WSJ says Nokia X7 cancellation for AT&T due to manufacturer's worry about the carrier

posted by Alan F. / Jan 19, 2011, 4:55 PM

WSJ says Nokia X7 cancellation for AT&T due to manufacturer's worry about the carrier

The other day we reported that the Nokia X7 would no longer be launched as a subsidized model on AT&T and that the handset would be released in certain markets as an unlocked phone. Today, the WSJ came out with what the late Paul Harvey might have called, "The rest of the story".

According to those that the financial paper called "people familiar with the situation", Nokia had planned on releasing the X7 on AT&T prior to the MWC in Barcelona next month. Nokia has been unable to gain traction in the U.S. with a smartphone model subsidized by one of the major carriers, so the Nokia X7 launch was seen as an important launch for the Finnish based manufacturer.

But Nokia felt that AT&T would not provide enough marketing support for the device and also worried that the mobile operator would not provide enough of a subsidy to make the phone competitively priced. Most top-line handsets have been priced at $199.99 with a 2 year contract.

While Nokia still plans on offering the X7 in other markets, the manufacturer has had trouble in the smartphone segment of the U.S. market and despite the fact that the company is the number one producer of handsets world-wide in terms of units sold, the reliance on what is seen as a dated OS platform has helped prevent Nokia from challenging Apple, RIM and Android flavored models in the States. Despite improvements overall, the Symbian ^3 OS which powers the X7, is said to be more cumbersome and not as quick and intuitive as other operating systems.

source: WSJ

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12 Comments

1. downphoenix

Posts: 3165; Member since: Jun 19, 2010

No surprise. Nokia just fails on all fronts as far as the US market because they want to push their outdated OS that nobody wants. And if they blame AT&T, why dont they go with T-mobile or stop neglecting CDMA based carriers? They brought this on themselves and their Europe marketshare is starting to nosedive as a result of this, US share is basically nonexistant outside of crappy feature phones.

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 6:14 PM 2

2. CRICKETownz

Posts: 980; Member since: Oct 24, 2009

Let's face it Nokia...even though ppl swear by you across the pond here stateside nobody is really interested. I'm not sure what it is...good features seem to be packed into the device but idk, its just lackluster. I think its gone past the point of Nokia neglecting CDMA...i just think the US market is very indifferent about Nokia as a brand.

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 6:45 PM 1

3. rafxfxfxfx unregistered

It's just that the popular OSes right now suck, too webapp-oriented. And CDMA is only seen on the US or, perhaps, the rest of the world in the 90's

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 6:48 PM 0

4. hawk62

Posts: 320; Member since: Nov 21, 2009

The cdma thing is big. I loved nokia years ago but when i went to verizon the choices were not there. That had to hurt them. As for att. Why should they put money into a phone that wont sell? They have so many other phones to deal with. Maybe nokia needs to eat some of the cost and help att push their top phone. They need to do something to get a share of the US. I think if the US paid full price for our phones it would be a very different story. There wouldnt be as many iphone / droid phones. People would look at price more and go with middle of the road phones, then nokia could compete.

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 6:52 PM 1

5. box unregistered

I don't know why phonearena/scoop/et all say that Symbian is outdated and old; sure it was designed years ago, but it's a very robust and easy-to-use system, and for many smartphone and general phone users, it's excellent, because few smartphone users need the open-ness and flexibility of Android, the lack of features that WP7 has (for now), or the restrictions and "exclusivity" of ios. Will MeeGo or Nokia's updating of Symbian solve that? Entirely possible. There's lots of support and a bright future for Nokia, because 1) they're huge and they support their devices, 2) they're decently made, 3) know how to make their phones right the first time, from a reliabilty, reception, and from a software standpoint (hint hint apple), 4) don't have to steal patented products to make their equipment (apple again), 5) aren't made on the cheap for a high profit margin in a "third-world" country (again, apple), 6) they're easy to use, despite the "clunky" operating system, and 7) they're feature-rich with well-developed functionality the rest of the market could learn from, i.e. Ovi Maps, good cameras, lots of (free) apps, WiFi on non-smartphones (i.e. C-series), and decent batteries. Oh, and Nokia also offers updates on equipment it stops selling (hint hint, sony & samsung). Sure, maybe AT&T might not be a great outlet for Nokia (it used to be, back when the 5800 and E71x were new), but T-Mobile seems poised to take up the slack: their offers for the 5230 Nuron were awesome, and still are, and that's a phone that a large portion of the market could use and merely tap its full capabilities. Am I a Nokia fan? Admittedely. I also have used (extensively) Blackberry, apple, and Android, and still haven't found any of those to be up to the functionality of Symbian: yes, it's not as elegant, pretty, or whatever, but it works, and you can find what you're looking for quickly and easily, and, best of all, it makes sense, because it's designed like a computer, using folders and heirarchies to operate, which allows for improved functionality and the ability to make changes without going crazy. It also has its kinks worked out, and the features others still don't have (copy and paste, for instance, right WP7 users?). Anyway, done with my rant; I'm sure I'll get accused of favoritism, but I really don't care, because, for my purposes (and 100+ million buyers a year), Nokia's tops

