Why the Lumia 830 may Succeed

[bilzkh]

I understand why many of us were a bit disappointed when the Lumia 830 was announced. Despite having a nice design, good optics and a great set of accessories and peripherals, the specs were simply underwhelming.

At times it just feels like Microsoft does stuff for the sake of trolling its fans and followers (see Xbox Music), but in the case of the Lumia 830, there may be reason behind the madness.

Okay, first the specs. Yes, the Lumia 830's specs are decidedly mid-range. In terms of performance you're not going to an iota more out of it than you would from the Lumia 735. If you're a utilitarian person, you would probably select a Lumia 735 over the 830 (or even a Moto G or any cheaper phone with a SD 400 and 1GB of RAM).

So at its core the Lumia 830 is a pretty cheap phone, i.e. it probably it didn't cost Microsoft an arm and a leg to produce and release this device. In other words, there's probably a decent gap between the cost of the phone and its selling price, thus giving Microsoft some much needed margin.

This is an important point. There is no way in hell this phone would appeal to a person focused on specs and performance, nor is this phone for a person with a pragmatic (utility-focused) mindset.

Then who is this phone for? Well, who buys expensive phones with lower-end or older hardware? Answer: Those looking at older generation iPhones.

Apple will never offer a contemporary mid-range device. What it does however is turn older models into market hand-me-downs. In of themselves these aren't particularly great phones. Yes, they're good and capable, but the ones buying them for like $400-450 off-contract aren't looking for specs, performance or value, but the brand and/or premium 'experience' of an iPhone.

While the internals of a Lumia 830 aren't spectacular, Microsoft did put a lot of attention into the parts that people can actually see and experience.

The Lumia 830 has a very nice design. The Lumia 830 is being sold with very nice accessories in the form of glowing Qi charging pads and fancy Miracast dongles.

What Microsoft's evidently trying to do is cater to that market of prospective iPhone buyers, and I think it has a shot. Yes, it is going to be very difficult to overcome Apple's brand appeal, but there's a chance that a healthy sub-section of those prospective old-gen iPhone buyers may have flexible taste.

For example, this specific sub-section may actually appreciate the Lumia 830's design, Windows Phone's interface, the Qi-charging, PureView, etc. Others may appreciate Nokia in as far as its reputation for being dependable, and the L830 may offer that right mix of quality, design and capability for those users.

I don't think the Lumia 830 will knock doors off and cause tidal waves, but it may be able to grab enough prospective older-gen iPhone buyers to make the 8xx series a sustainable product line.

A friend of mine currently uses an iPhone 4, but he randomly saw an ad by Microsoft or Nokia showcasing the Lumia 830, and he was genuinely excited. It just sucks that the L830 hasn't been announced yet for Canada.

Microsoft needs to nail the messaging. They need to target the right audience with this phone and tell them why this is a better buy than the iPhone. They should establish, from the get-go, that people buying an iPhone for the sake of the Apple logo need not listen, the L830 is for those who have real taste and who desire to stand out.

The L830 is for those who want the latest designs and premium experiences of today NOW, not next year as hand-me-down tech.

 

[hs k]

I dunno man, but IMHO they should have at least put a Sd600 in that phone. See 830 is going to have the same problems as 820, it is unable to set itself apart from its brethren.

735/730 is like 635/630 but with a ffc. Crowds may goto 73x due to the selfie craze.

What does the 83x offer? A bit not than 73x and a miserable ffc? That I'd not going to cut it.

Coming from a 720, what 830 offers me is a better(?) processor and a rear cam. That's it.

 

[bilzkh]

I dunno man, but IMHO they should have at least put a Sd600 in that phone. See 830 is going to have the same problems as 820, it is unable to set itself apart from its brethren.

735/730 is like 635/630 but with a ffc. Crowds may goto 73x due to the selfie craze.

What does the 83x offer? A bit not than 73x and a miserable ffc? That I'd not going to cut it.

Coming from a 720, what 830 offers me is a better(?) processor and a rear cam. That's it.

The point is you're not the kind of person who would buy an older-gen iPhone. Your utility-focused mindset is drawing you to devices such as the Moto G, Lumia 735 and anything else with SD400 and 1GB RAM that's cheaper than the Lumia 830. Microsoft has the Lumia 735 for people such as yourself and me.

