In 2011, as Nokia prepared to reintroduce itself to the US market with its first Windows Phone launches, CEO Stephen Elop told The Verge that the company’s “deliberate scheme” was around making quality devices, and not about buzz. According to a new report from Reuters, that attitude prevailed all the way down to naming Nokia’s new flagship phones — a snap decision that was made in just one day.
Nokia decided on ‘Lumia’ name in just one day
is executive editor who has obsessed over headlines and internet speeds since 2011. He previously worked as an advocate for the National Park System.
“Why wait until tomorrow or next week?,” Elop told Reuters, describing a meeting in August, 2011. “We could make the decision today. And we did.”
While naming its bright and colorful line of Windows Phone devices Lumia may have been an accidentally apt decision, it wasn’t perfect, and more careful consideration may have revealed the fact that the name colloquially means “prostitute” in Spanish.
Reuters also reports that, like in its effort to name its new phones, Nokia is hustling to get its products to market. The company has picked up its pace in releasing new devices, shifting to an eight-month delivery cycle, down from the 22 months it spent on the Symbian-based N8. And while Nokia’s record sales in 2013 have led the company to sell more Lumias than BlackBerry sells phones, Nokia is still struggling, having just lost $151 million in Q2 this year. Whatever Nokia’s most deliberate scheme is in 2013, it will need to result in sales as the Lumia 1020 goes head-to-head with the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 in the coming months.
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