PopularMechanics082017

AUGUST 2017 _ http://www.popularmechanics.co.za 25

PEOPLE DON’T LIKE taking out cell-

phone contracts anymore. Odd then that

the one reason for getting into the two-

year lock-in is now attacking the low end

of the market. The tale of Nokia’s return is

one of a slavish devotion to build quality

and the quality of the customer experience,

as well as placing the aftermarket respon-

sibility in the hands of the people who hold

those contracts. Let them tell it in their

own words:

AARTO NUMMELA, CEO HMD GLOBAL

“Personally I have to say that the Nokia 5

is the most Nokia phone out of all of these

because of how we captured the humanness

in the design. It’s a pure 3D shape, which is

very difficult to manufacture because it’s like

a pillow with the back also curved. Then we

did amazing radio innovation with it. We

made the antenna lines disappear. Nokia has

always been driving innovation. Also the

performance is really good. We’re focusing on

the things that matter the most to consumers.

We went to our partners to solve three con-

sumer pain points. One is the clutter, the

different skins that are sometimes hard to

use and the preloads (bloatware). Then the

security concerns. And then the updates.

We wanted to resolve all of these and we

told this promise to all the retailers and

operators. We didn’t have any pushback.”

FLORIAN SEICHE, PRESIDENT HMD

GLOBAL

“Google has done a great job to stay on top

of the security problem by bringing out regu-

lar updates. The challenge is that most of

the Android manufacturers have put their

own software on top with customised skins

or other preloads. We have the opportunity

now, starting from fresh, to do it right. We

built our whole strategy around the user

experience and decided not to deviate from

that pure Android experience, which also

makes it more operationally feasible. It’s a

THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP

significant investment for the consumer and

for us as well and the updates will come from

Nokia. We’re trying to do it as immediate

as possible. ”

SHAUN DURANDT, GENERAL MANAGER

HMD GLOBAL SOUTH AFRICA

“We’re going to leverage very heavily on the

operators as our repair partners. The after-

sales service has the ability to tarnish the

brand, so we’ve treated that really seriously.

It’s a great revenue spinner for the operators

and it gives them end-to-end ownership of

the customer, which is really important to

them. It gives them the ability to keep the

customers on the network as long as possible

and quickly resolve any issues.”

NOKIA 5

Slotting in below the 6, this R3 000 handset

packs a lower mid-tier punch, but isn’t

bogged down by all the bloat of its Snap-

dragon 430-toting competitiors. The design

and feel of the subtle curves is very remi-

niscent of the iPhone 6, which is definitely

not a bad thing at this price point. The

5,2-inch 720p IPS LCD panel is plenty

bright and sharp with 16 GB of storage

expandable via microSD and backed

by 2 GB of RAM. On selfie duty is

an 8 MP shooter and there’s a

13 MP unit around back. PM

After years of missteps, it’s safe to get a Nokia again.

Well, if you’re on Android.

Editor’s

choice

✓