Nokia 5800 "Comes With Music" Off To Rocky Start In UK

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) reported that its 5800 touch screen phone had been a hit the first quarter, especially when it was combined with their unlimited music offering "Comes With Music." But in the UK, the paired offering, which went on sale last weekend, got off to a poor start. According to Mobiletoday.co.uk, although Nokia was hoping to reinvigorate Comes With Music in the UK by placing it on its hit touch screen device, Orange and Phone 4U, its exclusive providers, "failed to register a single sale" at the majority of their stores. Comes With Music originally launched on the Nokia 5310, and has reportedly generated lackluster sales. Mobile phone retailer Phones 4u has sold eight of the 5800 Comes With Music devices across its 450 stores by end of the Saturday it went on sale, while carrier Orange sold only two phones on Monday across its 20 stores in west London.

But it seems that staff at the two providers don't believe the fault lies with the cellphone or the Comes With Music service, but with the monthly plans they've been tied to.

For one, the plans, which range from £25 ($40) per month to £45 ($73) per month, don't include an unlimited text bundle. One staff member told the trade magazine, 'It's ridiculous to ask the type of customers who want this music service to have a limit of 300 or 500 texts per month. The text allowance is just stingy and it puts customers off.' Moreover, only the most expensive plan offered data—500 MB—to allow over-the-air downloads, rather than downloads through a PC. A Phones4U staff member pointed out that this was approximately 125 songs (and nothing else), before customers were charged for exceeding their data allowance. Said one store manager, [Comes With Music] is genuine innovation and is good for the industry, but [Nokia] need to get the proposition right.'

Related

• Nokia's 5800 Combined With Comes With Music A "Big Hit"
• Nokia Counts 23,000 "Comes With Music" Users In UK?