We know that prices of most products tend to dip in the long run, but by any standards, the fall in the price of the Nokia N8 has been nothing short of spectacular. The N8 had been launched with a price of Rs 26,259. Today, it is retailing at a number of websites such as Infibeam.com and Flipkart.com at Rs 24,000. And some Nokia Priority Stores are even selling it for Rs 22,000 (Grey market pcs at Rs 20,000 also showed up in limited numbers!). While it is way too early to call this a failure of the product, it certainly does reflect a negative sentiment in the market – high profile and bestselling products do not lose 10-15 per cent of their price tags in such a short duration.
A couple of dealers (on condition of anonymity) have conceded that sales have not exactly been rocketing, and there is a feeling that the handset’s price might drop even further in the coming days. One dealer even conceded, “Sir, it cannot stand in from of the Galaxy at that price. Galaxy looks much smarter.” And while we do not intend to pat ourselves on the back, we cannot help but feel that we had anticipated this.
About ten days ago, one of our correspondents, Mr. Spock, got his hands on the Nokia N8, Nokia’s high-profile handset which had at that time not been officially launched in India. He did an unpacking and a detailed review for OnlyGizmos over the days that followed. We were surprised at the response his review evoked – not at the quantity, but the quality.
While Mr. Spock had been objective in his appraisal of the handset (we would have not carried the review had we felt it was prejudiced) and had praised many of its features, the ones he criticized (the interface, the apps, and even the looks) brought forth a barrage of criticism that bordered on abuse.
We could have responded in detail to each criticism, but preferred to be quiet, considering the tone that had been used (we had been accused of being blind, stupid and a whole lot of other things we would rather not remember). However, none of the criticism shook our faith in the review. The N8, we maintained, was a exceptionally good Nokia device and perhaps the best camera phone around, but was not likely to win the company any votes from iPhone and Android users. We also agreed with Mr. Spock’s conclusion that for its price tag, the N8 was more than matched by the Samsung Galaxy S and the Motorola XT720.
Today, the drop in the N8?s price tag justifies our stance. The market has answered the Nokia fan boys – especially those who had abused us in such rich detail. We are sure that they will now claim that this is a cunning manoeuvre by Nokia, but we doubt it, given the fact that the official Nokia India website still gives the price of the device as Rs 26,259.
Ironically, we think this price cut might just boost N8 sales, but even if they do, they will not change the story of the past week – that the N8 did not exactly fly off the shelves. Which only goes to prove what we said: it is a fantastic phone for Nokia users, but not the across the board winner that Nokia thought it would be.
Our message to all the Nokia fans who abused us: told you so.
Read Mr. Spocks N8 Review: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 | Also our N8 Podcast preview, review
You are idiot! N8 is selling only to pople who preordered it. So why would any shop sell N8 with discount nowadays??!! You are liar and Nokia basher.
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so with connection only, you get that price, not officially. i went too 2-3 shops and all are priced above 25000. i guess this is paid news by rivals.
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^^lol these nokia fanboys are soo blind…
soon N8 will fall below the now discontinued samsung WAVE … just wait and watch the fun 😀
Prakash, why are you spending your time going to shops? Just head to FlipKart.com and get the N8 for Rs 23,999. Believe us, it is simpler.
@Annkur, It is good that the prices are falling. And about that shopkeeper in your post who said “Sir, it cannot stand in from of the Galaxy at that price. Galaxy looks much smarter”, I would not disagree with this guy as I have used both Galaxy and N8 (for some time ofcourse) and the Galaxy felt way better to handle may be Android is the reason.
current price is 22500
i think we Indians r great at aping western countries….especially U.S….just becoz US tech press is hostile to Nokia,guys at Indian tech blogs (like author of the above post) also find it compelling to bash Nokia…Never wonder if someday these guys start praising Nokia just becoz THEY start to praise Nokia….hahaha…
What a childish article!
to you Annkur ,you ugly spammer….the world knows who you are already….you are bought by a satanloving competitor…!!!!read the bible and see what happens to people like you…..!!!!!!
THEWISEMAN, so much hatred, that too for a phone? 😀
‘m actually waiting for the price to fall. not to criticise but to buy 😀
i love N8.