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 7:59 PM 1

6. nokiafanintheUS unregistered

this is dissapointing for me because I was waiting for a Nokia Smartphone to come to the US. I love my Symbian phone I love the fact that people with iphones cant do 1/10th of what my phone can do. Sad thing is what you see with most posters here they like their androids and iOS phones and cant wrap their heads around that something can be comparable or better. I am waiting for a meego handset to come to the US too though

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 9:16 PM 0

7. pyckvi

Posts: 48; Member since: Dec 19, 2010

im Currently an android user, but before i used android i was on a nokia symbian device. all i can say is that i love nokia and i really cant wait to buy one of there meego phones for a subsized price! i believe that "IF" any os was currently in perfection mode it would be the nokias meego! they know mobile os far better than apple and android! what is it with most the ppl in the US hating on everything!? im almost posotive that more than half of you never really tried any of nokias new phones. all you do is read and believe everything the media has to say. Iphone is good but it isnt perfect. same with android. niether is meego. but give it a try before you trash talk it. i think the more choices in the US we have the more competition we will have which equals better phones more features and lower prices on smartphones!!! Nokia keep pushing to the states please!!!

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 10:04 PM 0

8. bluechris unregistered

Just wonder if it's a cluture thing. in the UK at least there seemed to be very few exclusive deals for handsets and every carrier had the top phones and it was contract price(as in the amount on your contract was dictated by the phone you got, as much as the plan that went with it, as opposed to all plans at same price plus $200 for the phone) that differentiated them. Few features got locked down, if any because any other carrier selling the phone could just sell it with the feature enabled. In the US each carrier has to have their exclusive - even phones that are basically the same phone are tweaked - ho many versions of the Samsung galaxy are there? Nokia pretty well makes a phone, and the carrier can take it or leave it. Nokia won't do a cdma version because that would be a carrier customization, or an extra set of radios (and nokias often already come supporting so many bands anyway). I expect the logic was that they don't trust AT&T to push it as an exclusive carrier, and so they will either have to see if they can get T-Mobile to sell it (yes please) or not worry about it. Also wonder if this points to more higher end offerings coming from nokia and there needs to be some price point above where the X7 would be for those devices - if X7 starts at a premium price and nokia doen't consider it as becoming it's flagship phone (perhaps E7/N9/Something else entirely will becoming along soon enough?). Nokia knows it's not competive here and wants to be able to say they offer as much or maybe more than most Android or WM7 or Iphone (and hardware wise they may well be right) but at a lower price to get the punters to give them a shot. Still, it's a risky move and you have to hope nokia knows what they are doing - there ere very few GSM carries in the US, and although they may have a loyal enough bunch willing to buy them unlocked, they could really do with at least one of T-Mobile or AT&T on board.

posted on Jan 19, 2011, 11:23 PM 0

9. Itjustworks unregistered

US customers seem - from my European point of view - people to believe quite readily what they are told (be it in print, online, or TV). And especially States based websites which take interest in the mobile phone market seem to have a weird interest in bashing Nokia and Symbian. I believe this is a kind of patriotic move - Apple and Google are US companies, after all. However, until recently I haven't had a choice of mobile phone that can easily print out stuff over wireless and countless other tricks I like my phone to be able to do. I simply found no alternative to my Nokia E72 on the market... Although I've come to like Symbian at a time when it was still called EPOC (Psion 3 and 5) and the Communicator line from Nokia for me where the first true smartphones, I'm not sold to the brand nor the OS, though. Apple did - finally! - what I had been expected a dream to come true only with the iPhone 4. However, this phone would cost me three to four times what I paid for my E72. And I'm no fan of a walled garden either... The Droid Pro sure looks interesting, but it's camera and image processing quality isn't up to the E72 or iPhone. Meh. Well, I'd love to see HP be successful with a reinstated WebOS and honestly think that not buying Palm was the biggest mistake Nokia did make in its younger history (think WebOS, think patent wars).

posted on Jan 20, 2011, 2:11 AM 0

10. ribbonsalmark

Posts: 84; Member since: Jan 06, 2011

I also believe that if Nokia released its phone on AT&T it would be concerned that if they released any type of software or operating system update that AT&T would attempt to block. And then Nokia would be in the same boat as Sony Ericsson with the X10A. Nokia woud release ^3.1 and AT&T would say "we are doing testing to make sure this compatible with our network", ie. we are waiting to phase you out with End of Life. And then Nokia as a company takes a major hit in the respects of customers returning for future products from Nokia.

posted on Jan 20, 2011, 8:17 AM 0

11. ryq unregistered

if this is samsung or htc or motorola with latest android OS, AT&T would do everything to accommodate it but this is nokia, a non-existent cellphone brand in the US, why bother? so sad for nokia, another setback for their plan in the US. coz if you make it in the USA, you can make it everywhere!