| Even Nokia’s boots were innovative. |
| The company once known as Finnish Rubber Works made well-loved rubber boots long before it made smartphones. And as it shifted from rain-proof soles to cellphone modems in the latter half of the 20th century, Nokia became as innovative and important a technology company as any. In 1982, it made the first truly connected phone, the Mobira Senator; its Nokia 1100 later became the best-selling consumer electronics product on the planet. Nokia thought about mobile gaming long before anyone else, and worked with Spike Lee to make movies for phones well before Netflix had an app. No other company has moved the ball forward as many times as Nokia in the last two decades. | | In the last two years, Nokia’s bet over and over on its vision for the next new things: design and photography. As the technology becomes commonplace, it’s beauty and design that will separate one phone from another. And with Instagram and Snapchat dominating our collective consciousness, taking great pictures is maybe the most important thing a phone can do. That’s what Nokia’s many Lumia models have all been about, in one way or another. | | The Lumia Icon represents Nokia’s shared effort with Verizon to bring that ethos to Americas largest cellphone carrier. This isn’t the Lumia 929, though. Its name says everything about its intent, one Nokia doesn’t shy away from: this $199 phone is supposed to be big. Microsoft and Nokia are planning huge marketing, plus a push for both the Icon and Windows Phone 8 in Verizon stores everywhere. For Nokia, for Windows Phone 8, for Microsoft, the stakes couldn’t be higher: all three desperately need the Icon to be iconic. |
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