Finnish mobile giant Nokia has declared war on the US smartphone market, as it launches two new phones to take on the likes of Apple and Android.
The Nokia Lumia 900 was on display at CES 2012 this week, with Nokia saying the new device will be key to its assault on the US smartphone market.
The Lumia 900 and the Lumia 710, both running the Windows Phone OS, will go on sale in the US in the next couple of months, in a two-fold strategy.
Nokia Lumia 710
The Lumia 710, a cheaper version of the Lumia 800, will go on sale at the lower end of the market, as Nokia aim to appeal to the 150 million Americans who do not currently own a smartphone.
The Lumia 900, on the other hand, is a state-of-the-art device with a 4.3 inch screen and 1.4GHz processor. This one will be aimed at the opposite end of the market, as Nokia try to take some sales off Apple and Android.
The Lumia 710 will be available with carrier T-Mobile, for a reported $49.99 – a very attractive price for a first-time smartphone buyer. And the Lumia 900 will be launched exclusively on AT&T’s network, but no price or specific release date has been given.
War on Apple and Android
The Finnish company still holds the title of highest-volume mobile phone manufacturer worldwide, but has been virtually non-existent in the US smartphone market.
But all that looks set to change as Nokia, together with Microsoft, is rumoured to have a marketing budget of between $100 and £200 million.
This bumper figure will be used for a combination of advertising, marketing and incentive payments for retail staff who sell one of the phones.
No sales figures for Europe and the UK have been released yet, so we’re not too sure how well the Lumia 800 is doing. But Nokia has said it has built up a ‘beachhead’ in Europe and is now ready for an all-out war in the States.
