Nokia N81 - Designed for the US?
Stefan’s got an interesting post over at Intomobile, detailing the number of European carriers who have stated that they will NOT be carrying the Nokia N81 (at least the 8GB version) because it comes with Nokia’s Music Store pre-loaded, and they’re afraid that will cut into the profits of their own music stores.
Personally, I think this puts Nokia in an interesting position. First off, neither of the two GSM carriers in the US (AT&T and T-mobile) have their own music store. T-Mobile USA is pretty far behind in terms of everything other than pricing, and AT&T has taken an uncharacteristically open stance by making sure that their "music handsets" are PlaysForSure compatible, allowing users to load their phones up with tracks from a number of different Online Music Stores such as Napster and Yahoo! Music.
Since neither of the carriers have a vested interest in what music store their devices connect to, I would say that Nokia is readily poised to pitch the N81 to both carriers, albeit with a few changes (the most notable being US 3G). You’ve already read Matt aka Ollywompus’ diatribe on why he thinks Nokia and T-Mobile USA are poised to do great things, and I’m a fan of AT&T myself. While Nokia’s past relationship with AT&T isn’t all that great, I’d think that if they could get the carrier to snag the N81 8GB, it’d fly off the shelves. The only catch is if there is something in AT&T’s contract with Apple that prevents them from carrying such a competitive device.
I certainly hope that Nokia brings this hot little phone across the pond, instead of scrapping it altogether. What do you think?
I agree with your statements regarding the carriers here in the US. They are ready for this! From what I’ve read it doesn’t seem that Nokia is making any demands about their music service being exclusive, after all Vodafone is promoting their own music service AND has agreed to carry the N81.
While the N81 may not seem to be in the best position with regards to some markets and/or carriers, I’m sure Nokia is dedicated to getting there new device off the ground no matter what it takes.
The N81 is supposed to be the resurrection of N-Gage, so it would be crucial to get it into as many hands as possible. I see one of two things happening: either the N81 will be HUGE, and those carriers that have declined to carry it now will change their minds to have a piece of the action, or it will have a slower start than Nokia expected, and Nokia will be the one making some concessions for the good of growth.
Although it’s also possible that I’m being a bit short sighted here, if OVI is Nokia’s ‘wave of future’, they may remain firm about pushing their music service -regardless of how it affects their relationship with carriers for the next few years.
-In which case, the N81 better be really really good or it’s not going to survive this.
I think it could happen… in a MILLION years! I don’t know whats Nokia’s deal with these subpar U.S. carrier offerings and OVERPRICED imports. Die N81, die!
N81 will almost certainly come to the US. I hope a carrier will pick it up. It they don’t, Nokia will sell it through all its new retail channels
Infoweek speculates about the Web 2.0 event (via JAMB):
“Nokia’s “major product announcement” may include a new Web 2.0-enabled smartphone that could rival Apple’s iPhone. Already, Nokia has set itself up for advanced mobile experiences with a feature announced this week that “auto-connects” Nokia users to Wi-Fi hotspots.”
If Nokia went the route they did with the N-95 a.k.a offering a version with US 3G bands, they’d totally be able to move some units.
Telefonica has found a solution by partnering with Nokia on Ovi to provide their services as well as Nokia’s services and other 3rd parties. Seems like a reasonable way to work together. They’ll even cooperate on billing and telefonica subscribers will have customized Telefonica menus. Hopefully other carriers will see the benefit in working together…
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My original post was regarding the N95 8gb, but I think that Ricky’s right and I missed the mark — the N81 makes more sense. Feature to feature it’s a very direct competitor to the iPhone — I’d love to see one stateside with Ovi and the music store.
Nokia could even roll out “branded” versions of Ovi — so for example you log in to Ovi from your T-Mobile N81, and you see a T-Mobile branded Ovi portal… with T-Mobile customer exclusives, etc. It’d still be Ovi, but with a T-Mobile twist. Same for AT&T.
-olly