Nokia Lumia 610 and Lumia 900 launch delayed in the Philippines until May

Vlad Bobleanta  By on 25 Apr 12

Last week we found out that Nokia’s Lumia 610 was bound to be launched in Asia before the end of this month. Apparently the first country to get it would be the Philippines.

However, we’re now hearing that Nokia is facing even more delays. Aside from the Lumia 900 getting its release in the UK pushed to mid-May, the Lumia 610 and Lumia 900 won’t arrive this month in the Philippines after all.

That’s according to one of Nokia’s local marketing executives over there, who allegedly revealed this to Electronic Pulp. Both phones should see a release sometime in May, but there are no exact dates to speak of yet. While the Lumia 900′s delay may be blamed on demand in the US which is also what impacted its launch in the UK, the 610 is a different story. The Philippines was supposed to be the first country in the world where it would arrive.

Apparently local carriers Globe Telecom and Smart Communications, who have scored exclusives on the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710, may be in part to blame for the delay. It’s not entirely clear how, but maybe they used their sway with Nokia in order to ensure that they won’t see a lower-priced competitor to the Lumia 710 on the market this soon.

Anyway, when it does eventually launch in the Philippines, the Nokia Lumia 610 will be priced at around 12,000-13,000 pesos, which translates into approximately $282-$306 or €214-€231 at today’s exchange rates.

It’s unclear at this time whether the delay in the Philippines will remain an isolated event, or if it will spread to the other Asian countries in which the Lumia 610 was supposed to become available “in the following weeks”. We’ll keep you posted.

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  • Nikka Abes

    Hi Vlad — I work in Nokia Philippines as Corporate Communications Manager and would like to clarify a few things in this story:1. We are on track to start selling the Lumia 610 in select Nokia Stores and retail outlets by end of the month.  Our Suggested Retail Price is PhP10,980.  Both Globe and Smart will be offering this to their subscribers as well
    2.  We have said from the start that the Lumia 900 would be coming around Q2 to Philippines. 
    3.  We will be announcing the timing of the Nokia Lumia Launch for the Lumia 610 and Lumia 900 in due time. 
    Have an amazing day,Nikka Abes

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