Nokia cancels its CES 2013 appearance, decides to focus on MWC for a big Lumia splash

Staska  By on 18 Dec 12

Heading for CES in a few weeks,  to look at the latest and greatest Nokia Lumia devices? You are in for a big disappointment.

WPDang reports that Nokia has cancelled their Consumer Electronics Show plans, and will concentrate on making the big splash during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, at the end of February.

Our quick check of the CES 2013 Exhibitor Directory also shows no big Nokia presence on the show floor. Only Nokia’s Navteq division is there, with a smallish booth.

And when you consider it, despite Nokia’s emphasis on U.S. market, it kind of makes sense for them to skip CES. They already have Lumia 920 flagship on AT&T – and must have promised Ma Bell at least several months of exclusivity for its top of the line device. Lumia 822 is already on Verizon, T-Mobile has 810. And – due to AT&T exclusivity deal – it must be difficult for Nokia to get better specked devices to these carriers before spring.

We already saw what happened with Lumia 900, announced at CES 2012, only to be delayed by months. With the official info about the new flagship out there, previous flagship – Lumia 800 – lost any luster it had before. While customers had to wait for the new flagship until April, and it looked so less interesting by the time it shipped.

That Lumia 900 launch in January was an important part of the bungles that led to a dismal failure of first generation Lumia sales. So cancelling this CES appearance, focusing on MWC, and launching the new spring/summer next generation Lumia line-up there, sounds like a smart thing to do.

And if Nokia wants to do something with U.S. operators – there’s always CTIA Spring – where big smartphone announcements won’t get buried among new PC, TV and fridge launches.

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  • Garbonzo

    Not being present at CES is a dumb move. It is the biggest show in the world. Smells like a cost issue, or perhaps their next products have been delayed, or both. Either way, not a positive sign.

  • http://www.staska.net Staska

    Not necessarily. They launched their flagship – Lumia 920 on AT&T and worldwide only weeks ago. LAunching a new flagship in January will kill the buzz around 920, and won’t help sales that much. Better to wait till MWC and then announce

  • dddq

    Even at MWC, don’t expect 1080p screens in any WP8 device.

  • Freddy

    Probably too soon for a Lumia 920 successor, my guess is they’ll unveil a model which sits between the 820 and 920. Or better yet unveil a concept for flexible devices beating Samsung to the punch. I know they’ve demonstrated such a device with the Morph which unfortunately has always stayed a concept.

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