In advance of the Sunday release for the its new Windows Phone-based Lumia 900 smartphone, Nokia has kicked off an ad campaign that takes aim at Apple's iPhone.
The smartphonebetatest.com website features 30 Rock actor Chris Parnell biding his time in a smartphone beta test control center of sorts. A countdown to the release of the Lumia 900 is atop the site, while three videos at the bottom claim to go "behind the beta" testing for an unnamed phone that is clearly the iPhone. In "undercover" videos from 2007 and 2010, Apple executives dismiss a colleague who is concerned about the iPhone's fragile screen, low visibility in direct sunlight, and the iPhone 4's "death grip" (video below).
"Stop acting like a spoiled child and use the approved grip," a female exec says when her co-worker complains about his phone's decreased signal when it's held in a certain manner.
The fourth-generation iPhone was, of course, plagued by connection problems when users gripped it in a manner many considered to be most comfortable. Apple eventually offered users a free bumper that solved the problem and more recently, a class-action suit over the issue provided consumers with the option of that free case or $15.
A second video, dubbed "Outside," features the same female exec encouraging her co-worker to simply stay inside if he wants to avoid glare and screen problems. Nokia's Lumia line features an anti-glare LED display.
Finally, the execs seem unfazed when the co-worker complains about the iPhone's fragile state, accusing him of being a baby and arguing that a broken phone means consumers will just buy another one. After the release of the iPhone, a study found that the device was experiencing 82 percent more glass breaks than the iPhone 3GS.
Nokia is not the only company to go after Apple. In pushing its Galaxy line of smartphones recently, Samsung produced several amusing commercials that made fun of the hipster fanboys/girls who wait in line for days to get their hands on the next iPhone.
Samsung, however, has had much more success with its Android-based Galaxy S line of smartphones than Microsoft has had with its Windows Phone-based devices. The Lumia 900 is the first high-end smartphone for the U.S. to come out of Nokia's partnership with Microsoft for Windows-based smartphones, so there's a lot riding on this gadget.
Windows Phone has been well-received by those who have adopted the platform, as well as reviewers, but it has struggled to gain market share in the face of competition from Android and iOS. Apple sold 37 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2011, while Samsung sold 34 million smartphones. But Windows Phone had just 1.9 percent of the market in 2011, according to IHS iSuppli.
Many an analyst, however, have projected big things for Windows Phone in the years to come. The Lumia 900 launch could be a jumping off point for the rise of the mobile OS here in the U.S. What do you think? Do you have plans to check out the new smartphone? Let us know in the comments.
Pre-orders for the Lumia 900 started on March 30 and it will be available in stores on Sunday via AT&T for $99.99. The Lumia 900 features a 4.3-inch, AMOLED Clear Black display, which is the largest screen on a Lumia device so far. It's powered by a 1.4-GHz processor and runs on AT&T's super-fast new 4G LTE network. The phone's primary camera features a Carl Zeiss lens, with large aperture (F2.2) and wide angle focal length (28mm).
For more, see PCMag's hands on with the Lumia 900 and the slideshow above, and stay tuned for a full review.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.
