LONDON, United Kingdom – The Lumia was launched, the Asha was applauded – and even the Salo factory in Finland got a look in as we saw a live link to the new phones being ceremoniously sealed in their boxes. Then bloggers and journalists fled the hall to fight it out for the few white leather stools, chairs and power points in the press area. With the usual moans and groans about wifi, electricity and seating out of the way (we’re hacks ourselves and we can tell you – we’re never a happy lot) the bloggers delivered their verdict on Nokia World 2011, Day 1.
Mariano Amertino from Celularis in Argentina said it would all come done to apps:
“The Lumia is really nice, this will get Nokia back on track – but they will have to show me a lot of apps, because this this will be what sets Nokia apart.”
Samantha Perry from Brainstorm in South Africa queried the ad campaign targeted at under 25s:
“We aren’t getting most of these device in South Africa for a while. I’m not sure about the ad campaign – it was it very 1980s and its definitely not going to appeal to under 25s in my market.”
Hugo Morales from Wayerless in Chile said the Asha range was great for connecting the next billion:
“This goes right to the spot, its good for the idea of Nokia connecting people. The Asha range is really good. Nokia is trying to make it more difficult to distinguish between smartphones and features phones – which is great for people who are becoming connected to the digital world. This is a new brand of cell phones. They look nice. They are cheap for the market. But there are some limitations on the spec, the Windows Phone still has no support for dual core processors.”
Hans Steeman from Telecom magazine in Holland said price and UI are key:
“These phones have the features the market was looking for and are a very challenging price. One of the main features will be ease of use. On an Android people are scared of the UI. On the new Nokia phones they’ll get the UI they are looking for…..”
Art Samaniego from the Manila Bulletin likes the color and design:
“In the Philippines people like good design and colorful phones, and these products are good for that. The price range is also good and should get some market share. I predict the Asha range will be a best seller in Philippines. Its cheap and has added features, good value for money.”
Sami Rainisto from Talouselämä in Finland thinks music could be a winner:
“The new music service is very interesting, it seems to solve the crappy problems other services have, and it seems easy to use.
Overall, this looks promising. If you think about how long it usually takes to start a new platform it’s amazing how much Nokia has done in a few months. They have met expectations, but not surpassed them. They didn’t blow the roof off, but they didn’t disappoint. These products have a good shot, but it depends on the marketing.”
Have you blogged about Nokia World or the announcements this week? Let us know. [NB: Links get auto-moderated, so please be patient if your comment doesn’t appear straight away.]