T-Mobile UK's Nokia N95 strategy
I am seeing a ton of people walking about with Nokia N95s. A ton.
I’ve been staring at people’s handsets as long as possible when I’ve been out in the street — without, that is, anyone clocking me looking. I carry my SMS Text News business cards in my pockets all the time just in case someone enquires as to my curiosity — the business cards are like a license to geek.
I walked past some lady the other day at King’s Cross Station. I was privately horrified that a normob (“normal mobile user”) was holding a Nokia N95. She was showing it off to her friend and explaining ‘it makes really nice noises’.
I rolled my eyes. Privately. It was a T-Mobile branded one. I stared long and hard you see, and clocked the T-Mobile logo.
I’m wondering how they’re getting on with their ‘setting the internet free’ campaign. It really is a fast 3g service. The device seems to make T-Mobile a bit more reliable for me.
Across the UK I’m also wondering how folk are reacting to the device. I think Vodafone will be doing well out of it. I know that they’ve sold at least one over the weekend. I was talking to a world reknowned Osteopathic Surgeon (I think that’s the accurate title) who’d been using a new Nokia handset. Can’t remember the actual model. However, he really, really liked my N95 and had to spend quite a few minutes on the phone convincing the (polite) chap at Vodafone that he really did want the N95. It’s arriving on Tuesday. I hope he likes it.
Aaaaand I hope he doesn’t use much data on it either while Vodafone are arsing around with their silly data strategy.
So the N95 is quite a leap forward for your normobs out there. Are the networks seeing increased data usage and higher ARPUs in general as a result of sticking this 600 pound handset in the hands of their customers? I hope so.
That surgeon I mentioned — his key question was ‘Does the handset do internet?’
‘Yup, it does,’ I said — showing him Google, then showing him a medical database website.
I haven’t used the GPS yet 😉
