2013 promises to be an action-packed year for smartphones, as the world’s communication technology giants gear up for some tough competition. Nokia seems to have come fully equipped, determined to get back at least a part of its past glory. Among its many aggressive moves is the decision to price its new Lumia 620 at 20% less than the nearest competition – the HTC 8S. Both these phones have very similar specifications, with the cheaper Lumia actually outperforming HTC in some areas.
Lumia is Nokia’s big bet in the mid-range smartphone market – a market that the Finnish phone company dominated in the mid-2000s. The phone’s latest model, Lumia 620, was just rolled out in Asia and is expected to make its Europe debut within a few weeks. The timing of this release is impeccable as it comes ahead of RIM, Samsung and LG. RIM’s new line of affordable Blackberry phones, priced at $300 and less, is not expected until the summer. Samsung and LG, also Windows 8 Phone partners, will probably present their mid-price phones in autumn. Apple was rumored to have plans to enter this market with a cheap iPhone in September, but company representatives have denied those plans.
So what do you give up for the lower price? Nothing really. The phone supersedes HTC’s 8S with a dual camera that supports video calling and self-portrait, double the internal memory, NFC support, dual band Wi-Fi and noise cancellation for radio/music. The screen is slightly smaller compared to that of the 8S, at 3.8 inches v. 4. The display resolution is the same in both phones, and Lumia 620 wins in terms of pixel density. After accounting for these differences, the 620 clearly comes across as the more worthwhile product. In both Malaysia and Thailand, the phone is about $70 cheaper than its Taiwanese competitor.
Over the years, Asia has been the main market for Nokia and Asian behavior has deeply affected its worldwide results. The company has been taking some strong steps this year, but it needs to really deliver an outstanding product if it hopes to return back to the 70% market share position. A lot of hopes are pegged on the Lumia 620, so watching its performance for the next two months will bring more clarity on the future of the one-time world leader in cheaper smartphones. Pre-results from Q4 of 2012 do show some upwards movement. The challenge for Nokia lies in sustaining and enhancing it.
