FARK.com: (7217588) For each $49 Nokia Lumia, AT&T has spent $450 in advertising to try to convince people to buy one

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		For each $49 Nokia Lumia, AT&T has spent $450 in advertising to try to convince people to buy one (theregister.co.uk)		52
		More: Fail, Nokia, Bernstein Research, opportunity costs, OS/2, Windows Phones, Horace Dediu, brand loyalty, advertisements

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3471 clicks; posted to Geek » on 17 Jul 2012 at 1:40 PM | Favorite | share:

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unlikely		2012-07-17 11:23:51 AM

Mmmmmm, GSM phone. Very shiny high tech GSM phone.

It's like they're trying to sell ultra-high-tech CRT televisions or extremely advanced flint spearheads...

colinspooky		2012-07-17 11:42:07 AM

Are they really that price?

colinspooky		2012-07-17 11:45:33 AM

Just had a quick UK check - they are all over £100 and some are many hundreds. I would recommend some farkers in the USA buy up the remaining stock at $49 and sell them all in the UK for a monster profit.

Aarontology		2012-07-17 12:04:18 PM

A lot times when it comes to things like that it's just as much about making sure the competition doesn't get to advertise their products as it is about getting people to buy your own.

ThatGuyGreg		2012-07-17 12:55:28 PM

colinspooky: Are they really that price?

With a two year contract, where AT&T gets that $450 back and a bunch more.

Honest Bender		2012-07-17 01:43:17 PM

And for each $49 Kokia Lumia phone, how much will ATT make on the monthly cell phone bill? Probably a lot more than $400, failmitter.

Icetech3		2012-07-17 01:52:54 PM

I want one.... but i will never go back to at&t.. i had a iphone with them for 1.5 year.. never had a single phone call last over 2 minutes, it was crazy.. also sold the iphone.. was a great day! Go android! and cm10!

Shaylen		2012-07-17 01:59:06 PM

I got one and its a pretty nice phone. I didn't know it was being sold for 50 bucks though.

This is the video that convinced me to get it.
Nokia Lumia Screen 900 Hammer Test (pops)

Sure there's some things that aren't available on my phone that are on other phones. But for a 50 buck upgrade from an old Motorola Razr to a smartphone I can't complain.

adenosine		2012-07-17 02:00:01 PM

unlikely: Mmmmmm, GSM phone. Very shiny high tech GSM phone.

It's like they're trying to sell ultra-high-tech CRT televisions or extremely advanced flint spearheads...

It has a GSM radio, also a UMTS radio, and an LTE radio. Precisely what magical radio communication technology is going to be far superior to those?

If you're going to pick on the phone for having obsolete hardware, you could at least point out the dismal screen resolution that Windows Phone 7 requires.

Shaylen		2012-07-17 02:00:18 PM

I did end up getting it for 50 though. Note to self, always go with the legit AT&T stores, not the "Authorized Dealers"

tbhouston		2012-07-17 02:05:12 PM

ATT is a service provider...you pay them for service...all these fail replies is starting to rustle my jimmies1!!!

squidgod2000		2012-07-17 02:05:15 PM

Shaylen: I got one and its a pretty nice phone. I didn't know it was being sold for 50 bucks though.

This is the video that convinced me to get it.
Nokia Lumia Screen 900 Hammer Test (pops)

Sure there's some things that aren't available on my phone that are on other phones. But for a 50 buck upgrade from an old Motorola Razr to a smartphone I can't complain.

Except for the hammer video thing, that's exactly the same post I was gonna make.

Man On Fire		2012-07-17 02:06:19 PM

The money is in service contracts. not hardware.

StoPPeRmobile		2012-07-17 02:19:36 PM

Icetech3: I want one.... but i will never go back to at&t.. i had a iphone with them for 1.5 year.. never had a single phone call last over 2 minutes, it was crazy.. also sold the iphone.. was a great day! Go android! and cm10!

Wow. I never had a phone that didn't work properly for more than a week. You sound like a sucker.

sab6300		2012-07-17 02:38:18 PM

The tv ad wasn't very effective. I saw it over 100 times before I knew what phone was being advertised. "Megan Landry" was too distracting .

