JUST FINISHED MY hands-on experience inside Nokia's flagship store, located across the street from Apple's bigger presence in the centre of London at 240 Regent Street. And while inside Nokia's shop, I listened to a prospective customer ask about an iPhone. "Across the street. They will cost you less in June." It's easy to find people who believe the iPhone needs to be deeply discounted in order to shift storeroom stock ahead of the next generation phone arriving for Christmas 2008. In the meantime, I fondled some of Nokia's phones, chatted with several knowledgeable floor staff, and learned some things I had suspected were true of the company whose phones I have used more than any other manufacturer.
Most-sold phone in the Nokia Store. I didn't conduct scientific research because the sample size is too small. The Regent Street shop only opened its doors a few days before my visit, but in the run-up to Valentine's Day, the phone enjoying the most sales is a slim Nokia 5310 (at right), also the phone with the most views of any phone in my Flickr photostream.
We cannot confirm. At the special meeting of press in the Regent Street store, Nokia would neither confirm nor deny that the company's fastest-growing new line of revenue comes from downloads of maps for the Nokia N95. My friends admit to their growing addiction of the maps and the ease they update over the air.
Still Awaiting Ovi. Nokia beat the drum for Ovi louder today than during Nokia GoPlay in August and from what I've seen on screen, the social network offers a lot of functionality and free storage for those with Nokia phones. I only wish I could receive an invitation to use Ovi on my phones. I request an invitation every fortnight and get the promise "we'll be in touch soon" from the acknowledgment screen. My anti-spam filters might be killing the real access code from Nokia. It's a shame I cannot see the inside of the service because the outside view looks very impressive.
Bonus Link: Interesting photos of Regent Street.
Most valuable takeaway: The Nokia N-Series news feed.
