Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) recently came up with the new versions of its flagship, Nokia Lumia 920 and 820, powered by Windows Phone 8. The new devices are strategically priced at $99 (included is a free wireless charger) and $49 at AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) with 2 year agreement. The report from Citi believes that pricing and features of the devices are ‘attractive’.
The report from Citi, after performing several checks in Europe and North America, found that the devices have not been launched in India and Asia. In US, the latest versions are available with AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), and from next week Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) will also offer the devices. As of now, Verizon and independent retailers have not been supplied with the devices, which are expected to be available by next week. The report reveals that the devices have got a good response, and “were sold out” at several stores. Upon investigating further, it was found that most of stores have received few devices, “Upon further investigation we discovered most stores only received very limited quantities (less than 20 units) so the ADR outs need to be kept in light of limited supplies”.
Apart from the low availability, report claims ‘marketing/signage’ was also disappointing at all carrier locations, however, the staff at the stores were well trained on the device. Commenting on the availability of the devices, report says “It appears Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) will have launched its new phones in plenty of time for Black Friday”.
The new devices have a ‘beautiful’ display of 4.5 inch 1290 x 768 or 332ppi resolution versus HTC at 4.3 inch display 1280 x 720 or 342ppi versus iPhone 5 4 inches 1136 x 640 or 326ppi. Apart from the display, “Windows Phone 8 operating system was very responsive” and “various color options (white, black, red, cyan, yellow) are enticing”. Despite these advantages, Nokia phones are bulkier than their counterparts (Nokia at 6.5 ounces vs. HTC Windows 8x at 4.6 ounces v.s. iPhone 5 3.95 ounces) also they have relatively fewer apps, 14,186 versus iPhone 700,000 and Android 377,394 and Blackberry 154,367.
Apart from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung and HTC, analyst believe Microsoft will “one day become a rival to Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) if it launches its own smartphones”, despite this Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) announced that there will be no change in the relationship with its software partner Microsoft.
Citi reiterate its neutral rating on the Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK)’s ADRs at a target price of $2.77, saying “overly negative investor sentiment on Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) ADRs and the view that the Nokia Lumia 920/820 phones could be dead on arrival, we believe our initial checks are much more positive than expected. However, a few days of initial sales does not mean the phone is a “Gangnam Style” hit”.
