[colinkiama]

I think the point that OP is making is that price-wise, WP does not compete very well. People say that its not fair to compare the 635 to the Moto G for example. Some on this forum have said it should be compared to the Moto E. Specs-wise I'd agree, but price-wise, no way. Here in the UK the 635 and the 4G Moto G are very close on pricing (in some stores less than 10 between them). Using that as a gauge, the 730 is likely to be quite a lot more expensive than the Moto G which will be the phone it competes with on specs. I'd probably say it'll be 199.99 here in the UK.

Similarly with the 930. It's price at the moment is extortionate! Considering the age of the processor inside the phone it should not be retailing for over 100 more than something like the Xperia Z2.

When your average consumer is inside a phone store and looking at a phone, they will use the price as a benchmark, not specs. They won't care that Nokia want the 630 to compete with the Moto E, the price tells them that its competing with the Moto G. This needs to change.

Having said all this, I enjoy my 635. Love the green colour! :)

Think of WP like iPhone, specs don't really matter because it's so optimized. Please stop comparing windows phone specs to android specs, when using them in reality, there's not really that much of a difference.

[DoctorSaline]

Think of WP like iPhone, specs don't really matter because it's so optimized. Please stop comparing windows phone specs to android specs, when using them in reality, there's not really that much of a difference.

And the user who has never ever used a windows phone before and don't know how optimized it is to run on low specs will always buy a phone with better specs at a given price.
If people want this platform to grow, then they need to start thinking as first time buyers who has no prior experience of how good a windows phone is.

[colinkiama]

And the user who has never ever used a windows phone before and don't know how optimized it is to run on low specs will always buy a phone with better specs at a given price.
If people want this platform to grow, then they need to start thinking as first time buyers who has no prior experience of how good a windows phone is.

Would first time buyers even know what specs are in the first place? They aren't techies like us.

[jomarr]

Just read a review of "the one phone" in the newspaper. It has


5.5 in screen
801 processor
3GB of internal ram...YES 3GB !!
13 megapixel back camera
5 megapixel front camera
16GB internal memory
How much you ask?
Off contract.....

Two hundred and twenty nine pounds

The One Plus One is VERY limited and you have to actually be invited for you to buy the phone.

​I don't think this would kill the 730.

[colinkiama]

The One Plus One is VERY limited and you have to actually be invited for you to buy the phone.

​I don't think this would kill the 730.

But you have to admit, those specs are crazy for the price you pay for them.

[Cryio]

Not only you need the invite, you need to smash your previous phone with a hammer and provide proof.

[DoctorSaline]

Would first time buyers even know what specs are in the first place? They aren't techies like us.

I'm glad you mentioned it. Why do you think Lumia 520 has the most percentage of market share among windows phones? Let me tell you. Because at the time it was released, there was no android phone in the market at this price range($170 off contract) with dual core processor, 512MB RAM and 5MP camera with 720p recording. Since then, Motorolla, Huawei and a lot of other Chinese and local OEMs have popped up in lower end and since android has more recognition than WP, MS has to put more(specs) to beat them all. Think about it.

[Shobin Drogan]

all their phones are rarer than unicorns, whats the point, the invitation system is stupid, they will claim they will invite you when they will sell approximately 100 phones, all to phone reviewers. And then F the rest of the people. There were countless Android fanatics who are all very fed up with the way they sell phones. If you are poor you probably want a phone immediately, if you are so rich you could not be bothered to wait for a phone.

[Shobin Drogan]

But you have to admit, those specs are crazy for the price you pay for them.

When you consider the fact the company haven't even confirmed how many phones they are making (or whether or not they are still making is something nobody will know), and the amount of people struggling to get their hands on the phone, and EVEN with that little amount of phones there were countless reported problems of yellow screen (WHICH THE COMPANY'S WARRANTY DO NOT COVER) and still from a company of unknown history and reliability, this is no different to any other cheapo chinese phones.
Which is exactly why large manufacturers like Samsung or Sony do not see them even the slightest of threat, and nokia in a different platform should give EVEN less Fs about them.

