As a seasoned vet of both the wireless and retail industries, I can recall fondly the arc of popularity enjoyed by the great brands of mobile technology. For example, there was a time when Motorola was the paragon model of the kick-butt, cell phone company. The command they enjoyed in the way of market share during the days of, ahem, analog cell service – man, it actually hurt my fingers to type those words – was impressive, to say the least. Now, and with no disrespect to either industry titan, their star has faded a bit and they may possibly become “GoogleRola”. Alas, poor Moto, I knew ye well…
But my point here is that brand loyalty in some cases can be elusive – sure exceptions to every rule do exist – and consumers as we all know are downright fickle. So how do tech companies earn and maintain loyalty? How does a seemingly beloved and formidable brand battle back once it has been cast aside? Remember Nokia? Granted, they never really went too far away, but, looking back on their history in the U.S., man, they were at one time really impressive. I mean, they were the folks who stormed into the mobile digital landscape – they did catch Motorola napping on that one – and drove to the top of the heap in the way of market share, if only for a brief moment in the grand scheme of things. But they did it! Hey, they had the first camera phone in the U.S. – remember that? They even sponsored the Emmy Awards, too! Top dog, for sure.
So, I’ll admit that I was pretty psyched when I heard the buzz about their recent release of the Lumia 900 – the Nokia smartphone living on the Microsoft platform. The pre-release info was great – AT&T Mobility was ramping up at their stores getting the promo materials in place, handsets were being distributed to store staff, the advertising agency was readying their wheelbarrows to carry their fees to the bank – good times. The whole thing harkened back to the golden days of wireless. >sniff, wipe away tear, sniff<
The early customer reviews on the Nokia Lumia 900 are favorable. Sales are brisk. Thoughts of picking one up myself are roaming through my head, but before I do, I’m looking for some feedback. Anyone of you jumped on the Nokia bandwagon and have one of these beauties? If so, we’d love to hear what you have to say. Nokia, I am pulling for you…hope that the Lumia 900 paves the way for much future success. I guess I’ll know for sure when they send me my invite to the Emmy’s….
