NOKIA A
Cooler Comeback
One of the
most loved phone brands, Nokia, has returned, but its success remains to be
seen
Reincarnation is an
interesting concept. But the reincarnation of an entire brand is even more
divisive. Especially when it’s still one of the most recognised names in the
entire world. The reincarnated Nokia is back now, but will it succeed?
Nokia finally launched
its smartphone portfolio in India and I’ve spent the entire week being
bombarded with questions, listening to people’s opinions, getting an earful
from extremely confident tech pundits, reading in-depth analysis from tech
experts. And that has made one thing very clear − there seems to be very little
knowledge and information out there. This is my effort to set aside some of the
horrible misinformation being doled out and make a few predictions of my own.
Is this
the real Nokia that’s come back?
Well, yes and no. This is
HMD with a licence from Nokia. But what sets it apart is that almost everyone
who works here is originally from Nokia. When you talk to anyone from within
the company, you get that same old feeling. Real passion, almost ridiculous
levels of energy and a determination to succeed that overpowers all else.
Was the
3310 feature phone a good way to start for Nokia?
Absolutely. It was
perfection. The original 3310 was one of the most iconic phones ever, setting a
record in sales by clocking in 126 million units sold and truly exemplified
Nokia. The new 3310 is a play on nostalgia, legacy, brand loyalty and also fun.
The fact that it’s sold out worldwide is a testament to that. Nokia is back.
Are the
three new smartphones any good?
Yes. It’s a good start.
The Nokia 6 is great looking, crafted out of a single slab of aluminium, with
excellent specs, Corning Gorilla Glass, fingerprint sensor, solidly built,
great camera, aggressivelypriced at about 14K and is available only on Amazon.
The Nokia 5 is a hidden gem, once again nicely built, Gorilla Glass screen,
fingerprint sensor, nicely specced out, nice optics and an aggressive price
offline of about 12K. The Nokia 3 isn’t upto the same standards though. It’s
got all the goodies, has the specs, all that’s needed, but nothing special for
the 9K price it demands.
But
aren’t these just Android phones and aren’t there a thousand other Android
phones?
There are. And this is
the biggest question Nokia faces.
But can
they take on the aggressive competition?
The Nokia that went away
and the Nokia that’s come back, its returned to a dramatically different world.
The market, the retailers, the customers, the features, the online sales model,
the technology, how a phone is sold, how its bought – it doesn’t get more
different than this. It’s all very well for Nokia to play on brand loyalty and
nostalgia, but eventually its the products that have to stand on their own and
also take the competition head-on.
So
which phones compare?
The Nokia 6 is online
only and thus competes against many excellent phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note
4. Bundled with some of the offers like 3 1,000 off for Amazon Prime members
and free data from Vodafone, it easily stands out as a great buy. The Nokia 5
is an offline retail-shop-only model and will take on Moto G5 and the Samsung
J7. The retail store business doesn’t have too much in this price point once
you use all the bundled offers. The Nokia 3 will sell mainly to Nokia loyalists
and those who walk into a store and want a brand they identify with.
There it is. The first
chapter of Nokia’s comeback. I’m predicting a great start and huge sales, but
that’s just the beginning. How this story reads after that is anybody’s guess.
This is a reincarnation tale, it can be a horror story or have a very happy
ending!
- Rajiv
Makhni Managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell
Guru and Newsnet 3
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