back to article Nokia lops UK Lumia prices ahead of Win 8 phones

Nokia has reportedly cut up to 15 per cent off the price of its Lumia handsets in a bid to flog off Window Phone 7 kit before Windows 8 appears in its next-gen smartphones. The Finnish phone giant hasn't confirmed the cut, which was highlighted today by UK-based market watcher CCS Insight and made public by Reuters. The Lumia …

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  1. David Webb

    CPW

    CPW are doing a 12 month contract with the 800 for £10.50/month on Voda (free phone) so the price has been crashing for a while, CPW probably trying to get rid of it's excess stock - although Asda were doing Sim Free for around £180 on the 800.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: CPW

      If you can get a decent 12-month contract then the whole "doesn't support WP8" complaint goes away so that sounds quite interesting. Except I already bought a Lumia sim-free...

      1. David Webb

        Re: CPW

        My bad, a slip of the fingers, it's a 24 month contract which is still pretty good value for money - £252 over the 24 months - actually very tempted to get one for my mother.

    2. N13L5
      Facepalm

      does anybody

      care?

      I didn't know there were people buying these, even before they became known to be a non-upgradeable and incompatible dead end...

      Well, other than those who basically amount to a rounding error in phone market charts.

  2. Big_Ted

    The 800 on PAYG £159.95 inc £10 topup

    White: http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_payg_details.asp?itemkey=641386

    Black: http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_payg_details.asp?ItemKey=641379

    Cyan: http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_payg_details.asp?ItemKey=641375

    Pink: http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_payg_details.asp?ItemKey=641387

  3. Nuno
    Megaphone

    FRAGMENTATION!!!

    Ooops, sorry. That only goes for android...

    1. asdf
      FAIL

      Re: FRAGMENTATION!!!

      Well when you have %4 of the market you have to have something to cut the big dog down even if you do it worse.

    2. Greg J Preece

      Re: FRAGMENTATION!!!

      "Fragmentation" - better known as "progress", or "upgrades." Seriously, people don't whinge and bitch about how Ubuntu can upgrade your OS every 6 months...

      1. RetroTom

        Re: FRAGMENTATION!!!

        I'm not sure if my sarcasm detection is off today but yes, yes they do. It's one of the reasons an awful lot of people I know don't consider Linux to be a viable desktop OS, fragmentation. What works on one may not work on another, OS upgrades break entire dependency chains leaving software broken if it doesn't get updated too far more frequently than on Windows where you can quite happily run many of your old 32-bit Win9x apps on a brand spanking new 64-bit Win 8 system.

      2. N13L5
        FAIL

        Re: FRAGMENTATION!!!

        Fragmentation may be true for Android and Linux and iOS as well as for a bunch of programming platforms, but its generally being overrated by people with axes to grind.

        But with Windphone 7, calling it fragmentation is misleading. Abortion would be the correct word.

        Sticking to phones, you CAN generally upgrade iOS or Android phones, even if manufacturer's quit supporting it, as long as you bought a popular phone with support from Cyanogen and similar custom roms.

        And even if you're still on iPhone 3 or good old Gingerbread, over 90% of current apps run just fine.

        But here, its different: M$ is throwing out everything, you won't be able to run Windphone 8 apps on these.

        Windphone 7s are as dead as can be, don't buy those clunkers, just cause they lowered the price a little to avoid getting stuck with the inventory :P

        If you really want a windphone and you can't wait the short time for Win8 phones, its a pointless premature ejaculation, cause the new ones will also be discounted in hopes to actually get some market share.

        And to the guy who wanted to buy one for his wife: you think she'll never use an app anyway, but just you wait, she'll eventually figure out that you knowingly bought her a clunker.

        1. Shagbag

          Re: FRAGMENTATION!!!

          That last post was too long. I couldn't be bothered reading it. I hope the author re-visits this page and sees what effect his post has had, ie. zero.

      3. hazydave

        Re: FRAGMENTATION!!!

        It's not so much the OS releases people complain about. But when Ubuntu does an upgrade, the update manager offers to install it for you, free and automatically. The biggest complaint about Android has been that, given the arbitrary support from the various OEMs, there's no way to know when/if you're getting the new OS. But at least it's pretty easy to write apps that run under just about any version of the OS.. most Android apps work all the way back to Android 1.6.

