Telefónica, one of the world’s largest operators, better known as O2 in some territories, doesn’t have too many nice things to say about Nokia’s first Windows Phones. The Lumia 710 and Lumia 800, which were introduced at Nokia World last month, are “too expensive” according to Simon Lee-Smith, European General Manager for Devices. He feels that Nokia, along with most other device makers, are living in some strange distorted version of reality where “a €400-plus device is the norm”. We know that isn’t the case. If it was then we wouldn’t be covering the astonishing success story that is Huwaei on a near weekly basis. They make quality midrange Android smartphones that come in at less than 200 Euros, and if you’re willing to go with something a bit more finicky, they’ve also got a model that retails for less than 100 Euros. Now yes, if you’re reading this article then chances are you own a smartphone that on the open market would fetch more than 500 Euros, and that includes you Americans who think your smartphone is “only” $199 when in fact it’s closer to $700, but even then most people can’t afford that. Should they be left out of the mobile revolution? Absolutely not.
Earlier today we reported on an announcement from ARM, a British company that designs CPUs and GPUs that they then license to companies like Apple, Samsung, Texas Instruments, etc., to build system on chips with. They talked about a new high end GPU that they’ll introduce in 2013, which frankly doesn’t concern anyone right now, but they did provide a graphic (above) showing where they think the premium, midrange, and entry level smartphone market will go between now and 2016. According to them you’ll be able to classify something as powerful as a Samsung Galaxy S II, the most advanced Android smartphone you can buy from a shop right now, as “entry level” in just over 2 years.
If that isn’t astonishing, we don’t know what is.