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Technology Stocks : Nokia (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wafa SHIHABI who wrote (761)	7/16/1998 7:02:00 AM
From: tero kuittinen	Respond to of 34857

That's the big enigma of American market place. Just how was Nextel able to reach such scorching subscriber growth with Motorola bricks that weigh 250 grams and offer 24-hour stand-by times? By focusing on business consumers. That's where the growth used to be. But now that the focus is shifting to ordinary consumers, Nextel's strategy won't wash. They are offering your basic black, bulky, square business boxes from mid-Nineties and that turns women, kids and trendy people off. It's true that GSM does not have that two-way radio thing. But it does have text-message sending ability (which has been a huge hit in European youth market) and things like six person conference calls that iDEN does not offer. The weakness on relying on one manufacturer is now becoming apparent: Motorola is so preoccupied with getting the TDMA and CDMA models into market and launching Iridium that it has neglected renovating iDEN model line. Nextel is stuck with outmoded phones at a time when the digital market is finally taking off. Typically, analysts are only looking backward at Nextel's excellent track record in reaching business people. They are neglecting the danger signs of the shift in market to non-business buyers and the grave danger of relying on one manufacturer, which is a sure short-cut to technological stagnation. Which makes this my number two shorting favorite. I should think you know what's at number one with a bullet, currently experiencing a heady sucker rally on hopes of new digital models. Of course, Mot already has 12 digital phones on European market, none of which are selling... so the expectation that the American digital models will turn this pig around are kind of unreasonable. Too bad I can't short since I don't have cash. I say go for it, Wafa. Tero