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Every day, Richi Jennings pricks the self-important bubbles of people who think technology is life's be-all and end-all. In On The Other Hand, he also brings us useful insights and loads of laughs from around the Web.

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Nokia to release 3 Windows Phones

OTOH: Too little, too late?

Published 17:20, 25 October 11

By Richi Jennings (@richi ).

Tomorrow, Nokia (HEL:NOK1V) (NYSE:NOK) will launch its first smartphones based on Windows Phone. The company is holding its Nokia World event in London, where it's expected to launch two or three shiny toys running WinPho 7.5 "Mango".

• On the one hand, if they're anything like the N9, these could be compelling phones.
• On The Other Hand, I wonder if CEO Stephen Elop will remember how to pronounce the name of the company?

Plus, today's skateboarding duck: Takeaway choice flow chart...


Mikael Ricknäs reports:

In the eight months since Nokia announced its decision to go with...Windows Phone, Nokia has seen its smartphone market share erode while the sales of Windows Phone have remained low.
...
Under Elop's leadership, Nokia has already addressed some of the company's problems in low-end mobile phones...Windows Phone is the most important part of Nokia's new strategy. ... Nokia's first Windows Phone-based products are also very important for Microsoft and operators.
...
Sources with knowledge of the Wednesday launch say that Nokia is expected to launch two phones, one high-end model and one mid-market phone. ... Nokia has said its Windows-based smartphones will stand out from other products based on Microsoft's OS, as well as Apple's iPhone and devices based on Android.

Two? Andrew Orlowski says it's three phones:

The new Nokia phones are Mango devices, so...they aren't high-end. Microsoft's "chassis spec" that...ODMs must obey is...certainly not cutting edge. ... [T]he flagship Sea Ray design...[is] based on the N9 "contractual obligation phone" that trickled out this summer.
...
In brief, the Nokia 800 (or "Lumia" - depending on which rumour site you prefer) is the Sea Ray. ... The model codenamed Sabre has also been leaked, and a third model, Ace, features a side-down keyboard.
...
[O]perators [are] loath to see the market fall into a two-horse race...and will do everything to help. ... They don't mind in the slightest that these are mid-range devices, since that's where a profitable portion of the market is.

Peter Bright adds:

[L]ast week, Nokia said that its initial Windows Phone launch will be in "select countries." ... [It's] improbable that the US is one of those. ... One country that that has been "selected" is the UK: teaser advertisements for the Nokia 800 started airing over the weekend.
...
Waiting until 2012 to launch...in the US also means that the platform will miss out on the all-important holiday season. That, in turn, means missing out on...precisely the kind of thing that Microsoft is trusting Nokia to bring to the Windows Phone market. 

Nokia's Alex Bentley "can't wait to see" these features:

Windows Phone 7.5 makes social networking easier than ever. ... Nokia has set the standard for all other camera-phones...[so] we’re really excited to test out the cameras on the new Nokia Windows Phones. ... Windows Phone 7.5 also makes it just as easy to record videos and share them. ... [The] Local Scout feature is the perfect tool for having fun and exploring new places. ... Bing Music let[s] you instantly identify and buy any song that you hear on your travels. ... Windows Phone 7.5 gives you full Microsoft Office functionality. ... [W]e're looking forward to using our Nokia Windows Phones to get better connected. ... [W]e’re keen to get gaming. ... Internet Explorer Mobile is perfect for getting faster access to the sites you want to read and enjoying them in all their glory.
...
Windows Phone 7.5 is as great to use, as it is beautiful to look at. 

But Ben Rooney ain't impressed with "The progeny of two faded giants":

[T]he next 24 hours...will open a new  chapter that has taken the former rubber boot and toilet-paper manufacturer...to where it is today, like a punch-drunk prize fighter...lumbering around trying to regain its lost form.
...
It is a big day for Microsoft too. While their operating system has had critical acclaim, it has yet to find a place in customers’ hearts. ... Microsoft knows that if even Nokia can’t tear people away from either iOS or Android, then its mobile strategy is in trouble.
...
Mr. Elop...needs is that indefinable magic dust that makes products sing. We are going to find out if he has it. 

