Comments on: $700 for Nokia's new phone. Are they nuts?

Nokia's new N97 has hit U.S. shores with a whopping $700 price tag, making it a highly unlikely competitor to any of the latest smartphones launched in the U.S.

[jaffreywali]

Problem with Nokia is that they make bricks. I used to have an N-95. Great phone. But then I got an itouch and realized how much better the form factor and software was when compared to the N-95. A much more fun device. I picked up an iphone 3g and not unless Nokia comes out with a sleek phone there is no way I am going back to another brick.

[UICTamale]

guess you never used the e71.. it's thinner than the iphone.

[deniceels]

or probably never used the 6500classic.. which is slimmer as well... if you compare form-factor..

[faceless128]

I'm confused about this story. comparing the price of a smartphone with a 2 year contract to the price of an unlocked phone?

shouldn't the comparison be the price of an unlocked phone to the price of an unlocked phone?

[datamuncher]

Some of us are able to expense the wireless service but have to pay for the phone. Subsidized iPhones and Pre's are no-brainers vs. Nokia in this situation. Guess Nokia doesn't want to sell into this market.

[sapporobaby]

If Nokia can not get an operator to subsidize its phones like Apple and Palm do, what is their recourse? Did you think about this before hitting the submit button?

[jakeZ2]

It's all about weather you want to pay the money up front for the device, or pay the carrier through a bloated 2-3 year contract. You'll pay either way. The other thing to consider is if you purchase an unlocked device, you have the option of just buying phone service without a data plan. Data plans are great, but if you're really cheap, you can live off of wifi. It's everywhere now. As far as I know AT&T won't allow service for the iPhone without a data plan.

[Ordxpres]

Maggie,

Great post. I do see a HUGE potential for $700 phones... It's called T-Mobile... Until October of last year I was a devoted Nokia fan. I was involved with WOM World and was testing a few devices. I paid $500 for N80, then $600 for N95-1, then N95-3 so I've spent my fair share of $$$ on Nokia phones. And to all people that say that pixels don't always matter...true..but then take any N95 device and your jaw will drop. In October I took a divorce from Nokia.. it was painful as I became so attached to S60 OS that it was really hard to make the jump to.... Android. I did not do the switch for the OS or the phone itself. I made the jump because of 3G. This is where Nokia missed the train, gave away pot of gold, etc etc... T-Mobile just started offering "decent" phones but it still lacks a kick a.. devices. The sad part is that Nokia does not even give a hint of any support of T-Mobile's 3G network. I may have been a Symbian ***** and left the platform I loved for another one but I will N-E-V-E-R make the switch to at&t...they're simply TOO EVIL for my taste. So as soon as Nokia will release N97-5 (or whatever they will call it) I will happily drop $700 for such a device. The market for $700 phone may be a niche but it does exist and in a country with over 300,000,000 people even if a quarter of T-Mobile's subscribers (about 1,000,000) would but the phone, it would be a sizable amount of pocket change that I think Nokia would like... (that's 1,000,000 x $700)

Maciek
Symbiosis60.com

[NeoReader]

The new Nokia N97 should come preloaded with NeoMedia's NeoReader barcode scanning application. It's hands down the best mobile code reading app available today :-)

[Genex32]

I can?t see how this phone cost more that any other smart phone with similar futures
(I would not include Pre in compurgation since it has only 8GB)
What you are missing is that IPhone ?require? $30 mo data plan.
N97 you don?t need data plan it?s not required. That?s $720 over 24 mo. that alone is more than N97
Or you could get IPhone 3GS for $299 with 2 years contract sell it on eBay for $500 - $600
and put that money toward N97
the other thing if you going to compare ?Apples? to ?Apples? than there are no phone to compare to with N97 right now for sale in US
N97 = 5Mp camera with flash, 32GB + 16GB SD Memory card, FM transmitter and FM with RDS, Qwerty keyboard, Qik video streaming, Flash in browser and MMS just to name couple futures that IPhone 3GS doesn?t have.

On side not I would not in my dream spend $500 + on Coach bag

[sapporobaby]

I have read this article and the comment to form a basis of opinion. My conclusion is that the author presented a one sided view of the Nokia issue and most of the replies are from people that have no idea about phone costs and one particularly clueless poster (sevendustseven) who seems to make spurious claims without facts.

Here is a big fat clue that everyone including the author can sink their teeth in. Smartphones are expensive. Period. They are not 200 dollars. They are more on the order of 600 to 800 dollars a pop because of the feature sets, quality of hardware, and update path. You want a cheap phone, you get cheap quality. Just that simple. If you look at the Nokia smartphone line, they retain their value as well as many of the N-Series models. iPhones drop in value the moment they leave the store, and this new 3G S is no different. It is the same iPhone with a new (3 mp cam) and video. The rest was done with software. Europeans and much of the rest of the world have more discerning tastes and are not as easily fooled by Apples smoke and mirrors. The iPhone will sell well but the N97 will sell better. In the US, the N97 is expensive because the operators do not want to carry a phone that has a built in Skype client. Guess why. Nokia does not need to sell one more phone in the US and it will still lead the pack with Apple and Samsung fighting to be also rans.

Anyone that has played with the N97 will notice that it not the same capacitance screen used on the 5800XM and is as responsive as an iPhone. I will say again and go slowly, it is as responsive as an iPhone (go do some homework sevendustseven before opening your pie-hole) and the software response well. Nokia opted out of a higher speed processor and went with code optimization which makes the code footprint smaller and easier to run while saving battery life.

Bottom line, get a passport, do some traveling, and learn the facts before speaking.

[deniceels]

and not forgetting symbian can install java apps/games.. without having to use any account of sort to download (and sync) and install (or if you like... copy to the phone directly)...thus, ovi is just one avenue to those who want a convenient location to obtain such stuffs, else we can alway search from the internet for one. And not forgetting, you can replace the battery anytime it runs out without having to... find a wall charger(or pc/laptop) to charge unlike the iphone when your out hiking....(with exception if you get one of those solar-charger) without voiding your nice warranty.

[holden89]

Think about us Australians... I have no idea what other countries are selling this phone for, but in Australia it is expected to be around $1300AU, approx $1050US. Thats a big difference. It sucks being in Australia, because businesses think they can rip us off. The PS3 is in the same boat. In the US it is a few hundred dollars cheaper, than it is hear in Australia (considering the exchange rate). How can it cost an extra $300 a phone, to send to Australia...!?

[Yankee Fan]

For me, the biggest problem with this article is the very poorly worded headline ("$700 for Nokia's new phone. Are they nuts?"). Or perhaps Maggie selected the wording intentionally to gain readership?! Without reading the article through to the end, the headline strongly implies that the phone is not worth $700 or is over-priced compared to other smartphones. But as others have pointed out, the actual cost of most smartphones, WITHOUT A SUBSIDY FROM A CARRIER, cost as much. And if you examine the phone itself (i.e., form, function and features) without looking at voice and data plans, etc, the N97 is actually a huge bargain in terms of advanced features and conveniences that others have pointed out such as replaceable battery, expandable memory, camera megapixels, tethering, etc, etc, etc. Frankly, neither the iPhone nor the Palm Pre can compare, and considering that the iPhone has been out 2+ years it's kind of a slap in the face. Maggie did point some of this out near the end of the article, but you wouldn't know it from the headline.

She also seems to suggest that Nokia is not concerned about competing in the US market and almost implies that they are above dealing with US carriers, or at least do not really try. (Actually, it?s her opening statement!) Again, this seems a bit shoddy to me. Has she talked with executives at AT&T, T-Mobile and Nokia about this? Does she know for a fact that Nokia hasn't tried to work a deal with AT&T to subsidize the phone? All reports I have read over the past few months indicate Nokia knows how important the US market, especially for smartphones, is. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised that AT&T doesn't want to carry the N97 as is. The problem in the US is that the big players CONTINUALLY want to handcuff the features that manufacturers want to offer customers (i.e., all of us) because ultimately the features might reduce their profit. I've used both Verizon and AT&T, and they are both equally guilty of it. Frankly, I don't think either is ultimately concerned at all with customer satisfaction. That is one of the reasons that Google became involved in the wireless spectrum auction last year and entered the cellphone industry ... to loosen the insane control that AT&T and Verizon have over cell phone manufacturing, voice and data plans, etc.

I am going to buy a new cellphone in the next few months, and it will be either the N97 or the iPhone. I am waiting to test both because I am particularly interested in comparing call quality on each phone. I have read too much about the iPhone's lousy call quality / cell signal reception to buy into all the hype about what a great phone it is, and hope Apple has improved it with this upgrade, although from what I've read the iPhone 3GS's form factor/ hardware will not changed a bit from the 3G model. And of course I will look to CNET for their reviews as well as user comments on their experiences.

So for me, on the whole, the author and her article really do not do the subject justice. And frankly, it diminishes CNET's image as a thoughtful and impartial commentator.

[sapporobaby]

@Yankee Fan,

Great post and great for taking the author to task for shoddy reporting.

[Absinthe_Review_Network]

Likewise, I would like to commend you on your in-depth commentary on the biased/uninformed nature of this article, Yankee Fan. As you are comparing the call quality, I can tell you that the iPhone 3G is good, but does drop calls, even with full signal in my experience.

I don't know what facts I can add that haven't already been said (I've just spent about 30 minutes reading through the comments here), but anyone who reads through these comments will see that Nokia-supporters have concrete, specific reasoning why the N97 (and the Symbian OS) is so vastly superior, that was completely absent from Apple-holics.

I am an American that has an N97 on order at Amazon ($600, free shipping). Too bad I'll have to wait a bit to get it in. Why's that? Because it is SOLD OUT. Also keep in mind that if you do decide to order direct from Nokia, while you do pay more, you get a high-end bluetooth earpiece free of charge, which I see was not mentioned in the article.

One thing I think is being overlooked is the gaming appeal. You have the core audience of N-Gage from the previous generation (remember, it did sell over 2 million units worldwide by the end of it's life cycle,...not too shabby), and with a good deal of online-focused Ovi games, there's real potential for a mobile gaming following on the calibre of XBOX Live. I was a part pf the N-Gage community from day 1, and while it was never huge, it was INTENSELY loyal, and constantly active. It was pretty amazing in 2003 to be competing globally on your handset. The N97 is poised as the flagship N-gage "equipped" product, and I don't think that will be overlooked. The iPhone has lots of games, but the control is ABYSMAL in the majority of them, even with calibration. N97 has a dedicated D-pad and can be handled much like a controller, thus making it more practical to develop a wider range of genres. Imagine trying to develop a 1-on-1 fighting game on iPhone...it would be impossible to do.

[KindleTips]

I thought the same thing when Amazon announced that the newest Kindle would be almost $500. It will be interesting to see if people snatch this one up. Will the new gadgets standard pricing be

[Heebee Jeebies]

And, the new iPhone 3Gs sells for $699 if you can't get the discount upgrade price so what's the problem. Its ok for Apple to over charge but not anyone else, give me a break. They are all rip-offs. When it is actually cheaper to cancel your current contract and sign-up for a new one to get the discount you know there is a problem and that is exactly what I just had to do with the new iPhone. Face it cells phones besides keeping people at everyone's beck and call 24/7 is a big screw for the consumer.

Robert

[whayong]

It's already been established, paying more upfront for the N97 costs less then paying less + 2 year contract. What most (especially the author) can't seem to get a grip on is that paying for the unlocked phone gives you freedom. Freedom to choose a carrier, and freedom to not use any carrier. Freedom to choose a voice plan. You cannot just get any voice plan with the iPhone for example. You have to choose from AT&T's mid range - upper range offerings. I can stick a prepaid sim card in the N97 and solely rely on wifi hot spots if I choose to. You can't do that with those "other" phones.

Also, last I checked (4 years ago), AT&T's definition of a "smartphone" is a phone with fully or qwerty keyboard. My S60 3rd ed. phone hasn't been charged $30/ month yet (4 years now). I use my data a lot. Upload and download files to/from my ftp server, download apps, browse REAL web pages with Opera Mini, subscribe to RSS feeds, and everything else I would do on a "smartphone."

[RobertH222]

hi
after reading your "N97 price is crazy" article, i was forced to respond to it. Not because im an avid Nokia user (fanboy) but because of the numerous inaccuracies in your journalism.
i always thought journalism was to give an unbiased, intelligent perspective; which in this case you have not under any circumstances. im almost in awe as to how you can write this article and seemingly only tell half of the story. To add insult to injury, you are a senior writer! Surely this can not be the standard of journalism in your/our society? For if it is, we are in a sad state.
The iphone costs $200. That was your statement;
Which clearly is an inaccurate and misleading statement. I cannot go into any store, pay $200 and walk out with an iphone which is not carrier branded/locked.
|Your statement should have been quite more astute in its relation to price.
You should have said " the iphone is $200 on a 2 year contract from AT&T and you will need a data plan as well" You should have also stated that "users of the 2nd generation iphone will not be able to upgrade to the iphone 3g s for that subsidized price" (i stand corrected on this statement)
Secondly, the iphone sim free/unlocked is more in the region of $8-900usd. am i correct? i believe i am.
Thirdly, you want to compare the price of the N97 to that of a way less functioned device. (iphone) and that have a rant at the price? would you compare a rolls royce to a toyota? no
Again sloppy comparison in relation to price. All you are comparing is the fact that they are the newest released devices and they are touch enabled. Why not compare the iphone to nokia's other offering the 5800XM ($350usd, no network affliation) which would be a more valid comparison by any means. i actually implore that you do and write an article based on features vs price. i think then you will realize your error in your price pointing "assasination" of the n97.
here in Europe, such absurd writing and illicit factual statements would probably be the end of your career.....but i guess thats america for you.....where ignorance is bliss......(no offence)
I do challenge you to visit more websites and at least get some insight before writing such utter garbage and deteriorating the skill which is called journalism....

[sapporobaby]

@roberth222,

OUCH !!!!!!!!!!! But so true. :)

[sapporobaby]

I guess this article has now bit the dust. The author knows that the reporting done was pretty inept and full of holes. Maybe the next article will contain a few more facts and not be written with her eyes closed.

what these cnet editors seem to not understand is the following.

$200 + $70 (avg. data plan) x 24 months [ 2 yr contract ] = $1,880 vs. $700 + [how much is a sim card] ?

[sebastiaopignatelli]

When it comes to mobile phones America is in a commercial war with Europe. The problem is that while every American carrier is making the incredible boycott on nokia, in Europe everybody is buying iphone. It?s time that we respond with the same aggressiveness. No more reviews on iphone on European press and European carriers should make a similar boycott.