Fakes film quality in ad
Following Nokia's launch of the new Lumia 920 last week, the company is now struggling to hold its head up in the playground following a marketing faux pas in which it pretended that footage was filmed on the new device, when it was actually shot from a professional camera.
With PureView imaging technology and optical image stabilisation (OIS), The Lumia 920 looks like a good device for mobile picture snappers. However, Nokia is now embroiled in controversy over an advert is has aired, showing footage supposedly filmed using the Lumia 920 from a bouncing bicycle that was actually filmed on a professional camera from a van.<span style='mso-spacerun: yes;'> Tony Cripps, principal analyst, devices and platforms, at research firm, Ovum, stated that the high quality camera on the new Lumia is an interesting point of differentiation for the manufacturer: 'The company's focus on improving the imaging capabilities of its smartphones is a reasonable strategy in an age when meaningful differentiation between different makes of smartphone can be hard to identify. This also applies to the design language of the new Lumia 920, which, while it follows closely that of its predecessor, remains distinctive and not overly familiar as yet.'There could be also a real opportunity here for Nokia and Microsoft to exploit any shortage of Samsung's Android-powered smartphones in the market following the US court ruling against the Korean giant in its patent dispute with Apple, although anything too blatant on that front would seem like a low blow,' Cripps added.
The arrival of Windows Phone 8 is a welcome boon for Nokia and the wider Windows Phone ecosystem, commented David McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. He said: 'With a few new stand-out features in the Lumia 920, such as the impressive screen, PureView, OIS and wireless charging, added to a host of peripherals and Nokia's new class of navigation and mapping services, the device is undoubtedly a desirable, impressive piece of kit.'
McQueen noted: 'The ability now to pack better hardware into the devices gives Nokia and other Windows Phone OEMs the opportunity to level the playing field against the likes of Apple iPhone and the best that Android can offer. However, it is the ability to translate this message at the point of sale and prove its value proposition to the consumer that will determine the success of Nokia's Windows Phone devices and help grow the platform.'
Smart Chimps says: So far on that point, not the best start for the Finnish firm.Cripps added that Windows Phone 8 could do better: 'Despite recent gains, Windows Phone is not yet performing to Ovum's expectations. This is, at least, partially as a consequence of the strength of the opposition, but partly, we think, as a deliberate move by Microsoft and its hardware partners to avoid flooding the market too quickly with the platform before they are in a position to play up its synergies with other Microsoft products, especially Windows 8 for PCs and tablets, and its business applications. The clear benefits to businesses from the ready integration possible across Microsoft's products set will set a benchmark for BYOD strategies focused on out-of-box device capabilities once Microsoft's full range of new platforms is available.'While McQueen continued that overall, the Lumia didn't look too bad: 'Although Nokia's thunder was stolen by Samsung's announcement of the world's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone at IFA, Berlin, the Finnish handset manufacturer has trumped its South Korean rival by announcing not one but two devices on the new platform. The new flagship Lumia 920 looks similar to its predecessor but takes the 9-series up a notch with a larger 4.5 inch PureMotion HD+ display and features a top of the range Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dualcore processor that the WP8 platform can now accommodate. It will also come in pentaband LTE and HSPA+ variants.'As promised by Nokia, its PureView imaging technology has made the transition from its 808 Symbian device to appear on the WP platform for the first time in the 920, albeit with a more modest camera at only 8.7 megapixels (as against the 808 with 41MP). This has been supplemented by improvements in image quality in low light and the impressive OIS, which Nokia deems will provide 'great quality imaging'.'
The Lumia 920's WP8 stablemate is the smaller Lumia 820, which is also available in pentaband LTE and HSPA+ variants with similar hardware as the 920 but with a smaller, OLED WVGA 4.3 inch display and no PureView technology.
Both devices are due in market during the fourth quarter this year.