Today's Skateboarding Duck...

• Stephen Wildish's takeaway choice flow chart

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. His writing has previously won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Tags: cloud computing, microsoft, mobile & wireless, msft, nok, nok1v, nokia, operating systems, windows, windows phone

Subscribe to this blog

By Richi Jennings (@richi ).

• On the one hand, if they're anything like the N9, these could be compelling phones.
• On The Other Hand, I wonder if CEO Stephen Elop will remember how to pronounce the name of the company?

In the eight months since Nokia announced its decision to go with...Windows Phone, Nokia has seen its smartphone market share erode while the sales of Windows Phone have remained low.
...
Under Elop's leadership, Nokia has already addressed some of the company's problems in low-end mobile phones...Windows Phone is the most important part of Nokia's new strategy. ... Nokia's first Windows Phone-based products are also very important for Microsoft and operators.
...
Sources with knowledge of the Wednesday launch say that Nokia is expected to launch two phones, one high-end model and one mid-market phone. ... Nokia has said its Windows-based smartphones will stand out from other products based on Microsoft's OS, as well as Apple's iPhone and devices based on Android.

The new Nokia phones are Mango devices, so...they aren't high-end. Microsoft's "chassis spec" that...ODMs must obey is...certainly not cutting edge. ... [T]he flagship Sea Ray design...[is] based on the N9 "contractual obligation phone" that trickled out this summer.
...
In brief, the Nokia 800 (or "Lumia" - depending on which rumour site you prefer) is the Sea Ray. ... The model codenamed Sabre has also been leaked, and a third model, Ace, features a side-down keyboard.
...
[O]perators [are] loath to see the market fall into a two-horse race...and will do everything to help. ... They don't mind in the slightest that these are mid-range devices, since that's where a profitable portion of the market is.

[L]ast week, Nokia said that its initial Windows Phone launch will be in "select countries." ... [It's] improbable that the US is one of those. ... One country that that has been "selected" is the UK: teaser advertisements for the Nokia 800 started airing over the weekend.
...
Waiting until 2012 to launch...in the US also means that the platform will miss out on the all-important holiday season. That, in turn, means missing out on...precisely the kind of thing that Microsoft is trusting Nokia to bring to the Windows Phone market. 

Windows Phone 7.5 makes social networking easier than ever. ... Nokia has set the standard for all other camera-phones...[so] we’re really excited to test out the cameras on the new Nokia Windows Phones. ... Windows Phone 7.5 also makes it just as easy to record videos and share them. ... [The] Local Scout feature is the perfect tool for having fun and exploring new places. ... Bing Music let[s] you instantly identify and buy any song that you hear on your travels. ... Windows Phone 7.5 gives you full Microsoft Office functionality. ... [W]e're looking forward to using our Nokia Windows Phones to get better connected. ... [W]e’re keen to get gaming. ... Internet Explorer Mobile is perfect for getting faster access to the sites you want to read and enjoying them in all their glory.
...
Windows Phone 7.5 is as great to use, as it is beautiful to look at. 

[T]he next 24 hours...will open a new  chapter that has taken the former rubber boot and toilet-paper manufacturer...to where it is today, like a punch-drunk prize fighter...lumbering around trying to regain its lost form.
...
It is a big day for Microsoft too. While their operating system has had critical acclaim, it has yet to find a place in customers’ hearts. ... Microsoft knows that if even Nokia can’t tear people away from either iOS or Android, then its mobile strategy is in trouble.
...
Mr. Elop...needs is that indefinable magic dust that makes products sing. We are going to find out if he has it. 

• Stephen Wildish's takeaway choice flow chart

• Follow @richi on Twitter
• Pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook
• Catch up with posts from the previous few days