“A week ahead of Apple’s widely expected unveiling of the iPhone 5, Nokia and Motorola are each launching their latest smartphones today,” Aaron Task reports for Yahoo Finance. “At separate events in New York, both handset makers will try to make a splash and steal some thunder from Apple ahead of the iPhone 5.”
“It’s a bold strategy but one destined to fail, according to Brian White, managing director of tech research at Topeka Capital Markets,” Task reports. “‘I think it’s a big mistake,’ White says of the strategy of trying to front-run the iPhone. ‘For a lot of these companies it’s a Hail Mary [pass]. One last chance to put out a blockbuster and compete against the iPhone.'”
Task reports, “The bottom line, White says, is the Nokia and Motorola brands have ‘deteriorated significantly’ and it’s going to be nearly impossible for them to steal mind share — much less market share — from Apple. ‘When’s the worst time to launch a smartphone?’ he asks rhetorically. ‘When Apple does.'”
Read more in the full article here.
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“‘When’s the worst time to launch a smartphone?’ he asks rhetorically. ‘When Apple does.’”
I’m amazed that these business executives don’t see this. It is plainly obvious to everyone else.
All the more dubious a tactic since Apple only updates the the iPhone once a year.
There are 11 other months they could have done it in. Like Scamdung, with their new model of the week approach.
a lowly intern has more business acumen than the losers at Nokia and Motorola.
The amount of influence Apple has got these days is staggering. Apple has got both Google and Microsoft by the tail.
If Tim says ‘dance’ you can bet monkey boy will get up and do it.
Just seen it on the UK news.
On the news they said that it’s Nokias last hope, if this new phone fails to sell Nokia is finished.
In the news they interviewed young people and they all said that Nokia isn’t an important brand for them and they won’t consider buying a Nokia phone.
This is a senario whereby Nokia as a mobile phone brand is now totally irrellevent as a consumer brand amongst the largest mobile phone market.
Nokia is finished.
They dropped the ball just like Sony did after the Walkman, and we all know which company took that crown.
Just wait and see what happens after the so called iphone 5.
iphone 5 has same old boring design with bigger screen.
I will buy Lumia 920 with WP8. 😉
If you’re that stupid, you deserve to have to fusk with Windows 8 Phone.
Agree.
What you should be thinking when considering buying a new mobile phone is the user experience and how quickly and easy it is to do things on it.
You wanna know the secret why the iPhone is the best ever selling phone?
It’s pretty simple. Best user experience.
“You wanna know the secret why the iPhone is the best ever selling phone?”
It’s not the best ever selling phone. That title goes to the Nokia 1100.
Reactionary executives.
You are in the board meeting, the question comes up – “Apple is coming out with the iPhone 5, what do we do to counter that?”
Then they all look to you. You have no choice but to say,
“We have a new phone that will knock your socks off, we’ll move up our launch date to come out a week before Apple.
You will be out of a job if you say, “We’ll launch our phone when it is good and ready. Our best strategy is to wait, we are just going to have to live with single digit market share.”
If you look at all the main competitors (Samsung, Nokia, Google, Microsoft etc) EVERY single one of them is making the most basic and biggest mistake.
And that mistake is that they are copying Apple and trying to BE Apple.
This strategy is fatal for any business. This is such a basic business mistake its totally laughable.
All these idiots are doing is making more money for Apple!
I run my own company and have competitors, the very last thing I want to do with my business is bring out products that look like my main competitors. It would finish my business.
Then they spout the rubbish that “Apple is restricting consumer choice”. That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard.
How can a Company that creates amazing products restrict consumer choice?? It can’t.
Now lets translate that statement by Samsung into English. What Samsung mean by that statement was “We have no ideas at all how to design and create products that are as great as Apple’s. So what we want to do is blatantly copy Apple and trick the consumer into thinking our devices are an Apple product so that we can ride they’re gravy train of innovation and unique thinking”.
IF these massive brands want to compete with Apple, then DON’T TRY TO BE APPLE!
Be original, create your own product that looks NOTHING like an iPhone or an iPad, maybe then Samsung et al would start actually selling products off their own back.
I am gobsmacked how stupid large companies have become. Now wonder they’re all on the verge of going down the toilet and closing down.
Basic stuff, from a small business owner that is making a hell of a lot of money in the worse recession in modern history.
Pete Burrows
MD @ SO we create
I basically agree with you, but the fact remains that a LOT of people buy Samsung’s phone (especially the Galaxy IIIS). Yes, the rest are worthless, but the IIIS seems to be doing quite well (despite or because of it being so similar to the iPhone). A friend just bought one and he loves it (of course, he’s a techy, so that’s not surprising). But I see a LOT of “normal” people with that phone. They’re not returning them in droves (unlike, for example, the Zune). Time will tell and I hope the iPhone 5 will blow everyone out of the water. But the Samsung is often cheaper (both in $ and quality), so that might be its market.