Has Nokia / MS gone INSANE!!! by targetting low end devices!!!

[maverick786us]

I am a Nokia windows phone fan. After Nokia's D/S services sold to MS, if MS doesn't maintain the legacy of innovation that Nokia created in terms of revolutionary cameras, screen, hardware and other technological innovation like wireless technology, clear black touchscreen (that was introduced in Lumia 920) and some innovative software like HERE Lens, HERE indoor maps etc. I will be done with Windows phones. Other WP devices from HTC, Samsung and other manufacturers doesn't suit me.

At the moment, my biggest concern is, has Nokia / MS gone INSANE by targeting low end market? This year the only flagship devices, they released was 930, which I won't call failure, but didn't meet our expectation due to lack of glance screen, the low light images weren't good (when compared to 920), placement of speakers on the back.

Everyday when I open WPCentral form, wmpowerusers and other websites related to windows phone, I hear the news of some CRAPPY 530, 630 hitting this market. 90% of news if filled with CRAPPY low/medium end smartphones, which is frustrating for us.

It will be a catastrophic end for Nokia / MS if they don't stress on high end devices. Its been more than an year that Nokia / MS was supposed to create a true successor of 1020. Looks like they forgot, that a success of a smartphone manufacturer is based on the success of their high end flagship smartphones.

Looks at apple, their success if because of their top notch iPhones. If they start developing low / medium end iPhone, it will result in a big failure, I think they experimented with iPhone 5C, which was a failure. Look at S5ammy, its success is because of their high end Galaxy S and Note series. In fact Sammy captured the market because of Galaxy S and note series devices. Sony came across a loss of 1.4 billion because of its mid range devices. If they would have solely concentrated on its high end Z-Series devices, it would have resulted in great success.

What is in Nokia / MS mind? the amount of time and R & D they spend on low end crappy!! 530 and 630 is INSANE!! Its fine that they created just one low end device 630 which was a true successor of 520,525. Why to further waste your time and resources on crappy 530, which is a big big failure!!! We all want a high end flagship devices that should overcome the limitations of 930.

 

[winphonehub]

I'm guessing they spend time on it because that's what sells most. I think they're just pushing out those devices to target new or average users who wants to try out Windows phone.

The Lumia 520 is the perfect example of it and even though many may favor high end Lumia devices I don't think they sell that well. I remember when I went to my T-Mobile store the second day or so after the Lumia 635 came out and they were sold out.

This is good considering no one use to pay attention to it in the store before low end wp8 devices existed. Seems like a good job on their part to me but I could be completely wrong but this is just my reasoning.

 

[realwarder]

More people by cheap phones than expensive, especially when feature wise they are close. Nokia needs volumes of users to make app writers target the platform. And its working.

And the latest iPhone is still worse spec wise than the 1520, so its not like Nokia are behind...

Saying that, I'd love another flagship on att.. A 935 with glance, SD and Qi. Just not going to happen soon.

 

[maverick786us]

More people by cheap phones than expensive, especially when feature wise they are close. Nokia needs volumes of users to make app writers target the platform. And its working.

And the latest iPhone is still worse spec wise than the 1520, so its not like Nokia are behind...

Saying that, I'd love another flagship on att.. A 935 with glance, SD and Qi. Just not going to happen soon.

The reason their high end devices are not selling well, is because their marketing isn't that good like apple. Imagine they create a top notch device, spend a lot of marketing effort on it. The device will be a success, and that success will help its low end devices getting sold well, because of the good will created by the high end devices.

For example: Sammy invests almost more than 90% of its resources, R&D and marketing for its top end Galaxy S and Note series devices. As a result these 2 devices turn out to be a great success, which automatically prompts people who can't afford to on these high end devices to go for medium / low end Sammy smartphones.

Any tech website, be it endgadgets, gsmarena, phonearena, 90% time you will see news of high end devices of Sammy like note, galaxy S, note edge, which is a publicity from Sammy. When the low end device comes, it only comes up with reviews.

 

[techiez]

The reason their high end devices are not selling well, is because their marketing isn't that good like apple. Imagine they create a top notch device, spend a lot of marketing effort on it. The device will be a success, and that success will help its low end devices getting sold well, because of the good will created by it.

Let them get over with windows (phone) 10 and you'll see the high ends, hopefully we get the rumored mc laren by next year

 

[realwarder]

The reason their high end devices are not selling well, is because their marketing isn't that good like apple. Imagine they create a top notch device, spend a lot of marketing effort on it. The device will be a success, and that success will help its low end devices getting sold well, because of the good will created by it.

People who want to spend $200+ buy an iPhone.