Annkur. Its not been very long since I came across this site and I really like the onlygizmos website and content. Although I’m never an avid commentor on any sites and haven’t written one on yours till date as well. I think the Nokia N8 reviews given by you guys were very good and raised a debate, which is fine. Even this article was good until you started commenting back on the readers. I don’t think you have anything to gain from hitting back at the readers apart from ego satisfaction, but you definitely have a lot to lose. Remember if you hit back at the readers they wont come back leave alone comment on your articles. Hope you get the point.
Yes Nik, I agree. I apologize for the same. Developing the patience to take them
Thanks
I’ve used quite a few Nokia’s and currently using N79, which I think is a wonderful phone for the price it sold at an year back. However today things are different and I wouldn’t call its price as value for money. Am neither a hater nor a blind lover of Nokia, but the dropping popularity for Nokia is indeed self illustrative of the fact that the company has been releasing poorly designed phones in terms of looks as well as functionality. Seem to be releasing models in a haste without proper research. All recently released models of Nokia feel like very ordinary phones and not something from the top player in business.
There is no denying the fact that atleast till now N8 seems to be a flop. Poorvika Mobiles in Chennai has today listed N8 at Rs 22,320 on their web page Poorvika.com. Now, who said that Nokia is still busy fulfilling pre-release orders. It just ain’t selling guys.
About, the price at the ‘poorvika.com’, this price is exclusive of taxes, so if you buy it hen it wil come some where around 24k, so the best deal is so far(online), is flipkart 23,500 latest check, but they will diliver it in 11 days.
(Quete)
This comment was deleted in one minute after appearance in one technology blog. I was lucky and had it open in another window!:
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‘ Asdasd ! said
Flag This Comment This comment has been flagged.
My friend said that he will get Rs 525000 ($12000) per month for bashing RIM, Nokia, and some other companies in every possible board. He should find all the negative aspects and rumors and spread them like hell to everywhere. He had to sign a NDA (and have to pay back everything if he tells a word), but they did not know how much alcohol he uses and that he does not remember next day what did he say…
Check your fees that you are getting paid by fair rate. You should get at least Rs 500 000 monthly payment for keeping blog where consequences are derived from false premises. Like Engadget wrote that the Nokia N8 will be delayed until November reduced Nokia market cap by $3.5 billion(!) in a week. I think they did get an extra bonus payment for that article. 🙂
its so wise of u wiseman to catch the fish 🙂
my roomie has Galaxy S. one month old. its wonderful when it comes to app.
battery life – one day. if u play angry birds then less than half a day 🙁
to you Annkur ,you ugly spammer….the world knows who you are already….you are bought by a satanloving competitor…!!!!read the bible and see what happens to people like you…..!!!!!!
DELETING THIS THE FIRST TIME JUST SHOWED WHO YOU ARE…….YOU DONT CARE A SHIT ABOUT INDIA , IF YOU WOULD HAVE, YOU WOULD HAVE WANTED THEM TO SEE THE TRUTH..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WELL HERE IT COMES AGAIN……
AMERICA WILL DAI….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……TRUST ME………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WORLD WILL SEE TO THAT…..THE HATE IT ALREADY THERE……….YOU IN INDIA…..DONT YOU SEE HOW AMERICA IS DESTROYING YOU AND YOUR COUNTRY…TAKE COCA COLA FOR EX…DESTROYS YOUR GROUDWATER ,AND SEE WHAT THEY PUT IN IT……. ASPARTAME…….ITS A POISON………MONSANTO… ARE DESTROYING YOUR FARMERS…. AND …DO I NEED TO SAY………PHOBAL………..THEY ARE SATAN..!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok, let me be honest, i dont encourage or like people who abuse the writers here, but
here IS the truth….Indian techno press IS aping the western press in bashing N8.
Nokia had been a best seller in India for the last decade, so we ARE used to the OS. Agreed Iphone ‘s a lot simpler to use, but why is Mr.Ankur comparing it iphone while writing for Indian press…IPHONE doesn’t care about India for the momnet, they HAVE NOT realsed their latest here.
So if u r writing to Indian readers, i request you to suck up to the present scenario and compare it with the available phones. And yes, this article is completely childish and was a waste of time…i used to visit this site frequently, but not now…Everyone visit
“techtree.com”, they give honest reviews and yes, a lot mature writers there…
Respect all comments. But we are all here writing our views with our identity. I really don’t know what to feel about anonymous comments with fake data filled up when submitting. Just a thought ….!