Nokia Slams Motorola on Euro 3G

Christmas Cliffhanger

Two of Motorola's high-end 3G models are still missing in action as we move into the second week of October -- the A1010 and the 3Vx. The former is an important update of last winter's best-selling A1000, but it's still a 160-gram model. This absence of miniaturization progress is likely to sharply limit its appeal. Several appealing 3G phones with sub-130 gram weights are expected to dominate the retail scene this winter. European operators may well be shunning the A1010 because of the weight problem; just as they seem to be shying away from Nokia's N90, which has impressive specs, but a similar size problem.

The difference between Nokia and Motorola is that Nokia has managed to get both heavy (N90) and light (N70, Nokia 6680) W-CDMA models with novel technology out -- but Motorola is so far still tarrying with both the heavy A1010 and the petite 3Vx. The Motorola V3x was widely expected to be the 3G hit of the fourth quarter, but now major U.K. operators have begun announcing their big W-CDMA promotions without mentioning the V3x.

Vodafone(VOD Quote) did include the V3x in its recently announced Christmas portfolio; but that selection included 15 models and was obviously an "all this plus the kitchen sink" type of move. Vodafone Sweden is talking about the Motorola V3x as a November model, which creates high tension for the fourth-quarter volume outlook. If the Motorola A1010 loses the niche that the A1000 had because of the conspicuous lack of weight improvement, the V3x simply must ship in high volumes in order to protect Motorola's 3G phone market share.

Ramping up a new and technologically advanced model to high fourth-quarter volumes is usually something that demands an early October or late September launch. November launches are always dangerous. They force operators to make a gamble on including an upcoming model in their promotions and demand a perfectly choreographed series of manufacturing steps to succeed.

At the moment, Nokia has grabbed the initiative in the European 3G market by launching 6680, N90 and N70 in a rapid succession while the 6630 is still a solid performer. Motorola is stuck with a notably older product portfolio at the start of the fourth quarter. The exact timetable and the size of the early production run of the Motorola V3x now make it a pivotal event of the season.

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