[CowardlyLions]

Honestly, the 730 might just die on its own. It's a mid-range phone at best and I doubt anyone is dying to upgrade to it. It'll probably be a Verizon ot AT&T exclusive as well, because MS knows better than to make products available to a wide base potential customers.

It might sell decently for a WP, but it has nothing special going on for it and probably won't see any advertising.

[farhanmariz]

OP, by your logic, it'd also kill most of the high-end Android phones out there - One M8, S5 and Z2. So, it doesn't only apply to the 730. Anyway, the 730 won't die because as other say, the stock is limited and also, the brand is new so it's practically unknown to most of buyers out there.

So why does this 'one' phone is sold for cheap? Read here: Why OnePlus is not making any profit off the One: an interview with Carl Pei, Director for OnePlus Global - GSMArena Blog

C.Pei: Right now we’re breaking even on the product itself. When we cross half a million in shipments, we’ll see a small positive gross margin on the product. However, this is all before taking into account other costs like personnel or office space. Our goal for the first two years is not to make a lot of money, but rather to get our name out there as a company with an intense focus on quality products.

[Pieter Wolff]

You are refering to the OnePlus One from Oppo.

And 730, are you kidding me? This Cyanogen modded droid blows every single windows phone out of the galaxy(except perhaps the 1020 in respect to the brilliant camera), and makes the galaxy s5 look like an useless extravagance.
Not only does it meet the One from Htc head on regarding performance, but it also threatens iPhones.

The only snag i see, is the Chinese company bit. No offence but, personal experience tells me that chinese products have never lasted a... month, to be honest.

Exactly. Your last sentence sys it all. Specs: fantastic! Quality: none!

[Paul Verizzo]

Why the hell is this thread here? It's a Chinese Androld phone, for god's sake!

[TechFreak1]

Seriously? you can't compare a mid range device to a high end device primarily on price alone. Heck you can not even get the One Plus One in retail shops let alone online. I'm sorry but the whole thread is a joke

Sure it might be "THE ONE" phone to get but it is a show piece, an OEM saying this is what we can do and but you can't have it. (This stunt is similar to concept cars as only a handful have ever made it to production from a prototype). This is done usually to gain mind share (media coverage), to attract investors and consumers.

If this phone was sold at that price on a global scale, the company will go out of business as it does not have deep pockets to sustain loss making for a protracted period of time (which is why the purchase of the phone is invite only).

From a marketing point of view, this is genius - build up hype and anticipation but the anti-climax is that in a few months it may be forgotten thus elevated to the unicorn phone status. Once that happens it will sell in the second hand market for more than twice the retail price.

[Loco5150]

This thread is pointless. We have seen posts like this with every-fking-device that came out after iPhone. This phone kills that phone, that phone is dead because of that phone. No it does not matter. iPhone's will keep selling, no matter what they push out next. Galaxy S6 will sell no matter what they do with it. The L730 probably isnt going to sell too much, but its another device and some sales for Microsoft. There wont be any game changing device that suddenly makes everything different.

The "hit WP device" 520 has sold 12 million? Doesnt high end Galaxy's sell like 10 million or something in a QUARTER. Same with Note etc...? The L730 will sell what it will sell, no one really cares and even Microsoft does not epect too much Im sure.

[switch side method]

This thread is pointless. We have seen posts like this with every-fking-device that came out after iPhone. This phone kills that phone, that phone is dead because of that phone. No it does not matter. iPhone's will keep selling, no matter what they push out next. Galaxy S6 will sell no matter what they do with it. The L730 probably isnt going to sell too much, but its another device and some sales for Microsoft. There wont be any game changing device that suddenly makes everything different.

The "hit WP device" 520 has sold 12 million? Doesnt high end Galaxy's sell like 10 million or something in a QUARTER. Same with Note etc...? The L730 will sell what it will sell, no one really cares and even Microsoft does not epect too much Im sure.

The thread is not pointless as the "one" phone only got reviewed yesterday in a major newspaper. If Microsoft knows that there is a mid range phone out there with better specs then they need to compete more.