Reyvacs		2012-07-17 02:40:09 PM

93 per cent of Lumia 900 owners say they would recommend them to their friends and 85 per cent would make a repeat purchase

In other news, 8% of Nokia Lumia owners are dick friends.

Marine1		2012-07-17 02:40:59 PM

Man On Fire: The money is in service contracts. not hardware.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

That being said, don't get one of those phones unless you're just dying to have an inexpensive, quality LTE handset on AT&T today, upgrades be damned. It'll only get to run 7.8, and the Windows Phone 8 devices that are going to be released this fall will blow it out of the water.

/It'll be interesting to see if WP8 ROMs make their way to the old devices.

TIKIMAN87		2012-07-17 02:45:16 PM

Just like the ratio of tax payers to government hand out takers....

Shaylen		2012-07-17 02:50:47 PM

Marine1: Man On Fire: The money is in service contracts. not hardware.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

That being said, don't get one of those phones unless you're just dying to have an inexpensive, quality LTE handset on AT&T today, upgrades be damned. It'll only get to run 7.8, and the Windows Phone 8 devices that are going to be released this fall will blow it out of the water.

/It'll be interesting to see if WP8 ROMs make their way to the old devices.

If i remember correctly existing windows phone 7 users will not be getting upgraded to 8. Those of us who have a Windows Phone already get the 7.8 update. The main feature I want is the updated start screen which is included in 7.8. it'll be nice to actually be able to organize the live tiles a little bit better.

Shaylen		2012-07-17 02:52:40 PM

Shaylen: Marine1: Man On Fire: The money is in service contracts. not hardware.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

That being said, don't get one of those phones unless you're just dying to have an inexpensive, quality LTE handset on AT&T today, upgrades be damned. It'll only get to run 7.8, and the Windows Phone 8 devices that are going to be released this fall will blow it out of the water.

/It'll be interesting to see if WP8 ROMs make their way to the old devices.

If i remember correctly existing windows phone 7 users will not be getting upgraded to 8. Those of us who have a Windows Phone already get the 7.8 update. The main feature I want is the updated start screen which is included in 7.8. it'll be nice to actually be able to organize the live tiles a little bit better.

And I just realized I reiterrated your post Marine1. I think its time for me to go home and take a nap.

bukketmaster		2012-07-17 02:59:15 PM

AT & T needs to remember that people who were on the receiving end of their craptastic customer service aren't going to be swayed by advertising.

We know what the reality is, spending money to feed us bulls**t won't change that.

CmndrFish		2012-07-17 03:38:31 PM

Marine1:
/It'll be interesting to see if WP8 ROMs make their way to the old devices.

Doubtful I think. WP7 phones really aren't that powerful. They don't need to be, because WP7 is pretty lightweight compared to Android. My launch model Samsung Focus only has a 1ghz Snapdragon and 512mb of RAM. The Lumia 900 has a 1.4ghz Scorpion with 512mb of RAM.

Compare this to, say, a Galaxy S3, which has a dual core 1.5ghz Krait and 2gb of RAM? That's probably going to be closer to what's required for WP8.

Thankfully my phone will be ready for replacement around the time that Samsung (hopefully) drops a shiny AMOLED WP8 device. I kind of feel bad for all of the people that are just now buying WP7 devices, though.

realmolo		2012-07-17 04:09:54 PM

CmndrFish: I kind of feel bad for all of the people that are just now buying WP7 devices, though.

Well, you could buy one box of sympathy cards at the "Dollar Tree" and send one to EVERY WP7 user.

/still haven't actually seen a Windows Phone 7 in person. Which is funny, because my department at work handles all company-provided cell phones. We purchase them, troubleshoot them, upgrade them, everything. We've got about 200 phones on the company plan. And not ONE of them is a Windows Phone. No one has EVER asked for one of those.

Fear the Clam		2012-07-17 04:21:41 PM

Whoa. Buy one and maybe Megen Landry will do you.

/No, she won't.

Kyro		2012-07-17 04:30:11 PM

TIKIMAN87: Just like the ratio of tax payers to government hand out takers....

