诺基亚Lumia手机能否对抗苹果和谷歌

    本周一诺基亚（Nokia）发布了Lumia900手机，以此抗衡苹果（Apple）的iPhone和Android手机大军。这款WP7手机具有流行智能手机的所有必备条件——明快的硬件设计，包括一块４.３英寸的大屏，一个主要的运营商伙伴（AT&T ），以及极速的第四代ＬＴＥ通讯网络。

    不过这并不意味着诺基亚一定能打赢一个漂亮的翻身仗。手机市场已经机满为患，许多设备都满足上述特点。尽管诺基亚和微软（Microsoft）都付出了最大的努力，但这两家公司在美国智能手机市场上仍然只占据了很小的份额，市场的大头还是被苹果和谷歌（Google）所霸占。诺基亚和微软要想在竞争中立于不败之地，就必须证明双方的合作可以为消费者带来全然不同的、更好的移动体验。这一点说起来容易做起来难。

    诺基亚ＣＥＯ史蒂芬•埃洛普在本周一发布会后的一次采访中对《财富》杂志（Fortune）表示：“差异化十分重要。如果仔细观察其它设备的话，你会发现它们的区别很模糊，因为它们的体验都是一样的。它们使用的应用千篇一律，区别并不明显。”

    诺基亚不甘心沦为一个普通的Android手机生产商，因此选择了微软作为合作伙伴。不过虽然Lumia 900的硬件设计简洁美观，而且ＷＰ７系统的“瓷砖”式用户界面也颇获好评，但仅此还不足以让微软和诺基亚在芸芸众生中脱颖而出。而且尽管诺基亚与ＥＳＰＮ和芝麻街工作室（Sesame Street Workshop）等品牌建立了排他性的应用合作关系，但Lumia 900不见得就能因此获得某种竞争优势，因为很多开发者仍然觉得至少目前还没有足够的动力来为诺基亚的WP7手机开发应用。

    埃洛普在本周一的发布会上称，Lumia 900是诺基亚在手机生态系统大战中建立的一个“滩头阵地”。显然诺基亚已经意识到，现在最重要的不是拼硬件，去推出一款所谓的“iPhone杀手”，而是要建立一个杀手级的手机生态系统，融合硬件、应用，以及专门的开发者基础乃至更多的元素。同时诺基亚和微软显然也意识到，要成为手机大战“三足鼎立”中的一足，他们必须拼上全力去奋斗才行。

    微软已经表示，它分给应用开发者的利润分成将略高于谷歌和苹果。另外从去年２月起，诺基亚已经开足马力生产尽可能多的Lumia系列Windows Phone手机。

    On Monday Nokia unveiled the Lumia 900, its latest attempt to take on the iPhone and Android smartphones. The Windows Phone-running device has all the makings of a popular smartphone -- sleek hardware design including a large 4.3-inch screen, a major carrier partner in AT&T and super-fast network capabilities known as LTE.

    But that doesn't mean it's a slam dunk for Nokia (NOK). The market is already flooded with devices that do all of the above. And despite Nokia and Microsoft's (MSFT) best efforts, both companies still have an insignificant piece of the U.S. smartphone pie, which belongs to Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL). To take on the competition, the duo will have to prove that their partnership can result in a truly different -- and better -- mobile experience for consumers. that's easier said than done.

    "Differentiation matters," Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, told Fortune in an interview following the company's announcement on Monday. "Many of those other devices -- if you squint your eyes a little bit -- are blurring over because they're all the same experience. They all have the same static collection of applications that don't do much when you just look at it."

    Nokia chose to partner with Microsoft because it didn't want to become just another Android phone manufacturer. But while the Lumia 900 is a good-looking piece of hardware and Microsoft's "tile-centric" user interface has gotten good reviews, it's hard to see how that alone can be enough of a differentiator for Microsoft and Nokia. Even exclusive application partnerships with brands like ESPN and Sesame Street Workshop are unlikely to help give the Lumia 900 an edge, because many developers still feel there's no compelling reason to create apps for Nokia's Windows phone devices. At least not yet.

    At the company's press conference on Monday, Elop called the Lumia 900 a "beachhead" in the war of ecosystems. It's clear Nokia realizes it's no longer about coming out with one "iPhone killer" -- it's about coming out with a killer ecosystem that encompasses hardware, applications, a dedicated developer base and more. It's also clear that Nokia and Microsoft realize that they will have to fight with all their might to become a viable "third platform."

    Microsoft has already said it will give developers a slightly bigger cut of app revenue than Google and Apple do. And since February, Nokia has moved as fast as possible to churn out new Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone.