Nokia's important new autumn models finally started shipping last week – but they won't be on shop selves in major markets like the UK or India until the last week of the quarter.
Much has been made about the challenges Nokia faces with its Windows program – but it is fairly amazing how the company seems to be mishandling the management of even its old Symbian product portfolio.
The new Symbian models like Nokia 500, Nokia 600 and Nokia 700 are not cutting edge – they feature rather modest specifications. Even the most advanced of them, the 700, possesses just a 3.2 inch display, a single-core processor and does not offer a front-facing camera.
On August 24, I wrote a piece on just how weirdly ambitious Nokia's pricing for its autumn phones seems.The 700 is now close to launching at 17'000 rupees in India and £260-280 in the UK.
This basically places the 700 on par with Android rivals like HTC Desire Z, Motorola Defy and Samsung Galaxy W.
This is quite wacky. How could a Symbian phone with modest specs and a dying operating system possibly compete against Samsung Galaxy W in the same price bracket?
No wonder Play.com best-seller lists do not even register the new Nokia Symbian phones. The only Nokia models still having some impact in the UK are sub-£90 models like the C2 and 1600 series entries.
Yet Nokia is still trying to launch several new Symbian models above the ambitious £200 mark.
This pricing strategy seems to represent a denial of reality echoed in some ways RIMM's decision to price the new Bold models way above what seemed reasonable.
But what is even worse is the timing – the 500, 600 and 700 deliveries started in the third week of September and the models won't be in shops until the last week of the quarter.
T-Mobile is supposed to spearhead the UK debut of these phones. Yet T-Mobile only displays the Nokia 700 on its website – and not on the front page, merely in the Coming Soon section without a firm launch date.
Nokia's autumn quarter ends in eight days. Apple's new, moderately priced iPhone is going to be announced in two weeks.
And the strongest carrier partner Nokia has in Europe is not promoting any of the new Symbian models – has not even given the launch date for the Nokia 700? How on earth did they manage to miss the autumn phone season with models that basically employ 18-month old technology?
The Windows project is very important for Nokia. But in the short term, the way the Symbian porftolio is being mishandled may have the most profound impact on the company in the short term.