Does crazy feel as good as I imagine?

cmunic8r99		2012-07-17 04:37:40 PM

Nokia is entitled to point to excellent customer satisfaction ratings from Lumia owners. 93 per cent of Lumia 900 owners say they would recommend them to their friends and 85 per cent would make a repeat purchase, according to Nielsen. But there may be other explanations for this: the fanatical tribal brand loyalty exhibited when choosing an "outsider" brand, for example. Less charitably called Stockholm syndrome.

I wonder how they would describe the fanatical tribal brand loyalty exhibited when choosing an "insider" brand device, like the iPhone.

Fun Dumpster		2012-07-17 04:39:13 PM

I have one. I moved off of an iPhone 4 recently and have been quite happy with it. The OS is smooth, I have most of the apps I used previously on Android and iOS, and there are some nice touches that blend the things I liked about iOS and Android OS. I wish the old Windows Mobile phones weren't such huge piles of shiat. I think there are a lot of people who would really like this or other WP7 phones who have immediately dismissed it because of bad experiences with Windows Mobile crap.

But blah blah blah it's not iPhone blah blah blah it's not Android so it sucks, or whatever current thinking is for phones.

Tax Boy		2012-07-17 04:52:33 PM

While windows mobile looks somewhat appealing (I know... right?), the lack of google voice integration or even an app is a deal killer for me.

lewismarktwo		2012-07-17 05:03:25 PM

There's a similar problem with drug companies and your prescription medicine.

Maul555		2012-07-17 05:13:58 PM

I have not heard of this phone.... however for $450 i would be glad to accept its existence.

hej		2012-07-17 05:25:03 PM

colinspooky: Are they really that price?

On a 2-year contract, yes. Off contract, they're about $600. I'm pretty sure Microsoft is chipping in on the subsidy/promotion of the phone.

Marine1		2012-07-17 05:25:06 PM

CmndrFish: Marine1:
/It'll be interesting to see if WP8 ROMs make their way to the old devices.

Doubtful I think. WP7 phones really aren't that powerful. They don't need to be, because WP7 is pretty lightweight compared to Android. My launch model Samsung Focus only has a 1ghz Snapdragon and 512mb of RAM. The Lumia 900 has a 1.4ghz Scorpion with 512mb of RAM.

Compare this to, say, a Galaxy S3, which has a dual core 1.5ghz Krait and 2gb of RAM? That's probably going to be closer to what's required for WP8.

Thankfully my phone will be ready for replacement around the time that Samsung (hopefully) drops a shiny AMOLED WP8 device. I kind of feel bad for all of the people that are just now buying WP7 devices, though.

Eh, you'd think so, but according to reports on Experiment 19, Microsoft was able to get NT running better on ARM processors than CE, the heart of WP7.5.

Of course, the other stuff that they're throwing in means you'd want the newer phones anyways, if you're in the position to buy one.

OnlyM3		2012-07-17 05:28:53 PM

So failmitter and the writer both failed "Exploring Economics" in 7th grade.

fusillade762		2012-07-17 05:51:45 PM

ThatGuyGreg: colinspooky: Are they really that price?

With a two year contract, where AT&T gets that $450 back and a bunch more.

Yeah, this. Plenty of cell phones are sold at a loss because they make it up in the contracts. This is not a new practice, at least in the US.

BraveNewCheneyWorld		2012-07-17 06:06:09 PM

ThatGuyGreg: colinspooky: Are they really that price?

With a two year contract, where AT&T gets that $450 back and a bunch more.

How do people not realize this.. the contract guarantees profit in it's entirety, or with early termination fees.

madgonad		2012-07-17 06:16:23 PM

BraveNewCheneyWorld: ThatGuyGreg: colinspooky: Are they really that price?

With a two year contract, where AT&T gets that $450 back and a bunch more.

How do people not realize this.. the contract guarantees profit in it's entirety, or with early termination fees.

Not necessarily, while AT&T and Verizon do very well, Sprint has lost a couple/few billion dollars every year for the last 6-7 years. Running a network and leasing spectrum is really expensive.

MrEricSir		2012-07-17 06:28:04 PM

I see The Register is maintaining their reputation as the National Enquirer of tech blogs.

ThatBillmanGuy		2012-07-17 06:29:11 PM

I got my Nokia Lumia from T-Mobile. Its only a 710 and it cost me about $50 as well, but it's definately the best phone I've ever had. I love the Windows Phone OS. And while I can't get fancy live wallpaper, it makes it up by being incredibly stable and the internet is the internet with animated gifs and all. But that's just me. I'm still waiting for some apps to catch up, like game emulators that don't exist for it yet.

PluckYew		2012-07-17 06:50:01 PM

xenomorpheus		2012-07-17 06:57:40 PM

Have a HTC Titan after I got rid of my old 6.1 Touch Pro and it is powerful and smooth, battery life is OK but I do find myself using it way more than my older phone so I don't expect it to last all day with heavy usage.

I got two of them (free with 2-yr rape contract) at the beginning of December. After a few months of severe "Why didn't you give me an iPhone? My friends have iPhones! I HATE You! You have a small #(@*! Waa Waa Waa" crap from my wife she has found herself to be an advocate for the platform and is addicted to it even though the piddly BS apps she wanted weren't available. Prior to this phone she had an LG Lotus so it wasn't like she had to readjust from iPoop and I will never allow iTunes on any system in my network. She has dropped her phone countless times(total klutz) but nary a scratch on the screen - gotta love Gorilla Glass! It also takes great photos second only to my EOS 60D(I know apples-oranges etc..) and the 4.7" screen is sufficient for her blurry eyes. She has "misplaced" it a few times and the integrated remote location and lock service through Live has come in handy.

If you are a hardware developer and need to find a perfect test subject for worst-case real world device usage - give it to her. The Titan is still going strong even though it's been dropped from her bra constantly, top of the car, taken a dunk or two in the shiatter, rained on, stepped on, temporarily lost, and probably more things than she confessed she did to it.

I have yet to unlock mine for dev work, but I may as well just concentrate on multi-core Win8 development in VSC# for a few custom system monitoring apps on both the tablet and phone. Then port over to droid and ios if I need to.

LasersHurt		2012-07-17 08:00:14 PM

Unless you absolutely have to get the phone right now, wait and pick up a Windows Phone 8 device later this year.

londos		2012-07-17 08:15:24 PM

It's too bad. I thought the 900 looked great. I wasn't too far off from buying one either, before they made the Window8/no upgrades announcement. I'm obviously going to wait now. They really played that wrong. That being said, if a Window8 phone comes out as nice as the 900, I'm probably on board.

Electrify		2012-07-17 09:44:45 PM

unlikely: Mmmmmm, GSM phone. Very shiny high tech GSM phone.

It's like they're trying to sell ultra-high-tech CRT televisions or extremely advanced flint spearheads...

GSM is the future. The rest of the world is either on GSM or is converting to it from CDMA. The only reason it hasn't been adapted in the US is because AT&T has provided a piss poor service for their GSM network compared to Verizon's CDMA. That said, with the rise of LTE which is a GSM technology being adopted by all carriers, it is very likely that GSM will be the standard in the US as well by the end of the decade.

/surprised that more people haven't chewed you up over your ignorance

fatalvenom		2012-07-17 11:04:47 PM

Meh...I enjoy my rooted Galaxy Nexus. Jelly Bean and an optional SIII ROM works well.

Win and iOS nerds are quite funny.

cuzsis		2012-07-18 03:17:31 AM

NO ONE GIVES A SHIAT WHAT MEGAN LANDRY THINKS OF YOUR PHONE!

YOU ARE farkING MORON FOR TRYING TO IMPRESS A GIRL WITH A CELLPHONE!

/was anyone else really farking annoyed at those ads, or was it just me?

Fark_Guy_Rob		2012-07-18 04:35:29 AM

Electrify: unlikely: Mmmmmm, GSM phone. Very shiny high tech GSM phone.

It's like they're trying to sell ultra-high-tech CRT televisions or extremely advanced flint spearheads...

