Nokia 5800 'Tube' Delayed Until 2009

Author	Gordon Kelly
Published	8th Oct 2008

1 comment

Email this to a friend

TrustedReviews Newsletters

Well it all seemed to be going a little too swimmingly didn't it...

So naturally just six days after the launch of its first touchscreen handset - the 5800 XpressMusic (more commonly known as the 'Tube') - Nokia has had to put the brakes on and admit it will miss its anticipated UK launch.

Originally scheduled to arrive in that vague period referred to as 'Q4', news has come out that we Brits will now have to wait until Q1 '09 for our first experience of Finnish feely touchy-ism. Even more knarling however is the fact Nokia will keep to its Q4 5800 release for more what are more traditionally emerging markets such as India, Russia, Spain, Asia and the Middle East.

At this stage it is unknown whether the FT's report late last week that the big four UK telcos' (Vodafone, Orange, O2 and T-Mobile) understandable resistance to Nokia's revenue sapping Comes With Music service was behind the delay - but it wouldn't surprise me. After all, each network has worked hard to launch their own online music stores and such a scheme - if popular - would immediately shoot them down.

Of course the fact the Tube 5800 is a midrange handset without truly cutting edge features also means consumer clamour doesn't rival that of the original iPhone - a device which forced telcos to bend over backwards to accommodate features like Visual Voicemail and Unlimited Data.

Ironically, I've questioned this midrange positioning in the past and it may well now come back to bite Nokia and its 5800 XpressMusic on the backside. By contrast an 8MP, 3.5in VGA LCD, 16GB, mobile TV sporting touchscreen flagship surely would have carried more clout.

So with the lucrative Christmas period now off the agenda all parties need to come together and work out a solution, fast...

Link:
via Reuters