Unlocked Nokia Lumia 800C sees its price cut again in China ahead of release tomorrow
By Vlad Bobleanta on 27 Mar 12Tomorrow is Nokia’s big Lumia launch in China. The Finnish company is expected to unveil at least two smartphones tailor-made for the Chinese market. We’ve heard a lot so far about the Lumia 800C and Lumia 719C for China Telecom, the country’s third largest carrier.
The Lumia 800C is obviously the higher-end of the pair, and we already reported that its price was cut by China Telecom ahead of its release. But that was a couple of weeks ago. Today we can tell you that Nokia’s flagship offering for China will be even cheaper than anticipated back then.
Two different sources are reporting on the Lumia 800C’s price (for the unlocked and unsubsidized version) being cut even further. WPDang has it at 3,699 yuan, which amounts to approximately $587 or €440. However, Sina’s Tech channel has heard that the recommended sales price for this smartphone will be as low as 3,180 yuan ($505, €379).
Since the iPhone 4S is currently being sold at around 5,000 yuan, either of the above prices, if they turn out to be real, will make Nokia’s Lumia 800C a very interesting proposition for many Chinese consumers. After all, it’s going to be quite a bit cheaper than the competition, plus it will have all kinds of buzz associated with its launch tomorrow. Nokia and Microsoft aren’t being shy about throwing money left and right for marketing.
If Nokia manages not to lose money on Lumia 800C sales in China, it will probably not care about not making great profits. At first, it’s all about getting the thing into the consumers’ hands. Volume counts, especially for a platform such as Windows Phone, which still has but a tiny market share.
[UPDATE] According to the comment you can see below this post, the 3,180 yuan price may refer to Hong Kong sales. Apparently there’s no sales tax over there, yet in mainland China there’s a 17% tax on everything. That would explain the difference in pricing, so the Lumia 800C may very well end up being sold for 3,699 yuan in mainland China, and 3,180 in Hong Kong. We have no way of verifying this info, but we do think it sounds pretty plausible.
If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:
- Nokia Lumia 800C prices already cut by China Telecom, though it’s not even available yet
- Nokia Lumia official launch in China is on March 28
- Nokia Lumia 610C and 800C officially announced for China
- Nokia will launch Lumia on China Mobile on March 28 too
- Nokia Lumia 610 launched in China for half the price of a Lumia 800
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