Nokia has been struggling to get traction with its newly acquired smartphone avatar with Microsofts Windows Phone OS. The Finnish manufacturer that ruled the mobile phone market for several years is finding it tough to stay relevant in the smartphone age. Some key launches for Nokia this season are the Windows Phone 8 devices, Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820 (check price) and the Nokia Lumia 620. Priced at Rs 25,200 at launch, the Nokia Lumia 820 does its bit when it comes to competing with the Galaxy S2. It gives a 4.3″ screen, 8MP camera, 720p video recording and a 1.5 GHz processor / 1GB RAM duo to support the device.
However the 820 still costs a good 5k more than the HTC 8S and isn’t the most lucrative smartphone at its current price point. Competing with a generation old Samsung Galaxy SII, the Lumia 820 is losing the mass market price range of below Rs 20,000. Nokia would hope to bring the Lumia 720 and 620 out soon, but fact remains, the 820 is a good device and it can do better with a better pricing. Somewhere around Rs 22,000 where the N8 sold maximum, the Lumia 820 would have hit a better target market.
The HTC 8S may not be as powerful as the Nokia Lumia 820, but it knows that a bit cheaper would sell In India. It retails for under Rs 19,000. That’s a major advantage. The 8S would be compared to the 820, with a bit extra RAM, Processor and a better camera, the Lumia 820 might well want to sell itself as a heavy weight (it sure is with almost 50 gms more than the 8S), but would it sell the numbers that Nokia needs? Windows phone 8 and Nokia both need a good user base to adopt the new OS and that demands that Nokia takes a bit of pinch and prices its latest devices a bit cheaper. The 820 may well see a price cut in coming months and we would hope that isn’t too late.