For many people considering the purchase of a Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) smartphone the downside is singular, the Windows operating system. Those who use applications on a regular basis know that Windows doesn’t provide enough and askew the OS altogether. This is, however, not necessarily the case in the U.K. comparatively. While only 5 percent of smartphone users choose the Windows OS, that number is doubled in the U.K. And now, Nokia is offering new purchasers of their phones a free year of Netflix in the hopes of building on this 10 percent.
Nokia has struck a deal to give away free subscriptions to Netflix, the online film service, to buyers of its latest smartphone through some vendors in the U.K.
We’ve extensively reviewed the Lumia 1020 here at ValueWalk and have made the same determination as other reviewers, the camera is shockingly good. Now, apparently, Nokia is not interested in simply resting on its laurels as it waits for the sale of its handset division to Microsoft to go through.
Nokia has run deals selling content alongside its phones
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has run deals selling content alongside its phones in the past with mixed results. An executive at one operator pointed to an ineffective deal a few years ago that offered a free download service for music.
Customers of Vodafone Group Plc (NASDAQ:VOD) (LON:VOD) will be given an annual subscription to Netflix, with the bulk of the funding being provided by Nokia rather than Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). Phones4U is offering six months of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) on its range of Nokia Windows smartphones, including the Lumia 625, 925 and 1020.
Nokia will launch its largest ever marketing campaign
It’s widely anticipated that Nokia will launch its largest ever marketing campaign in support of the Lumia 1020 leading up to Christmas. This includes a trade-in deal which allows customers to trade in their digital cameras for a discount on the 1020.
The advertising for this Christmas marketing campaign will be subsidized by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as well as U.K. operators and retailers.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s willingness to help in the marketing campaign comes before its shareholders have approved the purchase of Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V), which it made an offer for in the early summer this year.
Netflix is being packaged with the Lumia 625
The U.K. is not the only place that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has paired with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). In Finland, a six month subscription to Netflix is being packaged with the Lumia 625 for customers of Gigantti as part of a Facebook campaign.
The Nokia line for the year is far from complete. The Finnish company is expected to unveil a number of new products on October 22 in Abu Dhabi. These will include the company’s first “phablet” as well as its first tablets. It’s also expected that additional lower-cost smartphones will be launched at the event.
While the U.K. has seemingly embraced Windows phones, the iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S4 are the top two sellers in the mobile new contract market.
