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Chris Jacob
Nokia has a vice grip on the emerging markets in Africa and Asia. They sell millions of phones in these markets on a WEEKLY basis. They have pretty much perfected the art of making entry level phones for next to nothing and selling them at a decent enough margin that doesn't break the bank for the target consumers in these areas.
People there swear by Nokias (And Sony Ericssons, to a certain extent) and wouldn't buy handsets from another brand, come what may.
Concentrating on this segment is EXACTLY what Nokia should be doing right now. This is what makes their bottom-line. The high visibility, low volume, expensive handset market may be making front page news, but for a worldwide giant like Nokia, their largest and most faithful customerbase exists in the other end of the spectrum.
Judging them by the yardsticks of the smartphone savvy, first world economies is hardly accurate.
I also read that they're going to focus more on producing manual typewriters. Competition in the electric typewriter space is getting awfully fierce these days.
I really wish tech bloggers (and no, I'm not picking on Kat here or Giz specifically - I see this right across all the tech blogs I read) would remember that their audience is a fairly small, distinct group who hardly represents the typical user.
It's easy to conclude, from reading the posts at a typical tech blogsite, that the average consumer has a home theatre in their basement, owns an iPhone 3Gs and at least two Macs and one Linux box, buys ceramic knives, has a complete video collection on BluRay and a 60" LCD TV that's a quarter of an inch thick...
But in fact, that's a rare if even real person. The majority of people by a large margin uses a dumbphone, watches SD TV over the air (grudgingly with an ATSC converter box they got with their $50 government rebate box) and may have some DVDs if they have a player - and probably rent the bulk of their videos.
If they own a computer, it's a PC and a cheap one. If they have Internet, its 50/50 they have broadband (if in the US - in other countries, it's somewhat more likely they'll have broadband).
This disconnect from reality is why you keep reading how Microsoft is on the verge of death (while they maintain a 92% market share) and why Linux and MacOS is about to take over the world, when really neither of them have made significant progress in years or why netbooks are 'too slow and underpowered' to be useful, even though they are the fastest growing segment of the computer market.
@TheWerewolf - Sotto voce: What does it say about me that the take away message I get from your post is that I've put off getting a ceramic knife way too long.
@TheWerewolf - Sotto voce: If I could second a promotion I would. I think it's easy to lose perspective on a tech blog about what kinds of electronics and consumer gadgets most people are still using.
@TheWerewolf - Sotto voce: In general, a solid point. (note to self: get ceramic knife) However, I don't believe the "average people" you talk about will adopt smartphones as slowly as you suggest. Why? Because people replace their handset every two years. The way cell phone subsidies work, it only costs a small amount to upgrade your dumbphone handset to a smartphone. Considering how many shiny features a smartphone offers, the "average person" will get one of these handsets.
TLDR: Normal people will adopt smartphones quickly due to a low feature to price premium ratio.
I hope the code names they've given these products aren't reflective of the products themselves. If so then I can picture the Shakira version to look pretty in my hand, have vibrate only ringtone option and all calls will sound like someone gargling with marbles.
Meanwhile the Stella model will feature Marlon Brando screaming at every time the phone rings...
12/05/09
People there swear by Nokias (And Sony Ericssons, to a certain extent) and wouldn't buy handsets from another brand, come what may.
Concentrating on this segment is EXACTLY what Nokia should be doing right now. This is what makes their bottom-line. The high visibility, low volume, expensive handset market may be making front page news, but for a worldwide giant like Nokia, their largest and most faithful customerbase exists in the other end of the spectrum.
Judging them by the yardsticks of the smartphone savvy, first world economies is hardly accurate.
12/04/09
12/04/09
12/04/09
12/04/09
It was just a random, "Wow, go figure!' moment. That's all I was getting at.
So, no, I didn't invent the Internet like Gore did, and Windows 7 was not my idea, and Droid sure as hell Doesn't for me.
12/04/09
12/04/09
It's easy to conclude, from reading the posts at a typical tech blogsite, that the average consumer has a home theatre in their basement, owns an iPhone 3Gs and at least two Macs and one Linux box, buys ceramic knives, has a complete video collection on BluRay and a 60" LCD TV that's a quarter of an inch thick...
But in fact, that's a rare if even real person. The majority of people by a large margin uses a dumbphone, watches SD TV over the air (grudgingly with an ATSC converter box they got with their $50 government rebate box) and may have some DVDs if they have a player - and probably rent the bulk of their videos.
If they own a computer, it's a PC and a cheap one. If they have Internet, its 50/50 they have broadband (if in the US - in other countries, it's somewhat more likely they'll have broadband).
This disconnect from reality is why you keep reading how Microsoft is on the verge of death (while they maintain a 92% market share) and why Linux and MacOS is about to take over the world, when really neither of them have made significant progress in years or why netbooks are 'too slow and underpowered' to be useful, even though they are the fastest growing segment of the computer market.
12/04/09
12/04/09
12/04/09
TLDR: Normal people will adopt smartphones quickly due to a low feature to price premium ratio.
11/10/08
Meanwhile the Stella model will feature Marlon Brando screaming at every time the phone rings...
11/10/08
11/10/08
/correcting douchnozzle