[MikeSo]

Of course Microsoft knows about this phone. Wouldn't be surprised if they've been offered to buy the company. :p The One phone is a marketing stunt, not much more. It will never sell in large quantities at this price.

[switch side method]

I am not sure where this "special invite" comes from as that is bllocks to say the least. Its an official phone coming out to all retailers

[Jas00555]

I think this quote from TechRadar pretty much sums up the situation:

Lau explained that the company was taking a different approach to marketing and a more relaxed approach to profits in the short term:


"We are selling the phone at cost. We are able to do that by redistributing our costs to better benefit the user," he said.

Phone focus

I am not sure where this "special invite" comes from as that is bllocks to say the least. Its an official phone coming out to all retailers

Bollocks you say? Well, here is another part of the article.

"Rather than put money towards a large marketing budget, we are focusing on online marketing and community interaction. Rather than working with retail partners, we rely on selling the device online."

The move is a brave and risky one for a new company, as it could see the new phone sink without a trace with no marketing push to keep it in the public eye. Even early positivity could quickly drop with no retailers offering the phone at key points in the product cycle, and it will be interesting to see how the brand takes on this challenge.

--------------------------------
My thoughts:

A phone is just a phone and without marketing and 3rd party support, will get nowhere. Now sure, if the OnePlus One and 730 had the exact same marketing, retailer support, resources backing it, then sure, the 730 would probably get destroyed. But they don't, and they can't, so they won't. I don't care how amazing this phone is, an online, invite-only, Chinese, too good to be true phone will not appeal to the masses. It just won't. Now can someone please close this pointless thread?

[TechFreak1]

The thread is not pointless as the "one" phone only got reviewed yesterday in a major newspaper. If Microsoft knows that there is a mid range phone out there with better specs then they need to compete more.

I'm sorry it is pointless, major newspaper or not the One Plus One has been (apparently out) for more than a few months. It was all the rage when it was announced.. but people have forgotten about it now. Most People are fickle fish when it comes technology (the out cry when the 930 was shipped with the snapdragon 800), in a month everything is going to be dominated by the new iphone and the "ground breaking" phablet. (Hence why MS is rumoured to announce devices in November)

Simply because it is an iphone - it is bound to be "amazing" right?

[Zachary Boddy]

Just read a review of "the one phone" in the newspaper. It has


5.5 in screen
801 processor
3GB of internal ram...YES 3GB !!
13 megapixel back camera
5 megapixel front camera
16GB internal memory
How much you ask?
Off contract.....

Two hundred and twenty nine pounds

You can't even compare the two phones. I've researched the OnePlus One and I know all about it. It's the cheapest true high-end phone on the market. You know what the problem is? It's exclusive. Very. It's extremely hard to buy. You have to buy an invitation to even get ahold of the phone. It's an experiment.

[David P2]

The phone is called "the one" there was a massive review of it in the sun newspaper yesterday

Hmm... Not exactly the holy grail of Tech journalism. (or any really, for that matter).

[Zachary Boddy]

Read the review on trustedreviews.com. They provide a complete cover of quality, specs, availability, features. Everything about the phone. They rated it high, but their biggest problem was that very few people would ever get a hold of this phone. The OnePlus One is not in the same class as the 730. Actually, there's a second extremely cheap Chinese phone that was released(also on trustedreviews) but it's availability is still negligible. There is no competition here. Like I said, these phones are experiments to see if Chinese companies can even make quality phones for cheap. There is no time in the near future that they'll actually be a threat to any other major phone company.

[ArthJar]

Honestly, the 730 might just die on its own. It's a mid-range phone at best and I doubt anyone is dying to upgrade to it. It'll probably be a Verizon ot AT&T exclusive as well, because MS knows better than to make products available to a wide base potential customers.

It might sell decently for a WP, but it has nothing special going on for it and probably won't see any advertising.

Uh, hello.
USA is not the only country in the world.

[qwertyaa]

It is not dead... Super fast and compact at the same time.