Nokia X & Why it does not make sense lol

[worldspy99]

I'm not disagreeing with this, but I wonder why, if Nokia is such a respected name, why aren't users in the developing world buying Lumia 520s? Is the price too high? Do they want Android? Aren't the 520s readily available?

Ummm...people are buying it in droves in the developing world. Read the article below:
Nokia accounts for 92.6% of all Windows Phone devices worldwide, Lumia 520 still the most popular | WinBeta

And if you notice on WPC, lots of apps keep showing up from India and even Vitenam, two places where Nokia is doing quite well. Also Karbonn just announced today that they will make a dual boot phone - WP and Android, so it does lend a bit of credence to Nokia X and the underlying strategy.

 

[tgp]

Ummm...people are buying it in droves in the developing world. Read the article below:
Nokia accounts for 92.6% of all Windows Phone devices worldwide, Lumia 520 still the most popular | WinBeta

Ok, if this is the case, then why the Nokia X?

 

[Reflexx]

Ok, if this is the case, then why the Nokia X?

Why not also try to get some of those people that they aren't currently getting with the Lumia 5xx?

 

[PureView]

Why not also try to get some of those people that they aren't currently getting with the Lumia 5xx?

110 Euros for XL is about the same price as a Lumia 520. Who is Nokia trying to get with XL?

 

[PureView]

By the same token in the developing world Nokia carries a significant amount of weight and people would not mind having a Nokia versus any joe Android phone. The only other name that carries equal weight would be Samsung.

These aren't 'any Joe' Android phones. These are phones by Samsung, Huawei, and many other regional brands which have almost completely eaten up Nokia's low end market.

 

[ohgood]

You people who are going "oh, this isn't an on-ramp to WP, it'll kill it, no one will buy WP" are completely missing the point. This isn't to help short-term growth of WP, but more for long-term growth. The fact that this phone runs Android and has more apps than WP is exactly why this is a great idea.

Here, let me paint you a hypothetical timeline:

Year 1: Nokia X launches
Year 2: With Nokia's amazing design and most of the apps of Android, Nokia (now Microsoft) gains 10% control of the android market. Combined with WP, this means that 15% of all phones run Microsoft services.
Year 4(complete speculation, but this is the idea): The X family has 20% of the Android market share, WP has 10% market share. 30% of phones run MS services. The only way for Google to get these people back is to take their apps out of the GMS codebase and put them in AOSP (which would push more OEMs to AOSP, bad news for Google) or put their apps on WP (which would be one less barrier for people to switch to WP, bad news for Android).
Year, lets say... 5: Microsoft makes this X family run WP10. By this time, the app disparity will be gone. MS controls 30% of the market with WP10.

This plan is a great idea. As a matter of fact, writing this has got me thinking of a way that Microsoft could be #1 in the mobile marketplace. Expect that thread in a couple of hours.

but, this is already year 4 and its still not 10%, depending on local, even 5% still hasn't happened

 

[worldspy99]

These aren't 'any Joe' Android phones. These are phones by Samsung, Huawei, and many other regional brands which have almost completely eaten up Nokia's low end market.

Do you happen to own any of these low end phones? I have a low end Samsung (which I use when I am overseas and also loan it out to friends who are traveling abroad) and the 520 runs circles around it. I am expecting to get a Noxia X+ soon and I'll let you know how it compares to my Samsung.

 

[worldspy99]

110 Euros for XL is about the same price as a Lumia 520. Who is Nokia trying to get with XL?

Um, someone who wants a 5 inch screen versus a 4 inch screen and slightly more RAM than the 520

 

[PureView]

Do you happen to own any of these low end phones? I have a low end Samsung (which I use when I am overseas and also loan it out to friends who are traveling abroad) and the 520 runs circles around it. I am expecting to get a Noxia X+ soon and I'll let you know how it compares to my Samsung.

Yes, I do, but you probably wont since these are mostly regional. Huawei Ascend Y320 retails for around $100-120. Has Android 4.2, 4-inch WVGA screen, 512MB RAM, dual-core CPU.
Then there are several country limited brands like Q-Mobile, Voice Mobile, Karbonn, Micromax which have phones within the same price range. These phones are not nearly as pretty as a Nokia X, but like I said, the average consumer is now more informed about the software aspects of these phones.

 

[worldspy99]

Yes, I do, but you probably wont since these are mostly regional. Huawei Ascend Y320 retails for around $100-120. Has Android 4.2, 4-inch WVGA screen, 512MB RAM, dual-core CPU.
Then there are several country limited brands like Q-Mobile, Voice Mobile, Karbonn, Micromax which have phones within the same price range. These phones are not nearly as pretty as a Nokia X, but like I said, the average consumer is now more informed about the software aspects of these phones.

Once I get the Nokia X, I'll do a side by side review with my low end Samsung. Heck, I will try to get a Karbonn to compare as well. The price for the Huawei is no different than Nokia X+, so I don't see the point you are trying to make. Here is a comparison between Huawei Ascend Y320 and Nokia X+:

Huawei Ascend Y320 vs. Nokia X+ - GSMArena.com

I think Nokia seems a better phone for the same price, better processor, more RAM, better main camera, better battery specs and dual-SIM.

 

[PureView]

Once I get the Nokia X, I'll do a side by side review with my low end Samsung. Heck, I will try to get a Karbonn to compare as well. The price for the Huawei is no different than Nokia X+, so I don't see the point you are trying to make. Here is a comparison between Huawei Ascend Y320 and Nokia X+:

Huawei Ascend Y320 vs. Nokia X+ - GSMArena.com

I think Nokia seems a better phone for the same price, better processor, more RAM, better main camera, better battery specs and dual-SIM.

Huawei Ascend is cheaper than a X+.

 

[prasath1234]

What i feel is nokia using wrong strategy by going to android.plz stop that nokia x instead they shall focus on wp 8.thats my honest opinion.

Sent from my HTC One X using WPCentral Forums mobile app

 

[kalo88]

I see no point in the X.

Lets go out and create a low end WP clone to tempt people to buy windows phone.... rather than using the windows phone OS we've already created that runs far better. Makes absolutely no sense and I don't understand how anyone can say it does? All it says to me is they have no faith in their own OS.... if people aren't buying the Nokia X for 'google services' then why not just buy a true WP? Confused device and very silly... it's just stealing sales from WP and people who think it'll cause them to jump ship to WP are mad, if they really wanted one they'd just go buy a 520?

 

[tgp]

I see no point in the X.

Lets go out and create a low end WP clone to tempt people to buy windows phone.... rather than using the windows phone OS we've already created that runs far better. Makes absolutely no sense and I don't understand how anyone can say it does? All it says to me is they have no faith in their own OS.... if people aren't buying the Nokia X for 'google services' then why not just buy a true WP? Confused device and very silly... it's just stealing sales from WP and people who think it'll cause them to jump ship to WP are mad, if they really wanted one they'd just go buy a 520?

The Nokia X users get access to most of Google's apps. That's the draw. I believe it even ships with BBM installed.

 

[a5cent]

The Nokia X users get access to most of Google's apps. That's the draw. I believe it even ships with BBM installed.

The more I read about the app situation in countries like Russia and China, the more I believe the Nokia X isn't as crazy as I initially thought it was. Many of us judge the app situation based on our own experiences using the Google Play and WP stores. The app situation in those countries is very different however. Many in those markets have been using Android for years, but have never used the Google Play store. On the other hand, their stores are filled with apps we've never heard of. Those are the apps they are looking for, but none of them exist for WP. They do exist for Android however.

Given that situation, what is Nokia to do? Just stop making low end devices and concede that market entirely to Samsung?