        Worse still is Microsoft's Windows Phone policies -- the apps for the new OS don't run, period, on the old OS. They cut off Windows Mobile when Window 7 Phone was released (no app compatibility). Now, while W7P apps run on Windows 8 Phones, if you're writing for Windows 8, nothing works on Windows 7 Phone. So people tapping this cost cut are going to have limited apps support going forward.

        Not that W7P has done that well, anyway. Lots of the W7P applications were paid development by Microsoft, and they're not getting great upgrades. Won't be a problem for W8P buyers if W8P actually sells -- a better chance, anyway, now that OEMs are allowed to make competitive hardware.

  4. RICHTO
    Mushroom

    Windows 8 can run Android apps anyway.

    1. Shane McCarrick

      Windows 8 uses a virtualised Android environment- not dissimilar to the bluestacks player for other Windows versions. I can use WINE on iOS or any number of other virtualised environments- some natively, so what?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nokia Maps

    "the fully functional and available offline Nokia Maps may well appeal to anyone after a decent phone-navigation combo."

    Nokia Maps is excellent especially offline when travelling abroad and avoiding huge data charges. Does this comment mean that the new Win 8 phones don't have the offline capability, or what? Any clues welcome because I can't understand why this point was made.

    Thanks!

    1. Chris 171

      Re: Nokia Maps

      Offline maps are definitely staying & I expect shouted about quite loudly when WP8 gets launched.

      The comment is there as a slight dig at the the most amazing phone manufacturer in the world (shyeah right), who can't find their arse from their elbow currently.

      Nokia have the best mobile mapping solution by miles, kilometers, linguine or any other measure you feel appropriate.

    2. JDX Gold badge

      Re: Nokia Maps

      I imagine it was a dig at iOS6?

    3. Jess

      Re: Nokia Maps

      A second hand N8 is significantly cheaper, and won't be obsolete as soon. Offline maps work wonderfully.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good deal

    Just got an 800 from Asda for £149.99 Sim free.

    Have to say, cracking device for the money, don't mind it won't get 8 and possibly one of the few non-giganto phones left.

  7. cyberdemon Silver badge
    Devil

    What is AT&T U-Verse

    And why does it need a double-sized button on that UI shot?

    1. Fuzz

      Re: What is AT&T U-Verse

      Certain "special" apps get to have double size tiles on WP7. My phone has the HTC hub which displays a double width tile with the current weather where I am (yes I know).

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nice phone

    Shit OS

    1. Tommy Pock

      Re: Nice phone

      50% wrong.

      But yes, it is a nice phone

    2. Mike Taylor

      Re: Nice phone

      I have loads of devices. Bb, android, maemo, ios and winpho. As a former sceptic, i'm surprised to tell you i reckon the winpho is the best. Also the winpho lasts best part of three days on a charge.

      I can't believe i'm saying it, but i'm a bit of a fanboi now. Never thought i'd buy another ms device again.

    3. Stephen Channell
      Facepalm

      Re: Nice phone

      Really what a dumb comment.. We're talking about phones.. You know that thing you dial 911 with in an emergency, or arrange to meet.. What exactly is the criteria for calling the "OS" shit?

      Could it be phone function:no, could it be battery life:no, is there anything else a phone can do that couldn't be better done with some other kind of device:no..

  9. Greg J Preece

    I'm interested to see how WP8 goes. WP7 is flawed, but actually quite impressive in several ways, considering who made it. It's attractive IMO, easy to use, and Sonic-needing-a-piss fast. Technically, it's inferior to its contemporaries, but what it does, it does suprisingly well. If they can make up for some of the previous deficiences with 8, it could be interesting.

  10. figure 11

    Wp7 is OK, generally pleased with my phone

    My lumia 710 was £99 so wont complain.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Who is downvoting everyone who says their Wp7 phone works all right for them?

    1. JDX Gold badge

      I was just about to say the same - this thread just shows the hilarious nature of Android fanbois. And much as they like to claim they're simply "the educated ones", downvoting every comment about someone owning a WP device just shows they really ARE fanbois with just as little rational argument as the iTards.

      Either that or they're Google shills. Yes, probably that.

      1. Greg J Preece

        I was just about to say the same - this thread just shows the hilarious nature of Android fanbois.

        Um...how do you know it's Android fanboys? Seems like you have your own set of irrational prejudices...

        1. JDX Gold badge

          >>Um...how do you know it's Android fanboys? Seems like you have your own set of irrational prejudices...

