@Microsoft’s @Nokia #Lumia830
— Not Good Enough —
Attention: If you really have no time, scroll down and read my 75 word abstract!
Disclaimer 1: All prices here are in Euro and include the German VAT tax (19%). If the device is already available, I use the cheapest notebooksbilliger.de price for a new device. If the device is only announced, I use the price stated in the announcement.
Disclaimer 2: I don’t post this because I hate the device or Microsoft or Windows Phone. I post it because I’m unhappy with the positioning of the device and because I want to say “told you so” in a few months.
Disclaimer 3: To keep it short, I will not give you a full spec sheet and will not explain the device in detail. I assume you are already familiar with it and that you are here to read my opinion about it.
Why It Will Fail
Because it cannot stand up to its marketing promise. Nokia/Microsoft is positioning the Lumia 830 as the “Affordable Flagship”. To make their point, they compare the price to the Samsung Galaxy S5.
They are right, compared to the S5, the Lumia 830 looks like a steal. But the hardware in Samsungs 6-month-old flagship is VASTLY superior to the 830:
Lumia 830 VS Galaxy S5
720p VS 1080p
SD 400 VS SD 801
1 GB Ram VS 2 GB Ram
399 € VS 489 €
Just for fun, let’s compare the 830 to the 18 months old Galaxy 4:
Lumia 830 VS Galaxy S4
720p VS 1080p
SD 400 VS SD 600
1 GB Ram VS 2 GB Ram
399 € VS 349 €
Wait a second… the just-announced “Affordable Flagship” is inferior to Samsung’s flagship from 18 months ago and offers us this inferior hardware on a higher price? That sounds bad… but not as bad as…
Lumia 830 VS Galaxy S III
720p VS 720p
SD 400 VS Exynos 4
1 GB Ram VS 1 GB Ram
399 € VS 249 €
So, spec-wise, the Lumia 830 barely beats the Samsung Galaxy SIII, which was announced in Q1/2012. Almost 30 months ago. The barely is even bolder since the Snapdragon 400 and the Exynos 4 are not very far away from each other.
So, the “flagship” claim is bogative. The Lumia 830 is massively inferior to last years flagships. The “affordable” part doesn’t look good either.
Other device want to be the affordable flagship as well. Let me compare the Lumia 830 to two of them:
Lumia 830 VS Nexus 5
720p VS 1080p
SD 400 VS SD 800
1 GB Ram VS 2 GB Ram
399 € VS 319 €
And the just announced new Moto G:
Lumia 830 VS Moto G (‘14)
720p VS 720p
SD 400 VS SD 400
1 GB Ram VS 1 GB Ram
399 € VS 199 €
So, compared to Google’s 1 year old flagship, the 830 cannot get a single point. Compared to Motorola’s new affordable mid-tier device, the 830 is just as powerful. But at twice the price.
Conclusion
I think it’s obvious. At 399€ the Nokia Lumia 830 has no chance in the market. Even if Microsoft had opted for a Snapdragon 800 (to make it really a flagship), 399€ would not have been a price for an instant-buy.
What makes this pricing even worse, is that you can get the Nokia Lumia 1520 for the same 399€. And here we’re really talking about a real flagship. The Lumia 930, from the outside almost identical to the 830 but with a SD800 and an 20MP camera capable of 4k video, can be bought for 469€, only 70€ more.
Since Microsoft won’t be able to change the hardware anymore, the only chance to make the 830 a success is the pricing. With the Moto G at 199€, I think they should price the Lumia 830 at
269€.
Without this 33% rebate, this beautiful looking device is dead in the water.
Abstract
At 399€, the Lumia 830 has no chance in the market. With its Snapdragon 400 it is no flagship because it is barely beating Samsung’s 30 months old Galaxy S III. And it is not very affordable since it is twice as expansive as Motorola’s new Moto G.
In the Lumia range you could get the superior Lumia 1520 for the same amount of money.
Microsoft/Nokia should not ask more than 269€ for the device.
