Paying Nokia for convenience
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In the last few weeks, I got a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone, which has been brilliant. As the geek I am, I have been playing around and trying out many of its functions. One area that has been an absolute fail is the GPS software: Nokia Maps. The phone comes with a 6-month license to get directions or have it speak to you as you drive, but at the end of the 6 months, you need to pay for these premium services.
I have no problem paying for it, but the pricing model is stupid. This is what the pricing looks like when you select it from within the phone:
- 1 day: R19.99
- 30 days: R20.00
- 30 days with automatic renewal: R66.00
- 1 year: R512.99
I cannot imagine who would choose 1 day, when 30 days is just 1c more expensive. However, what confuses me is that it is over three times more expensive for the same 30 days—just because you tell Nokia you want to keep up to date with it. The yearly option is also odd: if you purchase each month separately, it costs R240, which is less than half the yearly subscription!
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All of this screams that Nokia South Africa has zero clue about what they’re doing to promote people to:
- Buy in bulk (or put another way, pay more)
- Set up a “contract” that will cause people to pay more
In fact, it seems they don’t want the business—because you can also purchase this via your browser online from Nokia Europe, which is a little more work than doing it on your phone. But their pricing makes sense (see how it makes sense to buy the bigger packages or renewal options):
- 1 day: €1.59 (~R17.90, or 10% cheaper)
- 30 days: €5.99 (~R67.45, or 237% more expensive)
- 30 days with automatic renewal: €5.19 (~R58.44, or 11% cheaper)
- 1 year: €39.99 (~R450.33, or 12% cheaper)
When my subscription ends, I’ll be sending money out of the country and helping Europe meet their sales targets—which just feels wrong. 😢