          You really didn't see the sarcasm?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yup...

      I was wondering that, pretty pathetic really.

    3. N13L5
      Pint

      Re: Who is downvoting everyone who says their Wp7 phone works all right for them?

      Those downvoters are just some of those people Microsoft pays to troll forums, who somehow got their mission backwards.

  12. Jess

    JDX

    Downvoted because you assume those who hate WP7 are Android fanois. (Not that I downvoted any others).

    I like Symbian, I hate WP and hope it fails miserably, because of the way they killed it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: JDX

      You "hate" WP, isn't that a bit strong for what is really only some software.

      1. N13L5

        Re: JDX

        Hate should definitely be reserved for people and not software.

        But maybe he hates the slimeys from Microsoft and what they did to Nokia and Megoo, who knows?

        Maybe he doesn't care about Nokia and hates them for what they did to their DRM music customers or another one of Micro$oft's knifings.

        Personally, I'd be all for Microsoft, if they weren't suddenly trying to be like Apple, copying the closed system, while aiming for Monopoly retention and their own corporate benefit before anything else.

  13. Shane McCarrick

    Interesting

    I'm not a devotee of any platform in particular- my last SIM free phones having been Symbian, WP6.5, iOS and finally ICS. I've still my first communicator in its box on a shelf at home- something to show the kids when they grow up.

    As a student 15+ years ago- I really started getting into techie phones- the good old Nokia Game which I won some very nice prizes in, tweaked my interest, and was probably instrumental in decidedly pointing my future career in a different direction. Those little Nokia mobiles- they were innocent times!

    Personally I couldn't make the jump from WP 6.5 to WP7- as the GUI just did my head in ( a bad experience with a Zune probably coloured my expectations). I nearly cried when I dropped my Ericsson P800 and had to choose a replacement as it wasn't manufactured any longer.

    iOS- Lets put it this way- the phone didn't last a day without me jail breaking it- and after I discovered I'd have to buy an expensive array of adaptors to plug it into my PC and audio system, my first impressions of the iPhone soured. I was using a G4 Titanium at the time- and thought I was so suave having a matching phone. Luckily this was before I had to do any repairs on the G4- and had to send off for a special screw driver to open the damn thing.

    ICS- as supplied on my htc One X- is also not without its failings. Why the hell is the default mode when you plug it into your computer 'Engineering Mode' so you can't just plug it in and drag and drop as a mass class storage device? Also- just what is the story with apps refusing to terminate when you close them- necessitating a reboot every day or two? Never had that with iOS. The big ray of light on the horizon- is of course alerts- even before Apple shot themselves in the foot with their crappy mapping software- the alerts in Android were just spectacular compared to their iOS comparisons. The ability to run my own apps, natively, and the abundance of free developer tools- well, its easier to sell it to me than it once was.......

    Personally- I'd happily buy a Lumia (900 preferably) as a backup- purely on the basis of its camera and mapping utility. My Zune experience aside- I'm neither a devotee or a protagonist of any particular platform- I'm more interested in the hardware, and more pertinently the raw horsepower, than I am the OS it ships with- hence my HTC One X (I could have waited for the S3- but I actually preferred the specs of the One X).

    Lets not be snobs about the operating system- and instead look at the hardware and how it compares to other hardware at a similar price point. I'm not going to pay a premium for a badge, I really don't give a crap, and I'm not going to pay a premium for a particular environment- though the idea of walled gardens, propreietory connections or weird configuration changes when making simple connections with other devices- doesn't bode well.

    In the 800 and 900- we have first and foremost a phone, a remarkable camera, and a decent mapping system. The OS is the downside- but the hardware goodness more than makes up for that- and we're now at price points where they're pretty much giving the damn things away. As a backup phone- I can't see any good reason not to get one..........?

    1. Shagbag

      Re: Interesting

      Your post is too long. I didn't read it. You have wasted your time.

      1. James Hughes 1

        Re: Interesting @Shagbag

        I read your post. It wasn't as good as the longer and more intelligent one it comments on. Now who's wasting their time?

    2. Snapper
      FAIL

      Re: Interesting

      I thought your comment was quite interesting and worthwhile reading until you lost all credibility by saying a T8 Torx screwdriver was 'special'!

      1. James Hughes 1

        Re: Interesting @snapper

        15 years ago, Torx drivers were somewhat of a rarity...

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