Why is the Nokia Lumia 830 so expensive?

[philhachey]

Here in Canada its $0 on a two year term.... How much cheaper do you need it to be?

And if you are going to wait, how about saving up for something higher than an 800 series as that is obviously too low of a tier for your tastes.

 

[akoj]

I can buy L1520 for the same price as L830, but it is too big for my hand. L930 doesn't have microSD slot and One M8 or Ativ SE aren't available here.



Please try to understand that prices are much higher here. And most of us use prepaid. Average salaray here is around 900$ but tech prices are higher than US and Canada.

 

[afcor]

OK... Salaries are generally lower in Croatia than in the United States, and tech prices are therefore relatively higher. Understood. Perhaps you simply need to recalibrate your expectations, then.

On the other hand, you speak of the 1520 as though it is within your price range, but is simply uncomfortable for you. A quick scan through these forums finds reviews of people who are happy with the 830 after having used their old 1520s. Isn't that good enough? Are you really such a slave to the written specs that you wouldn't move to the 830 for the sole reason that it doesn't seem good enough? I have a Lumia 928 which has appreciably "better" specs than does the 635 that my girlfriend owns. However, it honestly feels better than my phone in many ways, and I'm seriously considering buying one of my own as part of a switch to a different carrier, while I patiently wait for the 830 to become available. Specs be damned!

 

[stephen_az]

I know, but TWICE as much? This is the most expensive phone running on S400 - it even cost more than One M8 Mini.
This phone was presented as flagship, and it is priced like one(10% cheaper than L930), so I expect flagship performance. S400 is a NO-NO. Why didn't they choose S615 which costs about 10% more than S400?

BTW, Moto G isn't subsidized in Europe.

I believe the person was probably referring to Google's well established practice of product dumping - they price devices at or below manufacturing cost (i.e., no profit) to gain sales and make it up on services, and (more often) data harvesting for advertising. Alternatively they simply lose money and write it off. They then leverage that market share to lock out competitors (notice the lack of Google apps on Microsoft's OS platforms or curious problems people occasionally have with various types of syncing). BTW, Amazon follows that model as well.

Quite frankly, it is all as illegal today as when the monopolies were broken up at the start of the previous century. Unfortunately, the last two administrations (republican and democratic) in the US have a laughably poor record of enforcing those regulations even after the great recession. The EU is no better and frequently worse. Long story shot, neither Microsoft nor Apple employ the same practices so their products cost more.

 

[akoj]

OK... Salaries are generally lower in Croatia than in the United States, and tech prices are therefore relatively higher. Understood. Perhaps you simply need to recalibrate your expectations, then.

On the other hand, you speak of the 1520 as though it is within your price range, but is simply uncomfortable for you. A quick scan through these forums finds reviews of people who are happy with the 830 after having used their old 1520s. Isn't that good enough? Are you really such a slave to the written specs that you wouldn't move to the 830 for the sole reason that it doesn't seem good enough? I have a Lumia 928 which has appreciably "better" specs than does the 635 that my girlfriend owns. However, it honestly feels better than my phone in many ways, and I'm seriously considering buying one of my own as part of a switch to a different carrier, while I patiently wait for the 830 to become available. Specs be damned!

I didn't try L830, but I have tried L735 which has the same CPU, GPU and screen resolution. Its gaming preformance is slightly worse than preformace of my Ativ S and that is a dealbreaker for me. :eck:
I'll probably have to stick with my Ativ S until something good arrives.

 

[hcrick]

In Canada the Moto G 8GB from Rogers is $225. Now add the following:

1. a much better camera (bigger sensor, higher resolution, optical image stabilization)
2. more storage (16GB)
3. wireless charging
4. capacitive buttons
5. dedicated camera button
6. bigger battery + longer battery life
7. removable battery
8. changeable back cover

If none of these are of value to a person then the 830 will seem way overpriced. On the other hand, some would say the PureView system (hardware, software, button) alone is worth $100 more. Getting the rest of the upgrades for $75 doesn't seem too unreasonable. That said, I still think if they wanted to blow everyone away then it should've been priced around $300-350.

 

[Exoma]

Here in Canada its $0 on a two year term.... How much cheaper do you need it to be?

And if you are going to wait, how about saving up for something higher than an 800 series as that is obviously too low of a tier for your tastes.

Contracts are a scam. We're looking at the price of the phone here, not the financing amount.

 

[philhachey]

Contracts are a scam. We're looking at the price of the phone here, not the financing amount.

I agree that they are. But in Canada there really isn't any other option.

