QUOTE(azraeil @ Nov 27 2012, 06:02 PM)
I guess I am just comparing it with the iPhone 4s that I have which cost me close to RM3K when I bought it in January. Nokia has a lot of balancing act it has to do. I do believe that if Nokia were to price it too low, then there is the perception that it is a non-quality product. It also has to satisfy its shareholders and with the current cash reserve that is probably less then when they started on the Windows Phoen bandwagon, they really can't be taking a loss (or too much loss). For a guy like me who can afford it and someone who really loves buying these gadgets, I personnaly feel that RM2050 (I am paying that amount from Nokia Saudi) is cheap as hell. The only phone that I ever bought that was cheaper than 2K is the N8 which I promptly sold after 7 months. Then again, that's me personally.
There will always be people who complains etc. If Nokia were to price it at 1500, there will be people who complains that it's too expensive and it should be priced at 1K etc, so where do you draw the line? It is selling for 700 AUD in Australia, close to 520 pounds in UK and above 700 Euros in EU countries. The cheapest price I've seen is the off contract prices from AT&T at USD450 and that is off contract and not factory unlocked. Is the Malaysian market that big that Nokia should give us an exception to price their product below what everyone else in the world is paying? I can see them doing it in China and the US but I doubt Malaysia has the same clout.
Just to correct you slightly, devices sold at AT&T off contract remains locked.
You're right about drawing a line. There will always be people who would complain. People keep forgetting that Nokia exists as a business entity, not a charity foundation. Sure, slashing price / selling cheap may make good sense gaining user base, but at what cost? They have staff to feed. They have managers to feed. They have shareholders to feed. They need to pay for the next R&D. If they produce something with so much R&D and it's not giving any returns, then why do business?
Sometimes, you don't need to have a huge market share to survive. Sometimes, all you need is a successful niche. Nokia has done a terrific job thus far, so let's give credits where it's due.
To everyone who's complaining expensive, well, at such price, people still buy, and believe it or not, even those who complained when the prices were revealed, bought.
But of course, pricing has to be fair, and everyone has its set of fair value. So like azraeil said, where to draw the line? I believe if it's around 2k, that's pretty much justified.