Microsoft’s influence over the Nokia brand is starting to show with the release last night of a new flagship smartphone the Nokia Lumia 930 which Vodafone is trying to sell for $128 over the $672 sticker price that Telstra has on the same device.
With some 80% of all desktops still running on the Windows OS the Nokia Lumia 930 which is built around the Windows 8.1 OS is a logical choice for all those business executives who want to run native Windows applications such as Office with its PowerPoint and Excel tools to Microsoft Dynamics CRM claims Microsoft executives.
The Lumia 930 delivers the ability to run Windows applications natively as opposed to running in emulation mode on an Android or Apple Smartphone.
It’s also been designed to be a fun camera that comes with a powerful processor for crunching still images and video’s quickly. It also has a large screen, excellent still camera and an audio recording capability for movies that picks up sound from 4 built in HD microphones that without vision leaves the mind tantalised as to what the vision actually reveals.
The first Nokia-branded Windows Phone 8.1 is housed in a an aluminium case that looks smart with mass retailers including Harvey Norman and JB HI Fi set to sell the new flagship next week.
Microsoft is not saying whether they will incentivise sales staff with a cash rebate to sell the new device similar to the way that the US Company has achieved sales for their Surface Pro tablet with staff at Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi getting $50 in their hand for each device they sell.
Telstra is already offering the Nokia Lumia 930 for $672 which is significantly cheaper than the recommended $729 put on the device by Nokia.
The specs allow this device to sit alongside the best devices from Apple, Samsung, Sony and LG with owners now getting the added benefit of a device that is ideal for business while being a “fun phone” for home and play claims Microsoft.
The specs are as follows: 5.0-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920; 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800; 2 GB of RAM; 2,420 mAh non-removable battery; 32 GB of internal storage; 20-Megapixel PureView back-facing camera with optical image stabilisation and 1080p video recording; 1.3-Megapixel front-facing camera capable of 720p video recording; 4G LTE; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.0; USB 2.0; NFC; DLNA; Qi wireless charging; physical dimensions of 137 x 71 x 9.8 mm and 167g.
On top of Windows Phone 8.1, there are Nokia-branded add-ons like Nokia Camera and Nokia Storyteller. Lumia 930 also features SensorCore, which enables the movement tracking without a heavy penalty on battery life.
Steve Lewis the Managing Director of Mobile Devices at Microsoft claims that the new flagship Nokia device gets the Nokia brand back in the game and that the Companies new marketing campaign will drive consumers to carriers and retailers stocking the device.
When ChannelNews tested this device with native applications the difference was dramatic, information flowed seamlessly from databases and there was no distortion of Windows created information that often happens on an Android device.
According to Telstra executives at last night’s launch the new Nokia flagship will be available for $75 per month on a 24-month contract. This includes 1.5GB of data each month.
Vodafone will sell the device for $76 per month on a Red plan with 3GB of data. Optus is at this stage refusing to reveal pricing.
Struggling carrier Vodafone is offering the device outright for $899 which is more than $200 over the price that Telstra is offering the device for.
At this stage Vodafone has not said why they believe they can price gouge an additional $200 out of a consumer.
Nokia is also releasing a budget Lumia 635 alongside the 930, according to Telstra executives the device will be on sale today for $179 which $100 under the recommended the recommended retail price.
According to analysts Microsoft has a “real oppertunity” to take marketshare away from Android smartphone makers however they will struggle to get Apple owners to switch to a Windows powered smartphone.
While Nokia’s Lumia devices have been well received by critics and reviewers, the line has not seen similar commercial success to the Samsung G5 or the Apple iPhone’s.
At this stage the Nokia Lumia brand stagnant with about 3 percent of the smartphone market.
But device rebranding by Microsoft and the concept of a Windows Phone package wrapped around a smart design and packed with features similar if not superior to what is available in an Android phone has JB Hi Fi executives encouraged that this new device will generate excellent sales going forward especially with consumers who want to run Windows applications.