My wife and I are on some of the best Rogers plans that were ever available. Whenever we need a new phone it is always a fight to get the phone for the advertised contract rate. But its possible if you are persistent.

 

[colinkiama]

Lol why are iPhones so expensive? The iPhone has a dual core, and still outperforms most androids that were released this year in real life performance. The thing is that benchmarks and specs don't actually matter. If something is well made and well optimised it still sells (when you think of iphones) stop complaining about price and specs, the phone runs well, camera is good why are you complaining about the price guys. Just buy an Android since you love comparing specs to them as if they actually replicate real life performance.

 

[bilzkh]

The Lumia 830 is meant to be affordable relative to other flagship devices, i.e. the ones starting at $599. Yes, the internal specs are decidedly mid-range, but it does have PureView and Qi charging, premium features that users can immediately see and use (as opposed to beefy specs).

Microsoft has the Lumia 730 and 735 as genuinely affordable mid-range alternatives, and although it is pricy in some markets (e.g. Europe, UK), it is pretty reasonable in India ($250?).

Anyways, the Lumia 830 still should have been priced at $350 off-contract (in Canada), $400 is extortion.

 

[akoj]

If 400$ is extortion to you, what would you say about 550$ price here?

 

[techiez]

Lol why are iPhones so expensive? The iPhone has a dual core, and still outperforms most androids that were released this year in real life performance. The thing is that benchmarks and specs don't actually matter. If something is well made and well optimised it still sells (when you think of iphones) stop complaining about price and specs, the phone runs well, camera is good why are you complaining about the price guys. Just buy an Android since you love comparing specs to them as if they actually replicate real life performance.

well seems majority of ppl are following your words
Iphones are pricey because they sell. Apple is charging premium margins because they sell, is WP the same? its struggling, Android is not only having a large market share but still gaining, and WP marketshare is going no where. the reason there's so much hue n cry over the pricing is because its neither a flagship neither affordable. you n me n ppl on this website might still think its justified but for regular consumers who are not enthusiasts these phones wont appeal at this price.

 

[colinkiama]

It has the same CPU, Chipset and GPU as the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Has Microsoft given any explanation as to why they've priced it as double the price of an S3?

I would assume it's a much stronger product when it comes to build quality and of course the operating system has better usability, but does anyone else find it frustrating?

Firstly tte 830 has a Snapdragon 400 not s4. Secondly it's because of the build quality(metal rims), the phone being the slimmest Lumia made to date and the fact that the preview camera is the slimmest ever made by Nokia., the cost is $100 Or even $150 more than it would be if it was chunkier and made with poly carbonate only.

 

[colinkiama]

well seems majority of ppl are following your words
Iphones are pricey because they sell. Apple is charging premium margins because they sell, is WP the same? its struggling, Android is not only having a large market share but still gaining, and WP marketshare is going no where. the reason there's so much hue n cry over the pricing is because its neither a flagship neither affordable. you n me n ppl on this website might still think its justified but for regular consumers who are not enthusiasts these phones wont appeal at this price.

Affordable flagship compared to an iPhone 6. $350-400 's $800+ if people can afford to pay for iPhones so why can't they afford something that's half the price?

 

[colinkiama]

well seems majority of ppl are following your words
Iphones are pricey because they sell. Apple is charging premium margins because they sell, is WP the same? its struggling, Android is not only having a large market share but still gaining, and WP marketshare is going no where. the reason there's so much hue n cry over the pricing is because its neither a flagship neither affordable. you n me n ppl on this website might still think its justified but for regular consumers who are not enthusiasts these phones wont appeal at this price.

Aren't regular customers buying flagship phones?

 

[colinkiama]

Compare the s5 mini, with the HTC One mini 2, iPhone 6 and Lumia 830 and you will see that the pricing isn't as bad as you guys are saying it is.

 

[akoj]

In US, Canada Lumia prices aren't bad but everywhere else they are too high.

Here, S5 Mini and One M8 Mini cost as much as L735.

 

[techiez]

Affordable flagship compared to an iPhone 6. $350-400 's $800+ if people can afford to pay for iPhones so why can't they afford something that's half the price?

Apple has bound ppl to a good ecosystem, Ms sadly doesnt have one

 

[techiez]

Compare the s5 mini, with the HTC One mini 2, iPhone 6 and Lumia 830 and you will see that the pricing isn't as bad as you guys are saying it is.

Just one Q? do you think ppl would pick 830 over the other options you gave?
The pricing has to be disruptive, anything regular wont help WP cause.

 

[techiez]

Aren't regular customers buying flagship phones?

Does a WP appeal to regular customer?
As I said pricing has to be disruptive, something like a moto g or xiaomi.