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Nokia offers Tube as iPhone rival, dismisses Apple

updated 10:05 am EDT, Tue April 8, 2008

Nokia Tube Early Info

Nokia has given its touchscreen phone an early name and demonstration, the company has revealed at the Evans Data Developer Relations Conference. The handset maker at the Redwood City-based event said its first touch device is internally known as the Tube and is said to be visually similar to the iPhone. However, the Finnish handset is already known to include features that its Apple competitor lacks, including the ability to directly upload videos as well as support for Java-based apps.

Neither additional features nor a release date have been discussed, though Nokia has demonstrated the Tube playing Shrek the Third and last year showcased a likely related concept that includes iPhone-like photo navigation and an accelerometer that auto-rotates the image depending on the phone's relative position to the user.

At the conference, Forum Nokia VP Tom Libretto directly compared the Tube to the iPhone and explained that both features as well as sheer market influence would help Nokia outmuscle Apple. The latter has shipped 4 million iPhones as of January but is dwarfed by Nokia's sales, which saw 133.4 million phones shipped just in the holiday quarter alone. Apple is simply unable to match that production scale, according to the executive.

"We've done that [iPhone level of volume] since we've had dinner on Friday," Libretto says.

 
Previous Comments

Apples v. Oranges

04/08, 10:24am reply

Sure, Nokia does big phone business, and 4 million units sold is a drop in the bucket for them. But they have hundreds of phones in their product line in just about every market in the world. Apple has one phone model, and it isn't in half the markets yet that count (Japan, China, Latin America).

Let's see how confident Nokia will be once Apple completes it's world wide rollout, and offers a few other models, say, an iPhone nano/mini/shuffle, (you get the point).

factorguy

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Joined: Jan 2005

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iPhone vs. N95

04/08, 10:25am reply

A more apt comparison would be - how many N95 units has the Finnish phone company shipped since last July?

factorguy

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Joined: Jan 2005

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Dell Vs. Mac

04/08, 10:32am reply

Nokia's phones are sold with a razor-thin margin (well, most of them). Just like Dells, that barely make profit (mostly thanks to crappware pre-installed by OEMs). It is obvious that Nokia must make statements such as this to redirect the attention away from the fact that Apple caused a seismic shift in approach. How else can they explain that they (the single largest handset manufacturer in the world, dominating all markets) have to compare their devices with a virtual unknown (in the handset world, at least until last year), who's been on the market for merely nine months, with one single device, and is already stealing market share from long-established, well recognised players? And as 'Factorguy' said, proper comparison is with Nokia's smartphone devices, such as N95, and of course, that we won't hear from Nokia's executives...

vasic

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Joined: May 2005

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Dismisses Apple, BIG MISS

04/08, 10:37am reply

Dismisses Apple, BIG MISTAKE!! Apple isn't going away and sales are going up even farther. And more sales will come as it rolls out the iPhone worldwide. Over confidence will be Nokia"s downfall. No product will equal the iPhone's interface because no company can run OSX. The iPhone has another advantage, it can be upgraded via software with new features while the others your looking at buying another phone for anymore features.

horvatic

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Joined: Apr 2002

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Humble Pie, Mr. Libretto?

04/08, 10:40am reply

I agree with the above...there are many niches to this market, the iPhone is covering a fast growing niche, and doing it well. Nokia has made countless phones in the past, to be sure...lots of them have been real pieces of junk. This growing market of people who love quality, the convergence of features, combined with the support of the Apple platforms that utilize OS X and its "flavors" will result in a steadily growing market share for Apple.

scottgibbons

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Joined: Apr 2008

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Tube/ iPhone !!

04/08, 10:48am reply

This is more bullshit_

The phone is not even on the market yet_

The comparison of Nokia's entire product line compared to a single product by Apple is flawed in so many ways_

When/ if this Nokia Tube is released - only then can the 2 phones actually be compared_ Then when the Tube has been on the amrket for 6 months - only at that time can they go back and compare to the iPhone's 1st 6 months on the market_ product for product only_

Right now the Tube is not an actual product - so it has no features_

Apple is potentially gearing up to throw an upgraded iPhone on the market_ Looking at the jumps they've made since it was released last year - and going with how they've kept ahead of everyone when it comes to the iPod - they'll probably be pushing the bar higher_

What really gets OLD is how all of these iPod killers and iPhone killers are announced day after day - month after month - week after week - because they just hit the f****** market or were announced_

NO ONE GIVES A s*** !! Yeah - it's nice to see a new product hit the market and see the potential it may have_ BUT THAT'S IT !!

The it's an iPod Killer - it's an iPhone Killer s*** needs to stop_

Of course Nokia will sell a bulk amount of these things when and if it hits the market because it's Nokia and they sell phones everywhere_

UberFu

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Joined: Oct 2002

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Underdog GOOD!!

04/08, 10:53am reply

Also...I would never care to have Apple on the top of the heap in volume sales in any product market...it makes you lazy. The struggle and fight keeps companies like Apple on its toes, thinking harder, and asking the right questions. I would much rather have fewer truly great products than 800 "we sorta made it work" products...remembering also the consumers out there with many different wants and needs.

scottgibbons

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Joined: Apr 2008

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uberfu....

04/08, 11:12am reply

somebody piss in your pablum this morning? Slow down, take a deep breath, and if you decide to continue using the "blue" language, post on Macnn's sister site LeftLane news where they seem to tolerate adult language more than I do. I don't mind your comments or attitude - just the language.

psdenno

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Joined: May 2003

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by the time...

04/08, 11:32am reply

...the Tube (dumb name) maybe hits v1.0, Apple will be on the 3rd or 4th generation of the iPhone, and will most likely have branched downwards into the next lower cost market segment, with a midrange iPhone.

I feel it's amusing how giants like Nokia are scared of iPhone, and unable to really compete, except with words (remember, that was their biggest counter when they had 6 months lead time when iPhone was announced.)

Unless they release N95 sales numbers to compare with iPhone, most of the verbal masturbation from them is pretty useless.

They will probably be able to retain their low-end market (you know, the POC phones they are mostly known for), and some of the midrange market, in about 3-5 year's time.

ZinkDifferent

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Joined: Jan 2005

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how can you

04/08, 12:47pm reply

dismiss a company who's initial entry into your market has forced you to provide a similarly useful product decades before you would have done so on your own (if you ever did)?

Is Balmer on their board? :D

Flying Meat

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Joined: Jan 2007

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