After much anticipation, Microsoft finally launched its newest Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia 900, at AT&T stores on Sunday. Almost immediately customers with the new Lumia began complaining of issues when using the phone that led to a loss of data connectivity. It doesn't need to be said how big of a problem this is for a "smart" phone - especially a brand new one.
On Tuesday evening, barely two days after the launch, Nokia quickly acknowledged these issues on its blog, identifying the problem as "a memory management issue", explaining that "This issue is purely in the phone software, and is not related to either phone hardware or the network itself."
To resolve the problem, Nokia will be upgrading software on all Lumia 900's on or around April 16th, and consumers can also head back to the store to swap out their Lumia now.
Technology Consultant Matt Ebert says that Nokia is likely willing to eat this cost as it desperately needs the Lumia 900 to succeed to compete against competitors like Apple. As he explains, "WP7 has a very small market share right now. They are barely ahead of Blackberry, but far behind Android and iPhone." However, he adds that even though "The WP7 operating system is outstanding, until now, they did not have the hardware that could go toe-to-toe with the iPhone. With the Lumia 900, you have a phone with hardware specs pushing high-end," but with a $99 contract usually found on low-end, entry level phones.
Surely, the failure to assure customers of a successful new generation of Windows phones under these circumstances could have doomed their entire future.
Instead, it appears Microsoft may have actually benefitted from this glitch. Not only will everyone who has already purchased the phone receive the rebate, but the fact the phone is practically now free to anyone who purchases the Lumia 900 (until April 21) may entice unlikely AT&T customers to try the new Lumia 900 at no risk.
A risk that might be worth taking if you happen to be an AT&T customer. Ebert says that even though he is not able to really utilize the LTE yet, he is "getting 4G HSPA+ speeds, which are markedly faster than my iPhone and Focus. In fact, yesterday I did a side by side bandwidth test between my Focus and the Lumia 900. At 4G HSPA+ speeds the Lumia 900 was about 5x faster". Most other reviews have demonstrated that the Lumia is indeed a superior phone - and now that Microsoft now has one of the best opportunities to place a Windows Phone in as many consumers' hands as possible, Microsoft could soon no longer be far behind Apple and Android - if at all.
