Why Nokia And Motorola Are Stalling On Australian Release Plans


Both Nokia (the Windows Phone 8-equipped Lumia 820 and 920) and Motorola (new RAZR models) launched phones in the US overnight. We know that Telstra will eventually get the RAZRs, but not how much they’ll cost, and Nokia isn’t disclosing any Australian release plans or pricing. Australian release delays are hardly unusual, but in this case there’s a particularly clear issue: the forthcoming new iPhone.

Nokia’s official local comment on Australian plans is the usual non-committal stuff:

Nokia Australia is not confirming any details of local market availability at this stage. Exact details of launch dates will be made available closer to the time of launch.

We hear this all the time, but in this case there’s a very obvious immediate factor: the imminent announcement of iPhone plans from Apple, which is happening on September 12 (the early hours of September 13 in Australia). Gartner analyst Carolina summed up the issue neatly in a tweet:

Lack of detail on pricing & availability from Nokia gives room to adjust once they know what HTC and Apple are doing and get it right

Hardware plans can’t change, but pricing certainly can. And from that perspective, hanging back makes sense (for both Nokia and Motorola).

Any crumbs of compensation while we wait? Well, Motorola has confirmed that the RAZRs released in Australia will have unlockable bootloaders. Hack away!


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