But there are people who are going to be pulled for silly reasons such as the Lumia 830's clearly nicer design. There are going to be people (proven by the sale of older iPhones) who might actually buy the L830 precisely because it offers today's premium frills for a reasonable price. In fact, while the specs are mid-range, Microsoft can at least argue that the L830 uses today's latest (albeit lower-end) technology, whereas older iPhones don't.

Tell me, does this look horrible to you?

http://cdn.pocketnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/nokia-smart-wireless-charger.jpg

 

[prasath1234]

But people who buy iPhones because of brand and apps cannot go for Lumia.
From Windows phone

 

[bilzkh]

But people who buy iPhones because of brand and apps cannot go for Lumia.
From Windows phone

I agree on the brand part, but I'm not sure about the app part. Older gen iPhones are not the iPhones you get if you want to run the latest apps, they're the phones you get because you want to show off the Apple logo.

That said, not every single one of those people is that fixated on the Apple brand. The lower you go on the price-ladder, the more 'pragmatic' consumers are in terms of spending their money.

 

[prasath1234]

But I mean lower iPhones mean iPhone 4 or 4 s not 3 g or 3 gs.
From Windows phone

 

[bilzkh]

But I mean lower iPhones mean iPhone 4 or 4 s not 3 g or 3 gs.
From Windows phone

Yeah I know, and the iPhone 4 is more or less at its end (iOS 7 doesn't run well on it at all). The 4S still has some life in it, but it too is not far off from being a subpar experience at this point. It's the newer iPhone 5S/C-series that I am concerned about.

 

[prasath1234]

IPhone 5s sells at 37000 in flipkart for 16 gb version.it wont compete with Lumia 830.real threat is android devices like nexus,moto x,even Samsung.
From Windows phone

 

[bilzkh]

The new Moto X is a bit more expensive at $500+ off-contract, the new Nexus may be around there as well, so there is still some room for the Lumia 830. That said, I do think Microsoft is over-reaching in terms of margin.

Since the specs are identical to the Moto G, which Motorola claims is a good business for them, I don't think the cost of making a Lumia 830 is significantly higher. An appropriate price-point for the Lumia 830 would be $350 off-contract.

 

[wiggum15]

You are completely wrong.
People who looking for older iPhones are people who want everyone else to see that they are using a premium device !!
Nobody knows and cares about the Lumia Phones or WP...and nobody who sees a 830 on a table at starbucks will know that MS intended it to be a premium flagship looking and feeling device !

 

[kshitij1991]

The new Moto X is a bit more expensive at $500+ off-contract, the new Nexus may be around there as well, so there is still some room for the Lumia 830. That said, I do think Microsoft is over-reaching in terms of margin.

Since the specs are identical to the Moto G, which Motorola claims is a good business for them, I don't think the cost of making a Lumia 830 is significantly higher. An appropriate price-point for the Lumia 830 would be $350 off-contract.

But is has some proprietary stuff like pureview,Dolby surround recording.
But pricepoint(26k) I think is still not justified.

 

[a5cent]

Since the specs are identical to the Moto G, which Motorola claims is a good business for them, I don't think the cost of making a Lumia 830 is significantly higher. An appropriate price-point for the Lumia 830 would be $350 off-contract.

Two things factor into what makes a good smartphone product: margin AND sales volume. iP5 has both, Moto G has volume, where does that leave the L830? You need at least one of those.

Otherwise I think its an interesting idea you have. I wouldn't say it's targeted specifically at iPhone hand-me-down buyers, but I agree that it's the same type of consumer this device is targeted towards.

 

[bilzkh]

You are completely wrong.
People who looking for older iPhones are people who want everyone else to see that they are using a premium device !!
Nobody knows and cares about the Lumia Phones or WP...and nobody who sees a 830 on a table at starbucks will know that MS intended it to be a premium flagship looking and feeling device !

Depends on the Starbucks. When I visited Dubai no one gave a damn about the iPhones or even Galaxy devices on the table, the intrigue and talk was around a friend's Lumia 1020. There's a crowd of people out there who like to stand out, and I wouldn't completely discount the brand cache in Lumia, PureView or even WP8. It's those very same markets that older iPhones sell that Lumias tend to have the best shot at selling.