GSM is the future. The rest of the world is either on GSM or is converting to it from CDMA. The only reason it hasn't been adapted in the US is because AT&T has provided a piss poor service for their GSM network compared to Verizon's CDMA. That said, with the rise of LTE which is a GSM technology being adopted by all carriers, it is very likely that GSM will be the standard in the US as well by the end of the decade.

/surprised that more people haven't chewed you up over your ignorance

Please humor me and explain the *technical* advantage of GSM over CDMA. You've asserted that GSM is 'the future' and you've appealed to authority 'everyone else uses it' - but you haven't given us any reason to think GSM is better.

Why CDMA is better than GSM

adenosine		2012-07-18 04:48:08 AM

Fark_Guy_Rob: Why CDMA is better than GSM

From your own link
None of that is true for GSM. CDMA and TDMA are fundamentally incompatible and there's no way to create a new system (which they're calling WCDMA) which can support existing TDMA handsets. It's technically impossible for the new standard to be backward compatible. Worse is that there's no easy way to phase existing spectrum over. In practice, when WCDMA appears, existing GSM systems will have to install it all, issue new handsets to all customers, and then one day throw a switch -- or, what they did, is license new spectrum for WCDMA while continuing to run GSM on the existing spectrum for legacy customers.

WCDMA is UMTS, basically. All handsets that are currently sold by ATT for use on postpaid accounts have UMTS radios. ATT is repurposing GSM spectrum to UMTS, even going as far as giving people in some areas free new phones with no commitment. Most everywhere has UMTS towers, and UMTS is better than CDMA.
1)You cannot talk and use data at the same time on CDMA.
2) You can't get 5+mbps data speeds on CDMA.
3) If your phone doesn't support GSM radios, have fun if you're ever international roaming--it won't work in nearly as many countries
4) With GSM you can buy unlocked phones from anybody you want and use them on your network of choice. My unlocked One X imported from Singapore works perfectly well on Straight Talk's $45 plan.

As far as "everyone uses it", why do you think that Verizon LTE devices have SIM cards? It's because LTE is designed to work with GSM networks.

Fark_Guy_Rob		2012-07-18 05:37:43 AM

adenosine: Fark_Guy_Rob: Why CDMA is better than GSM

From your own link
None of that is true for GSM. CDMA and TDMA are fundamentally incompatible and there's no way to create a new system (which they're calling WCDMA) which can support existing TDMA handsets. It's technically impossible for the new standard to be backward compatible. Worse is that there's no easy way to phase existing spectrum over. In practice, when WCDMA appears, existing GSM systems will have to install it all, issue new handsets to all customers, and then one day throw a switch -- or, what they did, is license new spectrum for WCDMA while continuing to run GSM on the existing spectrum for legacy customers.

WCDMA is UMTS, basically. All handsets that are currently sold by ATT for use on postpaid accounts have UMTS radios. ATT is repurposing GSM spectrum to UMTS, even going as far as giving people in some areas free new phones with no commitment. Most everywhere has UMTS towers, and UMTS is better than CDMA.
1)You cannot talk and use data at the same time on CDMA.
2) You can't get 5+mbps data speeds on CDMA.
3) If your phone doesn't support GSM radios, have fun if you're ever international roaming--it won't work in nearly as many countries
4) With GSM you can buy unlocked phones from anybody you want and use them on your network of choice. My unlocked One X imported from Singapore works perfectly well on Straight Talk's $45 plan.

As far as "everyone uses it", why do you think that Verizon LTE devices have SIM cards? It's because LTE is designed to work with GSM networks.

Am I understanding you correctly...

GSM is worse than CDMA which is worse than WCDMA/UMTS?

adenosine		2012-07-18 05:57:43 AM

Fark_Guy_Rob: Am I understanding you correctly...

GSM is worse than CDMA which is worse than WCDMA/UMTS?

If you look at the original GSM standard it's inferior to CDMA from a technological standpoint (altho it still has some advantages in device selection and roaming). UMTS is better than CDMA, in nearly every way.

However, in the context of the original post, Mmmmmm, GSM phone. Very shiny high tech GSM phone., clearly they mean "GSM and the subsequent technologies for GSM networks" which would include UMTS and LTE. To cite the phones radios as being somehow out of date or inferior is insane.