Picture Courtesy: www.allaboutsymbian.com/
Yesterday, 25th August 2009, Nokia made the first calculated moves towards hitting back at Samsung and LG who were enjoying their new found ‘sweet spot’ in the mobile industry with their touchscreen devices.
The Samsung S5230 and the S5600 have been selling very well in the markets around the world and not far behind is the LG Cookie which has also mustered huge sales figures. This new blossoming segment created by Samsung and LG had given sleepless nights to many a manufacturers like Nokia and HTC. While HTC has to still respond, Nokia fired it’s first salvo, launched two touchscreen phones at price points which are too close to comfort for the South Korean chaebols.
Enter the 5230 XpressMusic and the 5530 XpressMusic phones.
First up is the Nokia 5230. The 5230 XM is actually a stripped down 5800 with some real cool colour options. It has the same body shell with some minor changes, as the 5800. The real changes lie within, no WiFi, GPS support, a slightly smaller battery (1320mAh v/s 1500mAh on the 5800) and a 2MP camera. It is going to be priced in the region of 149 Euros
the 5530 is unique in my opinion, it features a 2.9 inch screen, the same resolution of 640×360 pixels, WiFi, no GPS, a 3.2MP camera and the all the other things that the 5800 has. What sets this apart from the 5800 is that it lacks a dedicated GPS chip and also a smaller screen. But it also means that it is more compact than the 5800. Of the three, this definitely looks nice. The price, 199 Euros only.
Source: GSM Arena
So what happens now? Samsung will hit back with its Corby (S3650) and LG will most likely reduce the price of its Cookie phone. But the one to see will be Nokia as it will command a price premium and and that is expected to work in its favour, rather than against it.
What do you think, will the new XpressMusic phones break Samsung and LG’s little party? Are you going to buy a Nokia XM phone? LEt us know by leaving a comment!