The Nokia Lumia 900 is an important device for multiple reasons. While it’s technically not Nokia’s first Windows Phone to launch in America, that honor goes to the Lumia 710 on T-Mobile, the Lumia 900 is being positioned as the “flagship” device for the United States. For AT&T, the Lumia represents the first important exclusive they’ve had in a long time. For as long as anyone can remember, buying an iPhone meant becoming an AT&T customer. That’s no longer the case, and it’s something that makes sleeping at night difficult for America’s second largest operator. Now yes, the Samsung Galaxy Note is proving to be a phenomenal success, and it’s wonderful that it’s an AT&T exclusive, but at 5.3 inches and $300 with a two year contract, it’s definitely not priced to move. The Lumia 900, at $99 and a much more manageable 4.3 inches, is a device that AT&T wants to be the sequel to the iPhone. At least that’s the theory that Ad Age has offered to explain why AT&T is spending roughly $150 million to promote Nokia’s blue monster.
You read that right, $150 million. That’s more money than AT&T spent on launching the iPhone 4. But there’s something that’s not being talked about, something more important, and that’s how much money everyone else is spending. How much is Nokia pouring into their Lumia 900 marketing budget? Is Microsoft throwing some pennies into the pot as well? Are both of those companies waiting for the Q4 2012 launch of Windows Phone 8 to really start a marketing blitz unlike anything we’ve ever seen before?
We understand that Nokia needs to get people familiar with their devices, but we just can’t wrap our heads around why the Finnish handset maker is looking at the Lumia 900 to represent their best work. It isn’t. This author thinks Nokia shouldn’t have even launched the Lumia 900, but the cat is already out of the bag.
[Via: The Verge]
Update: The $150 million figure is bullshit.
