Nokia: We want to sell feature phones to all of the world's poor
Just looked at the CES Nokia presentation coverage at Engadget. The entire presentation was a kind of Peace Corp/we-see-opportunity-in-emerging-markets mash-up wherein bringing the email and texting to Indian onion farmers and Thai fisherfolk is simultaneously saving the world and Nokia's chance at ruling same. Or something.
Is this a tacit admission that they've fallen out of contention for the iPhone class smart phone market? One would have thought that they would use a CES event to outline how they're going to come storming back with a new generation of Mameo iPhone/Android killers, but instead it's all about selling cheap phones to peasants. Which is laudable, and all, but is it really a great business strategy for Nokia to go all in on selling commodity goods to people who can barely afford food? Are they just doubling down on what they see as their sole strategic advantage? Or did they just have a message they wanted to get out as being the noblest of companies, with higher-end market announcements to come?
If you look at the whole thing you might be forgiven for assuming that Nokia was a non-profit transnational aid organization that was spearheading some kind of "healing the digital divide" initiative. I find the whole thing puzzling.
Is this a tacit admission that they've fallen out of contention for the iPhone class smart phone market? One would have thought that they would use a CES event to outline how they're going to come storming back with a new generation of Mameo iPhone/Android killers, but instead it's all about selling cheap phones to peasants. Which is laudable, and all, but is it really a great business strategy for Nokia to go all in on selling commodity goods to people who can barely afford food? Are they just doubling down on what they see as their sole strategic advantage? Or did they just have a message they wanted to get out as being the noblest of companies, with higher-end market announcements to come?
If you look at the whole thing you might be forgiven for assuming that Nokia was a non-profit transnational aid organization that was spearheading some kind of "healing the digital divide" initiative. I find the whole thing puzzling.
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But seriously, the rest of the world will continue to use lower cost phones in large numbers, it's just that Nokia can easily be edged out of that market by Chinese companies more easily. IMO, the future of phones is iPhone OS and Android. There will be a big washout of companies unable to adapt.
Their "announement" is old news
Right, the trend has been clear, but I was surprised that they would choose to declare this super low margin phenomena as, apparently, a guiding principal. Motivated by pure altruism.