And marketing is doing better than you're thinking as people are noticing the Cortana/Siri ads. Sad thing is Verizon haven't updated to Cyan/Cortana

 

[maverick786us]

Let them get over with windows (phone) 10 and you'll see the high ends, hopefully we get the rumored mc laren by next year

That will be a long wait. I presume WP 10 might be announced on April 2015 with announcement of some high end devices. They will play the same game, they did with 930, will release that high end WP10 device somewhere in July. Do we have the patience to wait that long? They should not rely on OS for their hardware.

 

[Jan7072]

FOr me right now, it's the MS operating system on the 929 (love the hardware and all its capabilities) which MS/Nokia/Verizon don't seem willing/capable to upgrade from 8 to 8.1 which has caused MSN mail to stop with error code 80072EFD (4 months ago!) and I'm not able to use any banking apps and now NOT EVEN THE VERIZON MOBILE APP. I purposely purchased the WP moving from an iPhone as I wanted to be able to work with various MS devices running the same OS ............. My 2in1 laptop/tablet is running 8.1 but not the phone!! GET WITH THE PROGRAM MICROSOFT and VERIZON and NOKIA - be truthful with customers and stop giving us the run-around.

 

[fatclue_98]

The reason their high end devices are not selling well, is because their marketing isn't that good like apple. Imagine they create a top notch device, spend a lot of marketing effort on it. The device will be a success, and that success will help its low end devices getting sold well, because of the good will created by the high end devices.

For example: Sammy invests almost more than 90% of its resources, R&D and marketing for its top end Galaxy S and Note series devices. As a result these 2 devices turn out to be a great success, which automatically prompts people who can't afford to on these high end devices to go for medium / low end Sammy smartphones.

Any tech website, be it endgadgets, gsmarena, phonearena, 90% time you will see news of high end devices of Sammy like note, galaxy S, note edge, which is a publicity from Sammy. When the low end device comes, it only comes up with reviews.

If you're new to the platform, never used a Windows Phone, would you dive right into a high-end device not knowing if it's the right experience? Galaxy S devices and iPhones are a known commodity, WP is not. Until there is more saturation, you'll see 5 "crappy" low-ends for every mid to high-end. That's just economics 101.

 

[maverick786us]

If you're new to the platform, never used a Windows Phone, would you dive right into a high-end device not knowing if it's the right experience? Galaxy S devices and iPhones are a known commodity, WP is not. Until there is more saturation, you'll see 5 "crappy" low-ends for every mid to high-end. That's just economics 101.

I got what you mean. Lumia 920 is my first WP 8 device. Before 920 I was using Lumia 900. When 920 was released, it was considered to be a high end device. If Nokia wouldn't have released 920, that time, and would have gone for something low end, like 520, I would have never purchased a WP 8 device. Although I was new to WP 8 at that time.

 

[SnailUK]

Even Google are now putting their effort into the low end. It's where the volume is.

Personally, my 920 is now 2 years old, and I don't see much difference between it and the high end Android/ iPhone/WP devices of today. They are a bit faster, better camera, higher resolution, but I can't see anything that is game changing. I'm about to cancel my contract, and just keep the 920.

 

[psoham777]

I am a Nokia windows phone fan. After Nokia's D/S services sold to MS, if MS doesn't maintain the legacy of innovation that Nokia created in terms of revolutionary cameras, screen, hardware and other technological innovation like wireless technology, clear black touchscreen (that was introduced in Lumia 920) and some innovative software like HERE Lens, HERE indoor maps etc. I will be done with Windows phones. Other WP devices from HTC, Samsung and other manufacturers doesn't suit me.

At the moment, my biggest concern is, has Nokia / MS gone INSANE by targeting low end market? This year the only flagship devices, they released was 930, which I won't call failure, but didn't our expectation due to lack of glance screen, the low light images weren't good (when compared to 920), placement of speakers on the back.

Everyday when I open WPCentral form, wmpowerusers and other websites related to windows phone, I hear the news of some CRAPPY 530, 630 hitting this market. 90% of news if filled with CRAPPY low/medium end smartphones, which is frustrating for us.

It will be a catastrophic end for Nokia / MS if they don't stress on high end devices. Its been more than an year that Nokia / MS was supposed to create a true successor of 1020. Looks like they forgot, that a success of a smartphone manufacturer is based on the success of their high end flagship smartphones.

Looks at apple, their success if because of their top notch iPhones. If they start developing low / medium end iPhone, it will result in a big failure, I think they experimented with iPhone 5C, which was a failure. Look at S5ammy, its success is because of their high end Galaxy S and Note series. In fact Sammy captured the market because of Galaxy S and note series devices. Sony came across a loss of 1.4 billion because of its mid range devices. If they would have solely concentrated on its high end Z-Series devices, it would have resulted in great success.

