nokia other than provide upfront cash which they could have raised by borrowing or stock dilution. In terms of "helping (Nokia) back to selling units in the US", this agreement was, at best, a push for Nokia. Had they released to all carriers they would have received equal or greater (4 giants + 3-to-6 regionals all advertising) in total marketing budget, and would have sold probably TRIPLE the number of units by now. If
anything, Nokia gave ATT a boost by putting it's "Phone of the Year" on the "Network of Overpriced Non-Service". Windows Phone enthusiasts were forced to ATT, or stuck with older stuff. And, yes, there are a few million Windows Phone enthusiasts out there -- it's a simple interface that simply works without unnecessary complexity. I have my 80-year-old parents on a pair of HD7s and my girlfriend on an unlocked Lumia 920 32GB. Prior to that, she was on an HD7, and was typically able to go 3 months without need of reboot. Try
thatwith
ANY Android version on any phone, even the newest (although Android is what I actually use, not this simple-Simon Windows stuff -- but I do like the simplicity of WP, and if there were a Galaxy Note II sized WinPhone, I might consider... naah... never mind).
FACT: This exclusivity agreement gave Nokia a tiny seat at a BIG AT&T table, albeit with a spotlight paid-for by ATT. That was not a great deal for them, since it surely cost Nokia dearly in total sales, and probably cost them a bit of loss in total advertising. It did help Nokia create an aura surrounding the exclusivity, but, if I were Nokia's CFO, I'd much rather have had the larger unit sales. And Microsoft's CFO would
definitely have rather had the greater number of sales. This phone brings Microsoft "back" as much as it does Nokia. Don't forget that Microsoft is every bit as much married to the WinPhone OS as is Nokia.
And the real winner here? AT&T. They got exclusivity on the
Phone of the Year for 6 months, and all they had to do was pre-order a certain minimum number of units, and pay more than the carrier's usual percentage of shared ads for the device, with a (small by ATT standards) guaranteed minimum number of ads.
So it's definitely
not some bone that ATT threw to Nokia. Not even close. It's almost certainly the reverse, but not by Nokia's cunning (not sure they have much, those Finnish wolves...) It was possibly-to-probably a desperation move by Nokia that it didn't need to do, but went for at the time, due to deep concerns over its Win-only "strategery".
Is it a WIN-WIN for ATT-Nokia? That's possible. But not for the
consumer, making it a WIN-WIN-LOSE. (Do you have any
idea how difficult it was getting this phone unlocked so I could use it on my T-Mobile corporate account? And
then figuring out the way to set up WAP for MMS and a few other things?)
As long as the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission allow these
exclusivity deals which harm consumers, and do the
opposite of fostering competition and providing enhanced consumer choice, we'll keep getting these WIN-WIN-LOSE deals that we're always stuck with here in the US. Maybe someday we'll outlaw Republicans, bring
back needed regulation, and start to actually
function again in a fair, pro-consumer market as Europe almost enjoys now -- I say "almost" because, of late, Europe has erred badly allowing profiteers like Draghi to run rampant.
But in the end, if you keep wondering why Europe gets all the great devices, and gets them all first, and you can put them on any carrier you choose, wake up, stop voting for Republicans, allow
real, tough regulation to smack down these carriers, manufacturers, and OS providers, and get pro-consumer laws already on the books actually working again.
Meanwhile,
remember this situation -- your favorite new phone is married to the most egregiously, criminally predatory carrier on the planet and you either hafta join the
Evil Empire or wait it out until the next killer device is only a few months off anyway. Don't say I didn't warn you.