Telefónica Chief On Nokia Smartphones: “they’re too expensive”

In an interview to Telecoms.com, European general manager for devices at international carrier Telefónica, Simon Lee-Smith said that Nokia’s current smartphones including Nokia N8, Nokia Lumia 800 are expensive and not yet at the right price point. He also said that “If Nokia wants to sell in volume, they need to bring out devices which are cost-competitive.”

The vendor also used Nokia World to unveil a rejuvenated emerging market proposition based around feature phones heavy on functionality but low on price. “I hope they’re successful with that,” Lee-Smith said. “They need to be able to subsidise their high end smartphones, because they’re too expensive.”

Device vendors generally have unrealistic expectations of what carriers and consumers will pay for smartphones, Lee-Smith said. “All device manufacturers seem to think that a €400-plus device is the norm. Well, it isn’t. Customers and operators won’t pay that cost for a device which doesn’t differentiate sufficiently.”

He also added that simply improving the specifications of smartphones is not sufficient, and  “Let’s not let the technology and cost curve ahead of the demand curve,” he said.

via: TNW Source: Telecoms.com