 

[udayk]

Depends on the Starbucks. When I visited Dubai no one gave a damn about the iPhones or even Galaxy devices on the table, the intrigue and talk was around a friend's Lumia 1020. There's a crowd of people out there who like to stand out, and I wouldn't completely discount the brand cache in Lumia, PureView or even WP8. It's those very same markets that older iPhones sell that Lumias tend to have the best shot at selling.

Precisement. I want to buy a Lumia more so due to the way it stands out. Maybe I'm not being too smart about money but I believe that a phone should be an extension of one's personality and no amount of Android can give me that!

 

[sahib lopez]

all I know is that its an upgrade from my 810 and for me that's what's counts. if the 830 is like the 8xx series then it should do fine

 

[bilzkh]

Precisement. I want to buy a Lumia more so due to the way it stands out. Maybe I'm not being too smart about money but I believe that a phone should be an extension of one's personality and no amount of Android can give me that!

It's not about being smart, it's about what you as a buyer value or put importance on.

There are people who will pay tens of thousands of dollars for a watch, i.e. a round strip of metal with a few rocks and a fancy word on it. Others will want to exact the value of every penny, i.e. spend on something that gives them the best bang for the buck (e.g. OnePlus One, Nexus, etc). And there are people who balance value and appeal (for brands or being different) in different ways.

 

[angusdegraosta]

I am excited about this phone!

 

[N_LaRUE]

I'm going to agree and disagree with you on a couple of points. Let's be clear about a couple of things. The L8xx series of phones never sold that well and were always treated as a second class phone even when released. They did try to do some unique things by giving out specs for their shells for 3D printers but that didn't get too far. My wife owns the L820 and all she wanted was a purple wireless charging shell. Doesn't exist. I also wouldn't say it's a fantastic phone but it does take a good picture.

Though this idea that the L8xx series is directed at people who would buy the old iPhone, my issue here is that people buy iPhones for a reason. App selection being a big one but also the image. L8xx provides neither. The apps are still missing on WP which makes them hard to see as it is. As for image, WP is at the bottom of the barrel at the moment. With all these low end and mid range phones coming out and having a flagship that runs 9 month old hardware it's no wonder why WP sits at 2.5% worldwide.

Who is going to buy the L8xx device? Probably a person who likes WP and can afford it. That's who. Will it be a better success that the old L8xx? No idea but since this is all MS/Nokia have for now let's hope something comes of it. We'll see what happens with the tech reviews.

 

[Silviu Bogusevschi]

You are completely wrong.
People who looking for older iPhones are people who want everyone else to see that they are using a premium device !!
Nobody knows and cares about the Lumia Phones or WP...and nobody who sees a 830 on a table at starbucks will know that MS intended it to be a premium flagship looking and feeling device !

Smells like envy.
And your statement is wrong. I mean, there are of course people who buy the iPhone because of the premium feeling and/or it's fancy, but far far from everybody.

As a WP supporter (not a ******), I don't actually know the real reasons why consumers should buy this phone, it's possible to get the 1520 for the same price. It all depends on the MS' marketing approach (it's possible to sell even s#!t, you just need to know how to do this).

 

[anon(8985111)]

I think the problem that Microsoft has in a way created is that a lof of expectation has build up around the 830. Since there are almost no rumours about forthcoming highend devices (which MS is partly to blame for because they seem to have forgotten that there a couple of folks out there who actually would like to get a highend device still this year especially those with ending contracts on the 920 in the US) focus has somehow automatically shifted to the 830, and those demands can almost by definition not be satisfied by a device that has never been designed to cater those needs.

Don't forget that in order to answer the question whether a phone will fail or succeed we need to define the target first. MS needs to get things going on low end devices (as far as the 630 is concerned they are actually doing way better than expected, at least here in Germany) first. The 730 / 830 are great devices and there certainly is a market for those phones, but it's not the most important one. As for high-end phones MS strategy definitely needs some overhaul since many people buying those devices are those who are enthusiastic about the platform and are more likely to promote these devices to friends & family.

I would love to see MS getting both parts of the equation, products AND communication, right in the future.