There’s Nothing Called An iPhone-killer

After the “iPod-killer”, now come the “iPhone-killers”. But just as no music player has been able to even challenge iPod’s numero uno position, similarly it seems highly unlikely that any phone with features comparable to the iPhone could compete head-to-head with Apple’s new creation.

Some of the handsets that are being seen as strong competitors to the iPhone & why they lag behind iPhone:

NOKIA N95

• Runs on Symbian OS 9.2 (latest) which is the most virus-prone OS in any handset.
• Nokia has so far failed to do any wonders with its Multimedia packed N-Series.
• In the last 4-5 years (since the launch of MotoRazr) Nokia could never produce a phone to challenge the mighty Razr.
• The phone, although packed with great features, isn’t cheap.
• A low internal memory (160MB) compared to iPhone.
• Its smart phone like features could keep it away from the hands of the average users.
• Nokia has never made a “beautiful” phone. Its handset designs are very traditional and Nokia hardly experiments (barring the new sleek 6300).

LG PRADA

• It lacks an operating system.
• Low internal memory which could result in frequent hanging of the phone.
• LG is not a brand as big as Apple or Nokia; most people would prefer market leaders to LG.

HTC TOUCH

• HTC, like Apple, is new company in the handset market but Apple is still light years ahead in terms of brand recognition & reliability.
• Still this phone comes closest to challenging the iPhone.
• It has Windows Mobile Edition 6, an in-built processor.

SAMSUNG UPSTAGE

• Revolutionary design but it still can’t be compared to the looks that iPhone has.
• Although Samsung is the world’s No.3 in handset market, it has so far failed to match the big players (Nokia & Motorola).
• Samsung hasn’t yet produced a phone that could that the world by storm.

Not that iPhone is perfect.

• It lacks 3G connectivity.
• Has a modest 2-megapixel camera, which could have been (and should have been) better.
• People have their doubt about the durability of the large touch screen.
• It lacks features like Visual Radio etc.

But it has some features which could attract customers in large numbers.

• It has the impressive Mac OS X. Well that you cannot find in any other phone.
• People certainly want to try Mac & iPhone gives them a relatively cheaper option for the ultimate OS transition.
• The looks of the iPhone are simply great.
• Has a huge internal memory of 4 to 8 GB.
• And last but certainly not the least it’s an iPod.

iPhone certainly has its shortfalls but the world has still to witness the birth of an iPhone-killer.

Marketing Strategy: Nokia Still Not Learning

Nokia maybe the world leader in the mobile phones arena but it seems as if it has completely lost its way as far as the marketing strategies are concerned. No doubt that that the products from the Finnish company are some of the very best in the world, but the company still hasn’t found a profitable way to market its goods. The very reason that other mobile phone companies are fast eating up Nokia’s market share is their superior (yet simple) marketing practices.

Motorola and Samsung must now be in the FUW list (frequently used words) in Nokia’s Board meetings. These companies have made Nokia pay dearly for its rudiment approach towards marketing its phones. The aggressive marketing practices followed by Motorola have hit Nokia very hard in that it’s losing very crucial global market share every month to its American competitor.

Nokia, quite alarmed by the dropping sales of its phones, is now putting all its weight behind the N-Series range. The N-Series is packed with multimedia features and Nokia believes that these phones might woo the costumers back to the big daddy of the mobile phone world. But Espoo we have a problem!! (Nokia is headquartered at Espoo, Finland).

While Motorola (quite intelligently) gives a dashy-flashy name to every phone it brings to the market, Nokia tends to do the exact opposite. Nokia from the very start has relied on numbers rather than names. This strategy worked very well but only because there wasn’t much competition back then. But times have changed; every month sees at least a dozen new handsets from an equal numbers of manufacturers. Consumers now have more than they can choose.

Consumers are more attracted towards names because that way they can easily relate to the features of the phone. This is evident from the success of the MotoRazr, MotoSlvr, MotoRizr and MotoKrzr. These phones are not packed with heavy multimedia features like N-Series but they still are selling like hot chocolate cakes. Just by reading the name of the handset one gets a broad idea about what the phone looks like or what are its features.

Nokia advertises more than Motorola does but still its market share is dropping. Motorola does not need to spend much money for the promotion of its products, it doesn’t have to worry about the marketing of these phones; it just simplifies its job by naming its products right. Take the example of Apple, didn’t have to do much to promote its iPhone. Thanks to the leaked photos & technical specs, it became the most anticipated gadget of all time.

It’s high time that Nokia starts applying some sense to its marketing strategies. It doesn’t have to do anything great, just name its phones. A few months ago, a highly placed Nokia official told Reuters that his company would soon go the Motorola way and would start using names for its new phones. It’s in Nokia’s best interest that it takes to that path as early as possible otherwise the once market leader might see its market share plummeting to even lower depths.

iPhone: Call It The "Nokia-Killer"

With the entry of the new Apple phone in the market, it is almost certain that the market share of Nokia will slide further. The much-awaited Apple phone is packed with features that Nokia couldn’t provide even in its high-end multimedia packed N-Series. And with analysts forecasting that more & more users will switch to the Mac OS in 2007, it seems that Steve Jobs is ready to make history again as he did with the iPod.

The phone has awesome features. A large screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, a 2-megapixel camera, direct calling through Google Earth, a Safari mobile web browser, sizeable internal memory and it’s also an iPod. The market leader, Nokia, could not give the consumers these features. Although Nokia has been on the top for such a long time, it still hasn’t produced a ‘complete phone’. Apple, on the other hand, has hit the nail in first go.

Nokia released a battery of phones in its N-Series segment but it simply failed in efficient marketing and promotion of their product. Apple’s new phone gained popularity merely on the basis of rumors and false images of the phone which flooded the internet, the employees of the marketing & promotions departments at Apple didn’t have much of a job to do.

Apple’s phone is arguably the world’s most awaited techno product as it even left behind last years superhits, Play Station 3 and Nintendo Wii. Nokia, which is still trying to work out a way to match the amazing MotoRazr, will now be completely overwhelmed by Apple’s new jewel. Now that’s called a “Nokia-Killer”.