In Fall Apple season, rival phone makers struggle to make an impression
Updated 09:40 AM Sep 06, 2012
NEW YORK - It's shaping up to be a cold fall for smartphone
makers other than Apple, as the trendsetter of the phone industry gears
up to release the next iPhone.
 |
| The new Motorola droid phones (from left) Droid Razor M, Droid Razor HD
and the Droid Razor Maxx HD seen at a launch event in New York. REUTERS |
Nokia and Motorola, which a
few years ago were the No 1 and No 2 phone makers, revealed new phones
at back-to-back press events in New York yesterday. They appeared
hurrying to show them off before Apple makes its iPhone announcement
next week.
 |
| A Nokia executive shows the new Lumia 920 phone with Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. REUTERS |
The phones are impressive in their own right and
sport improvements from previous models, but analysts did not see
anything about them that would change the prospect of an
iPhone-dominated holiday season.
For Nokia, the new phones
are especially crucial. They are the first to run Windows Phone 8, and
the Finnish company is hinging its turnaround strategy on an alliance
with Microsoft. But the reveal fell flat with investors, as Nokia's
stock plunged 16 per cent yesterday.
Nokia's new flagship
phone is the Lumia 920. The lenses on its camera shift to compensate for
shaky hands, resulting in sharper images in low light and smoother
video capture, Nokia said. It can also be charged without being plugged
in; the user just places it on a wireless charging pod.
Nokia also unveiled a cheaper, mid-range phone, the Lumia 820. It does
not have the special camera lenses, but it sports exchangeable backs so
you can switch colours.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the new
phones will go on sale in the fourth quarter in "select markets." He
did not say what they would cost or which United States carriers would
have them. AT&T and T-Mobile USA have been selling the earlier Lumia
phones.
Investors seem to have expected more specifics, or
an earlier launch. Nokia shares fell 45 US cents to US$2.38 in New
York. The stock is trading at the same level it had in the mid-1990s.
Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said the new phones were impressive,
but he thought that Microsoft was killing the buzz by holding back on
details about Windows 8.
"The hardware is gorgeous, but Microsoft didn't do a good job of telling the rest of the story," Mr Dulaney said.
He suspects Microsoft and Nokia announced the Lumia phones early in an attempt to steal some thunder from the next iPhone.
"Microsoft should have spent more time filling in the holes for
this product release instead of worrying so much about what Apple was
going to do," Mr Dulaney said.
Mr Neil Mawston, an analyst
with Strategy Analytics, said Nokia's new smartphones held no real
surprises and lacked a "wow" factor.
"The devices that were
launched were more of an evolution rather than a revolution," Mr
Mawston said. "This was a baby step for Nokia and Microsoft and not
really a giant leap like some were hoping."
Nokia launched
its first Windows phones late last year under the Lumia brand, as the
first fruits of Elop's alliance with Microsoft. Those ran Windows Phone 7
software, which is effectively being orphaned in the new version. The
older phones can't be upgraded, and they won't be able to run all
applications written for Windows Phone 8.
Nokia sold 4
million Lumia phones in the second quarter, far fewer than the 26
million iPhones that Apple sold during those three months. So far, the
line hasn't helped Nokia halt its sales decline: Its global market share
shrunk from the peak of 40 per cent in 2008 to 29 per cent in 2011, and
it is expected to dwindle further this year.
For
Microsoft, the alliance with Nokia is its best chance to get into
smartphones again, where it has been marginalised by the rise of the
iPhone and then phones running Google's Android software. The launch of
Windows Phone 8 coincides roughly with the launch of Windows 8 for PCs
and tablets. That launch is set for Oct 26.
"Make no
mistake about it - this is a year for Windows," said Microsoft Steve
Ballmer, who joined Elop, a former Microsoft executive, on stage.
Ovum analyst Jan Dawson said that Windows Phone provides a
compelling experience that is clearly different from that of the iPhone.
The problem for Nokia and Microsoft, he said, is that it is only
apparent after a user spends half an hour or so personalising the
device, and that is not something phone shoppers do.
On the
plus side, US phone companies are eager to build up Windows Phone as an
alternative to the iPhone and Android, to reduce the leverage Apple and
Google have over them. Android and Apple devices dominate in
smartphones, with 85 per cent of the worldwide market combined,
according to research firm IDC.
"We believe it's important to have balance in the ecosystem," said Chief Marketing Officer at Verizon Wireless Tami Erwin.
Microsoft competitor Google is even more deeply invested in
cellphones, having bought Motorola in May for US$12.4 billion (S$15.5
billion). But Google bought Motorola mainly for its patents, which it
can use to shield other cellphone makers that use Android from lawsuits.
That means that even though it has a wealthy new corporate parent,
Motorola is still under pressure to produce hit phones. Google has
already announced plans to cut about 20 per cent of the workforce at
Motorola.
Motorola's strategy for the fall is to expand the Razr brand, resurrected from the hit clamshell phone launched in 2004.
For one of these phones, Motorola had firm details on
availability. Next Thursday, the day after Apple's press conference,
Verizon Wireless stores will sell the Droid Razr M for US$99. The new
iPhone is not expected in stores until a week or two after that.
The Razr is a smaller, cheaper version of the first touchscreen
Razr, which launched last year. Motorola is also updating the top of the
Razr line with the Razr HD and Razr HD Maxx. All three run on Android.
Motorola is emphasising long battery life - up to 21 hours of talk time for the Maxx HD, or 10 hours of video streaming.
The iPhone 5 is unlikely to beat that, as its smaller body does
not leave that much space for a battery. But the cachet of the iPhone,
and the wide range of applications available for it, mean that analysts
expect the rest of the year to belong to Apple.
Gene
Munster at Piper Jaffray said Apple might sell 6 million to 10 million
iPhones in the last week of September. That compares with 9 million
Motorola sold in the 12 weeks of the second quarter, according to
research firm Gartner. AP
Source: www.todayonline.com
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