What is in Nokia / MS mind? the amount of time and R & D they spend on low end crappy!! 530 and 630 is INSANE!! Its fine that they created just one low end device 630 which was a true successor of 520,525. Why to further waste your time and resources on crappy 530, which is a big big failure!!! We all want a high end flagship devices that should overcome the limitations of 930.

For an OS to excel, a company always needs a low end phone, hence Android is very popular. Nokia is doing the right thing by targeting low end devices & its working for them, people are buying low end devices. & who told you that 5C was a failure? It was a huge success & you call it a low/mid ranged phone? Its a high end phone for sure. Here in India it was launched at ₹38k($625). You call that cheap? I know that Nokia did a wrong thing by launching 930 in India too late, but that was due to the reason that 930 had overheating issues. Even though iPhones 5C/5S sold in huge numbers still apple is losing their market share because apple would never consider a low end phone. I also know that in other countries price of a phone doesn't matter, but in the upcoming markets, prices of a phone matter a lot.

 

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

No, they aren't insane for targeting low end devices.

Yes, they are insane for not having a premium high end device for the holiday season.

 

[BlackSheriff84]

This year the only flagship devices, they released was 930, which I won't call failure, but didn't meet our expectation due to lack of glance screen.

Get over it people. I don't miss the glance screen one bit, its such an over rated feature! Just double tap the screen and the phone will show you everything the glance screen did. And if that ain't fast enough for you guys simply press the power button as you pull the phone out your pocket!

 

[jmshub]

I agree that Microsoft has to hit the bottom of the market, that is where the worldwide market is, and that is Nokia's best market by a mile.

But OP does have a really good point, the US has a very different cell phone market, where phone price doesn't really even register as the phone is subsidized by our carriers. So we don't see the price of the phone, we see phones that don't have the best SoC available or the latest features. I think Microsoft really does need to have a high end phone in the US marketplace soon. 920 and 1020 owners will be their contract expire, and there isn't a replacement for them, if the 1520 doesn't fit for them.

 

[maverick786us]

Get over it people. I don't miss the glance screen one bit, its such an over rated feature! Just double tap the screen and the phone will show you everything the glance screen did. And if that ain't fast enough for you guys simply press the power button as you pull the phone out your pocket!

I know that double tap will solve glance screen issue. But once you are used to glance screen, its hard to live without it. There are occasions, when you suddenly wake up, but are still on bed, you want to see the time in your Lumia device right next to it. At that time you won't like to unlock the screen.

 

[twint7787]

You've got this all wrong. It's actually super smart of them to target the low end of the smartphone market right now in order to gain penetration into the market. Also, those phones are not 'crappy' as you claim. I just bought the 635 and I have been raving about it. Second, Nokia is still a company. They can still make software if they would like. People act like that company is dead when they are not.
Producing a Windows phone flagship right now would only make Windows phone fans happy, but even then it won't sell well to justify making it. My belief is that Microsoft will have a flagship phone ready for the launch of Windows 10. Anything before that was already in the pipeline/is a stopgap.
People here have to be more realistic about what to expect and when they can expect it.

 

[KhawarNadeem]

Get over it people. I don't miss the glance screen one bit, its such an over rated feature! Just double tap the screen and the phone will show you everything the glance screen did. And if that ain't fast enough for you guys simply press the power button as you pull the phone out your pocket!

Lack of Glance isn't the only issue with the 930, FYI.

 

[T 33]

They have definitely made some mistakes lately.

From a personal perspective the 930 is not a goer because of the restriction of no SD card (I carry a lot of music and streaming is virtually impossible as I am mobile on Trains and Tubes) but also because of the lack of glance as I have got used to not wearing a watch with my L820.

The 830 is flawed as they have already announced features that it will not have, so what new features next year will it not get?

That leaves the 1520 which looks awesome but is just too big (I know some people it's fine but for me it just won't fit in my trouser pocket comfortably)

I just don't understand why they want to restrict their phones so much. Why can't they create an 835 which is future proofed - just a 830 with the upgraded processor - it cannot be expensive to develop and they would get a lot of money selling it. Apple makes various versions of the i-Phone based on same chassis why can't Microsoft do that with their phones

 

[maverick786us]

Lack of Glance isn't the only issue with the 930, FYI.

That's what I mentioned earlier, that Lumia 930 is a great device, but it didn't meet our expectation. It was supposed to be a true successor of 920. They removed glance screen, that is just a minor setback.

But its camera should have been better, where it should have taken pictures as crisp and sharp as IP6 but at 20MP, without oversampling. Its low light images should have been as good as 920 (if not better). I would not call 930 a true successor of 920. Although I love the design of 930, it is the best I've seen in any Lumia smartphone