Dear Nokia/Samsung/HTC/et al.,
Windows Phone 8 is nearly upon on us and it’s looking great. Samsung and Nokia, you have both told us about the phones you intend to release. HTC, you have not, but will do so soon. We have good ideas as to what you’re up to though, HTC. All of the newly announced and unannounced phones look great, if you’re someone who wants a fairly large screen.
What about the market segment that has no use for screens in the 4.3”+ range? Users that rarely to never watch a movie on their phone, users that might watch 2-3 YouTube videos a week, and users that don’t do a lot of gaming. Not to mention users who just don’t like carrying around a brick in their pocket(book).
Sometimes screens at 4.0” or less are ideal for the above-mentioned users. The Lumia 710 is the definition of small-screened value. At 3.7” it fits easily into even the smallest of hands. The price is excellent, battery life is fair to good, and the internal specs (CPU, RAM, graphics) match those of its big brothers. For those of us who prefer a smaller phone, yet still want performance, the Lumia 710 is an unbeatable value.
That level of performance combined with the small form factor is exactly why I purchased a Lumia 710. Well, to be fair, I upgraded my wife from a Palm Pixi to a Lumia 710 first. Then I got jealous and upgraded myself from an HTC HD7 to a Lumia 710. After moving from the 4.3” HD7 to the 3.7” Lumia 710, I realized that I did not like nor did I ever want to go back to such a large screen.
Yet here we are. WP8 is cresting the hill, riding upon several phones from a few manufacturers. Nokia, not one of your phones are less than 4.3”. You have made no mention of a Lumia 710 successor. A Lumia 720, perhaps? Samsung, you’ve got nothing less than a 4.8” screen. Geez. HTC, a leaked spec sheet indicates you might have a 4.0” screen phone, but the CPU, RAM, and camera have been heavily dumbed down. Again, that spec is not confirmed, as it came from a purportedly leaked document.
As it stands now, no manufacturer has announced or leaked any indication they are producing a Lumia 710-esque performance/value WP8 phone. Really, Nokia? T-Mobile execs have said on a few occasions that the Lumia 710 has been a strong performer in their lineup. Why would you neglect that market segment? I am that market segment and I am telling you right now, I will buy a phone that has a screen sized between 3.7” and 4.0”, comes with a good camera (doesn’t need to be amazing), and has performance internals. Don’t cut my RAM in half. Don’t give me an underclocked CPU. And don’t give me 2011’s graphics chip.
I’m not a gamer, but I do play a game every once in a while. I don’t watch movies on my phone. Ever. I watch 4-5 YouTube videos on my phone a month. I am what you’d call a traditional get-things-done type of smartphone user. I email a lot, I text regularly, I keep a task list, I read RSS feeds, I tweet, and I listen to music. I have no need and do not want a 4.3”+ screen phone. I already did that, and I don’t want to go back.
Someone. Anyone. Please make a successor to the Lumia 710: a high-performing, yet smaller-screened WP8 phone. If not Nokia, then how about you, Samsung? If not Samsung, then how about HTC? If not HTC, maybe ZTE can fill the gap? Acer? LG? Dell? Bueller?
Left out in the cold and wanting,
Rob
Head of the St. Louis Windows Phone Meetup
Windows Phone 8 is nearly upon on us and it’s looking great. Samsung and Nokia, you have both told us about the phones you intend to release. HTC, you have not, but will do so soon. We have good ideas as to what you’re up to though, HTC. All of the newly announced and unannounced phones look great, if you’re someone who wants a fairly large screen.
What about the market segment that has no use for screens in the 4.3”+ range? Users that rarely to never watch a movie on their phone, users that might watch 2-3 YouTube videos a week, and users that don’t do a lot of gaming. Not to mention users who just don’t like carrying around a brick in their pocket(book).
Sometimes screens at 4.0” or less are ideal for the above-mentioned users. The Lumia 710 is the definition of small-screened value. At 3.7” it fits easily into even the smallest of hands. The price is excellent, battery life is fair to good, and the internal specs (CPU, RAM, graphics) match those of its big brothers. For those of us who prefer a smaller phone, yet still want performance, the Lumia 710 is an unbeatable value.
That level of performance combined with the small form factor is exactly why I purchased a Lumia 710. Well, to be fair, I upgraded my wife from a Palm Pixi to a Lumia 710 first. Then I got jealous and upgraded myself from an HTC HD7 to a Lumia 710. After moving from the 4.3” HD7 to the 3.7” Lumia 710, I realized that I did not like nor did I ever want to go back to such a large screen.
Yet here we are. WP8 is cresting the hill, riding upon several phones from a few manufacturers. Nokia, not one of your phones are less than 4.3”. You have made no mention of a Lumia 710 successor. A Lumia 720, perhaps? Samsung, you’ve got nothing less than a 4.8” screen. Geez. HTC, a leaked spec sheet indicates you might have a 4.0” screen phone, but the CPU, RAM, and camera have been heavily dumbed down. Again, that spec is not confirmed, as it came from a purportedly leaked document.
As it stands now, no manufacturer has announced or leaked any indication they are producing a Lumia 710-esque performance/value WP8 phone. Really, Nokia? T-Mobile execs have said on a few occasions that the Lumia 710 has been a strong performer in their lineup. Why would you neglect that market segment? I am that market segment and I am telling you right now, I will buy a phone that has a screen sized between 3.7” and 4.0”, comes with a good camera (doesn’t need to be amazing), and has performance internals. Don’t cut my RAM in half. Don’t give me an underclocked CPU. And don’t give me 2011’s graphics chip.
I’m not a gamer, but I do play a game every once in a while. I don’t watch movies on my phone. Ever. I watch 4-5 YouTube videos on my phone a month. I am what you’d call a traditional get-things-done type of smartphone user. I email a lot, I text regularly, I keep a task list, I read RSS feeds, I tweet, and I listen to music. I have no need and do not want a 4.3”+ screen phone. I already did that, and I don’t want to go back.
Someone. Anyone. Please make a successor to the Lumia 710: a high-performing, yet smaller-screened WP8 phone. If not Nokia, then how about you, Samsung? If not Samsung, then how about HTC? If not HTC, maybe ZTE can fill the gap? Acer? LG? Dell? Bueller?
Left out in the cold and wanting,
Rob
Head of the St. Louis Windows Phone Meetup
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