Some years back, a lot of people dismissed Nokia Oyj (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) saying that there was no way it would spring back to life. But HMD Global might soon be changing the misconception. It has plans underway to reinvigorate the Nokia phone brand. On Wednesday, it launched the Nokia 8 in the hope that it would soon be able to cash in on rising consumer demand for a wide range of the video features and the top quality audio.
Most probably, the Android device will beat rivals on price but that it is also critical to point that it will also be facing fierce competition from the 10th anniversary iPhone from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 which is also expected to be hitting markets next week might also be posing great competition.
Nokia 8 comes with a price tag of about 599 euros ($703) and might soon be undercutting Apple, which typically offers a stripped down version of its latest phones for almost the same price. However, it is known to usually charge hundreds of more euros for memory and other major features.
The new top-of-the-line Nokia bears a licensed lens technology from camera maker Zeiss. It has been sporting a dual-sight video feature that will be enabling simultaneous live-streaming on social media networks from both the rear and front cameras on a split screen.
So far, it is the best phone from HMD. The provider was set up late last year and it was in May that it made a splash when it succeeded at reviving Nokia’s classic 3310 feature handset in some new brightly colored versions.
The surround-sound audio technology made for Nokia’s own virtual reality camera OZO for Hollywood professionals will be one of the features that will be associated with the Nokia 8.This particular device will be competing with Huawei’s recently launched [HWT.UL] P10.
HMD’s chief marketing officer Pekka Rantala opines, “This is especially meant for millennial creators, people who want to share what’s happening every day.”He has also said that he is happy with the initial sales of the previous smartphones, though he has declined to open up about the sales figures.
