Nokia: iPhone Is Unfashionable, Android Confusing
Nokia has dismissed the iPhone as so ubiquitous as to be unfashionable while Android is too complex and too insecure, and hopes to persuade young people that its Windows Phones "are different" from a sea of touchscreen slabs. "Youth are pretty much fed up with iPhones" Niels Munksgaard, director of Portfolio, Product Marketing & Sales at Nokia Entertainment Global told Pocket-lint, "everyone has the iPhone." In contrast, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform and Nokia smartphones have been a relatively rare sight among the general public, something Munksgaard obviously believes will play into the two companies' advantage when it comes to perceived uniqueness.
"What we see is that youth are pretty much fed up with iPhones. Everyone has the iPhone. Also, many are not happy with the complexity of Android and the lack of security. So we do increasing see that the youth that wants to be on the cutting edge and try something new are turning to the Windows phone platform" Niels Munksgaard, Nokia
Apple and Google may sneer that their rivals "uniqueness" is in fact just a sign of minimal sales, but Munksgaard predicts the time is right for a change. Part of the "different" approach is services like Nokia Music and Nokia Drive, offering free streaming radio and turn-by-turn navigation respectively, though there's talk of other exclusive services in the pipeline.
"The marketplace is extremely crowded. I refer to it as the sea of sameness. When you walk up to a retail shelf at Phones4U and see the number of black mono-blocks sitting on the shelf, it is very confusing to the consumer. We want to deliver services and phones that are different" Niels Munksgaard, Nokia
As for aesthetic interest, Nokia is probably on the right track with the Lumia 800 – which we reviewed here - with its relatively distinctive milled polycarbonate casing. However the company's more affordable model, the Lumia 710, has a far more mundane design, and it's unclear which way Nokia will go with its third Windows Phone.