Well, it seems at least one UK operator is able to see past the issues surrounding the Nokia Music Store and recognise the N81 as what it is: an extremely hot handset that’s bound to attract customers. The 8GB version of the new Nokia handset has just popped up on Vodafone’s ‘coming soon’ pages.
Of course, there’s no word on whether this’ll be the full version of the N81, or a bastardised offering, sans-Music Store, similar to the voip-disabled N95 that Vodafone has been flogging. Still, it’s good to know that the N81 will be here in some form, at some point.
IntoMobile reports that both 3 and Orange are refusing to stock Nokia’s new N81 in the UK due to it shipping with access to Nokia’s new Music Store. This news marks the beginning of a fresh battle in the mobile phone world: the battle between Nokia and the operators for the content pound in your pocket. Flogging you music, video, games, wallpapers and other content is a big earner for the operators, and they’re clearly not happy about Nokia offering an alternative.
We’ve pondered before whether off-contract handsets are about to see an explosion of interest. The N81 8GB should be priced around £339 before discounts, which should mean we’ll see it for £299 or less. Network free or not, that’s still a lot more than we’re used to paying for our phones — about £299 more, in fact.
So where now? Will Nokia have to offer the operators a share of revenue? Or will it discount its off-contract handsets to entice us away from a network tie-in? Or is it time for the authorities to step in and tackle what could be considered to be anti-competitive behaviour by the operators? We’re betting Nokia already has its lawyers and lobbyists working on that one.
Cheesier than a week-long fondue binge.
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