Nokia CEO dodges premium Lumia questions, throws iPhone
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was supposed to talk about the company's recently-launched low-cost Lumia devices, but instead he wound up dodging questions and tossing an iPhone to the floor.
Appearing on commercial TV station MTV3 in Finland, Elop faced questions from the show's host, Hjallis Harkimo, on the particulars of the Lumia 928, an as-yet-unannounced Lumia 920 variant. Harkimo pressed Elop on what consumers might expect from the handset.
"I don't know," Elop responded, laughing, "because we haven't announced a Lumia 928."
Elop then tried to steer the conversation back toward Nokia's newest offerings, a line of low-cost Lumia handsets meant to appeal to developing markets and entry-level consumers.
Elop appeared to be preparing to make a statement on future Nokia products when the Harkimo produced an iPhone from his coat pocket.
"I have an iPhone," he said, holding it up to Elop, "I don't want to have an iPhone."
As Harkimo explained that he wanted to have a Nokia phone, Elop seized the moment, and the iPhone. He tossed the device to the floor, proclaiming "it's gone."
Following up with Harkimo on Friday, Finnish blog Tietoviikko confirmed that the host's iPhone suffered no damage from being tossed. Harkimo says he has yet to receive a Nokia phone to replace the iPhone, which Elop promised him during the interview.
The 928 is said to feature an aluminum body instead of the polycarbonate frame that has typified Nokia's Lumia line. Along with the aluminum body, the 928 is said to feature a xenon and LED flash combination, and Nokia's purported goal is to position the device as a premium handset in the vein of Apple's iPhone or HTC's One flagship.
Unveiled last year with the launch of Windows Phone 8, Nokia's Lumia line has a lot riding on it for both Nokia and Microsoft. Lumias have become the de facto standard bearers for WP8, which is Microsoft's latest push to make an impact in the smartphone segment.
For Nokia, the handsets are an attempt at grabbing back some of the mobile phone market share that the company has lost to iOS and Android manufacturers, particularly Samsung. The line has sold relatively well since its release, moving 4.4 million units in the most recent quarter ? up from 2.9 million for the quarter previous ? and earning Nokia its first quarterly profit in some time.
Appearing on commercial TV station MTV3 in Finland, Elop faced questions from the show's host, Hjallis Harkimo, on the particulars of the Lumia 928, an as-yet-unannounced Lumia 920 variant. Harkimo pressed Elop on what consumers might expect from the handset.
"I don't know," Elop responded, laughing, "because we haven't announced a Lumia 928."
Elop then tried to steer the conversation back toward Nokia's newest offerings, a line of low-cost Lumia handsets meant to appeal to developing markets and entry-level consumers.
Elop appeared to be preparing to make a statement on future Nokia products when the Harkimo produced an iPhone from his coat pocket.
"I have an iPhone," he said, holding it up to Elop, "I don't want to have an iPhone."
As Harkimo explained that he wanted to have a Nokia phone, Elop seized the moment, and the iPhone. He tossed the device to the floor, proclaiming "it's gone."
Following up with Harkimo on Friday, Finnish blog Tietoviikko confirmed that the host's iPhone suffered no damage from being tossed. Harkimo says he has yet to receive a Nokia phone to replace the iPhone, which Elop promised him during the interview.
The 928 is said to feature an aluminum body instead of the polycarbonate frame that has typified Nokia's Lumia line. Along with the aluminum body, the 928 is said to feature a xenon and LED flash combination, and Nokia's purported goal is to position the device as a premium handset in the vein of Apple's iPhone or HTC's One flagship.
Unveiled last year with the launch of Windows Phone 8, Nokia's Lumia line has a lot riding on it for both Nokia and Microsoft. Lumias have become the de facto standard bearers for WP8, which is Microsoft's latest push to make an impact in the smartphone segment.
For Nokia, the handsets are an attempt at grabbing back some of the mobile phone market share that the company has lost to iOS and Android manufacturers, particularly Samsung. The line has sold relatively well since its release, moving 4.4 million units in the most recent quarter ? up from 2.9 million for the quarter previous ? and earning Nokia its first quarterly profit in some time.
Comments
It looked staged to me. The interviewer sounds like he was paid, for what was overall a product plug rather than a real interview.
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
…Harkimo produced an iPhone from his coat pocket.
"I have an iPhone," he said, holding it up to Elop, "I don't want to have an iPhone."
As Harkimo explained that he wanted to have a Nokia phone, Elop seized the moment, and the iPhone. He tossed the device to the floor, proclaiming "it's gone."
Harkimo later sued Elop for theft and destruction of personal property, as any sane person would.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
It looked staged to me. The interviewer sounds like he paid for what is essentially an ad plug rather than a real interview.
Definitely it is staged Ananth. Its iPhone who brought a sudden death to Nokia. Its all Drama. Nokia phones are to be thrown with the crappy OS and some cigarette box design.
Let's say iPhone is gone. Your Nokia is already gone for sure decades ago. Moron.
what a stupit pole elop is....
I am really happy to be an Apple Customer. Apple never play this kind of cheap tricks. Now Nokia is also proving that it is as crappy as Samsung by directly attacking Apple. Happy that Apple is behaving "aristocratic."
Careful here...
Yes, they sold 4.4m in Q4 and 2.9m in Q3. But that piece of information in highly misleading, as Q3 was an entire quarter with the entire Lumia line being running the un-upgradeable WP7 and WP8 already announced... For a better data point look at Q2 in which they sold 4 million WP7 devices. So, the actual increase was from 4m in a low season to 4.4m in the biggest season and a launch quarter. That is 10% more devices. Unfortunately, Q4 was globally over 50% bigger than Q2. So, they lost market share.
Also, as many analysts have identified correctly, Nokia was going to great length to make sure they can present a black number. They achieved that by accounting for the entire sell off of their corporate HQ buildings under the devices unit, creating a fictitious smart devices category that includes their non-smart Asha devices and not paying any licensing fees for WP7/8 (the subsidies received by MS were greater than licensing fees paid to MS). If removing all this rubbish from their creative accounting, experts believe Nokia to lose 15-20% on every Lumia device sold (and their even cheaper devices were not even available in Q4).
So, just to summarize: Market share went down and no real profit either.
Originally Posted by Chandra69
Apple never play this kind of cheap tricks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabbit_Coach
what a stupit pole elop is....
Uh, well, yes. But what can we expect from somebody working for Ballmer? (It is pretty obvious that he is not working for Nokia.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Oh yeah! Here is one intelligent. Apple says when their things are the best. Here Nokia is not the best but the worst. There is a clear difference.
It is so embarrassing when these disturbed leaders are supposed to be nice and cozy in a sofa. They can't behave like ordinary people.
All their life they been that guy that was never invited to parties, because they were unable to even have a normal conversation...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chandra69
Happy that Apple is behaving "aristocratic."
What do you call yourselves?
Apple: "The Aristocrats!"
If someone took my expensive property and tossed it on the floor I think I would have a far different response than this interviewer who seemed unfazed.
Dropping a competitor's product is amateurish and theatrical. Elop is turning out to be a disappointment.