Over the last 10 days, Samsung, Motorola and Nokia announced new smartphones ahead of Apple’s iPhone 5 event on Wednesday. Amongst the three, the bar has been set high for Apple, and attention has been drawn to certain features that have become the de rigueur for smartphones.
Nokia introduced the Lumia 920. Whether you are a Nokia fan or not, you have got to take your hat off for this device. The Lumia 920 comes in four bright colors and has a sleek design. Windows Phone 8 (WP 8) enables slick cascading tiles and convenient displays of a user’s content. It hits all the new minimum standards for advanced smartphones: LTE, dual-core processor, 8MP camera, 1280x768 resolution, and a 4.5” screen. But Nokia is taking its device in a new direction: its value proposition is “great imaging.” Its camera has 8.7MP, boasts a floating sensor that stabilizes images, and is very effective at low lighting. Reviews say the Lumia 920 takes the best photos of smartphones. A couple other features that set Nokia apart from the competition are these: The smartphone comes with Nokia Music which is free access to millions of songs and 150 playlists. Green Day will launch Nokia Music in NYC on September 15. Another terrific feature is the ability to use the phone while wearing gloves (inspiration stronger in Espoo than Cupertino?). And, the Lumia offers wireless charging, as illustrated on the “Fat Boy” pillow charger. Although the technology is not new, the time for wireless charging seems appropriate given the adoption of wireless Bluetooth and wireless syncing. This phone also sports a 2,000 mAh battery, bigger than the iPhone 4S 1,420 mAh battery. Lastly, the Lumia has a NFC (near field communications) chip for mobile payments. The biggest con, and this is a huge con for such an attractive product, of the new Lumia 920 is no release date has yet been announced other than “in specific markets later this year.” For those who are intrigued, it is like being “all dressed up and no place to go.”
Motorola introduced, at its high end, the Droid RAZR Maxx HD, also using Qualcomm’s dual core Snapdragon processor, 4G LTE and the new minimum standards mentioned above. Motorola’s Droid RAZR Maxx HD value proposition is “great viewing from any angle” and lets a user do so on an enlarged 4.7” screen. Motorola also embraced NFC, and also took battery size to the largest level of the new phones, 3,300 mAh. It will operate on Google Android’s Ice Cream but can be upgradeable to Jelly Bean by the end of the year. The Droid RAZR Maxx HD will only be available in black, and will sport its trademark textured hip Kevlar back casing. Likewise, the availability of the new Droid is ambivalent with the only promise of availability “before the holidays.”
Samsung kicked off the new product announcements with its Galaxy Note II, which, arguably, is the heavyweight of the three in terms of processing power and speed. The Galaxy Note II sports a quad-core processor (from Exynos), a 5.5” screen, and a slightly smaller (to Motorola) battery of 3,100 mAh. It will be pre-loaded with Google’s Android latest operating system, Jelly Bean. The Samsung looks a lot like a bigger iPhone with a stylus and, like the iPhone, is also only available in white and black. The cool new stylus features include notification if the pen is left behind from the phone (fabulous for Galaxy Note II users) and the ability to recognize handwriting for the calendar and email apps (competitive to Siri?). Samsung announced release dates for its Galaxy Note II in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but none yet for the US.
Amongst the three, Nokia appears to win on “nuance” or media features with its image-stabilization camera, new music offering, and WP 8 layout. Samsung appears to win on “brawn” with its quad-core processor, fairly large battery and latest of the Android operating systems. Motorola appears in the squeeze position of “caught in the middle”. Combined, the three have laid down some attractive products with features that Apple will want to address. Based on these new phones:
Apple should increase the battery size on the iPhone 5, substantially. All of these phones offer much larger batteries than the iPhone 4S. When Apple upgraded from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S, the battery only increased from 1,400 mAh to 1,420 mAh. The issue: Apple makes it easy and convenient to perform many tasks simultaneously on the iPhone but it drains the battery life. Other manufacturers are addressing this problem by offering bigger batteries. Apple’s response could be, and probably is, that its operating system (iOS) is more efficient than Microsoft WP 8 or Google’s Android Jelly Bean, so Apple can offer commensurate performance with a smaller battery. It’s hard to say because manufacturers measure battery life in terms of talk time or video playback – but internet and multiple app usage would be a more relevant comparison for smartphone batteries, yet difficult to measure.
Apple should announce an alternative to NFC, if it does not include NFC. Apple had previously announced that it would embrace NFC in 2012 and with iOS6, but it was rumored that Apple abandoned inclusion of NFC earlier in the year because it would diminish battery life. Widespread adoption of NFC chips was expected to be a catalyst for mobile payments, estimated to grow to $171.5B this year by Gartner, but SMS and other technologies are expected to comprise over 80% of that estimate in the US, for example. Overall NFC adoption has been slow due to the limited number of handsets and contactless point-of-sale devices installed. On the other hand, Starbucks is considered the leader in mobile payments and utilizes a 2D bar code, instead NFC, to process transactions. Since launching their app in December, over 42M transactions have been processed. Apple could go either direction but, in any event, Apple should expand on Passport capabilities since the competition will certainly play up NFC capabilities.
Apple should provide an improvement over its existing camera technology by increasing the zoom capability, MP count or other features such as image stabilization. Consumers will expect it, given the competition. Just as texting replaced voice, photos and videos are replacing texting. “A picture speaks a thousand words.” Furthermore with the latest battleground in social networking and mobile apps focused on photo and video uploads and their ease of use, the quality of photo and video taken by a mobile device is now front and center. Apple should maintain its perceived leadership in digital media convergence on a device.
Apple should wow the audience with a new form factor. The black and white glass casings on the iPhone 4 series were elegant. If Apple is going to change from these winners, the new form factor needs to be stunning, of a new material, and distinguished from Samsung, in particular. Apple, in its iMac and MacBook lines, has moved away from white and adopted a sleek silver brushed aluminum appearance, and this works. In its iPod line, Apple has embraced color at the lower price points to generate excitement. The Nokia Lumia 920 was the first phone out in a long time that tried to look very different from an iPhone and has done so well. The iPhone 4/4S has left big shoes to fill, and the audience will be looking for the iPhone 5 to do it.
If Apple changes the charger, it should be more convenient. Apple is expected to offer a new dock connector and change the cords to connect an iPhone to a charger or computer. Wireless charging would be far preferable, particularly for the company that convinced its users and fans that wireless conveniences, such as iCloud and AirPlay, were the new necessities. That said, it is highly expected that Apple will introduce a new dock connector of fewer pins. This could backfire because most Apple owners own, on average 2.6 Apple devices, and currently, iPhones, iPods and iPads can use the same chargers. Interchangeable chargers are enormously convenient for users.
Apple has been driving the boat on smartphone excitement since it launched in the iPhone in 2007. Competitors have largely been playing catch up, at least in terms of buzz. This time, however, the competition took a different tact and beat Apple to the punch on product announcements, although Apple could still get to the market first with product, if Apple follows its recent history. That said, Nokia, Motorola and Samsung put impressive products out into the mindsets of consumers, and set the bar for Apple to beat. All eyes will be on Apple on Wednesday.
