Long queues in China for second batch of Lumia 920, yellow variant sold out

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

The Nokia flagship store in Shangai, China has received its second batch of Lumia 920 stock. Now one would think that the second number of units would sell comfortably, but the Nokia store has already sold out on the yellow variant in just 20 minutes. This is yet more news of the Lumia 920 not meeting consumer demand.

The Lumia 920 was made available at the Shangai Nokia store earlier this month, and we covered some photos that were published showing large consumer interest with many queueing up to get their hands on the flagship Windows Phone. Previously, the first batch of stock lasted only 2 hours, so the 20 minutes is quite an improvement, or the number of units available second time round was less.

China is an important market for any manufacturer, not to mention the platform smartphones will be powering. Windows Phone has broken into China quickly, as shown in recent Kantar data. This was also the case with the Lumia 800, which launched in the country earlier this year. In fact, it was reported that the Lumia 800 overtook the iPhone with regards to marketshare. Who would have though, eh?

Nokia Lumia 920 Crowd

Crowd gathering for first batch of Lumia 920s at the Shangai store

Microsoft currently owns just 3% of the smartphone market in China (according to Kantar data), and with Lumia Windows Phones appearing to sell like hotcakes it paints a positive picture for 2013. Huawei is expected to unveil its Ascend W1 Windows Phone at CES 2013, which will then be unleashed in several markets, including Asia.

We still wait on exact sales figures for the Lumia 920, but from what's been reported in multiple markets, we'll be betting that a fair few have been shipped but it could well be that Nokia just hasn't been able to produce enough.

via: Nokia Power User; thanks, sunny, for the tip!

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

67 Comments
  • I hope the stock goes up. :)
  • Its a good problem to have, not making enough, better than making too many and not selling them. There is a balance, but it's a double edge sword for sure. I hope the stock hoes up too.
  • But it's frutrating for a consumer when you phone is continuously out of stock... 20 minutes to sold means that there was not much devices... even the iPhone was not sold out in 20 minutes... Nokia seems to be inefficient with the launch of it's Lumia 920... and that is not a good problem to have... it's more like "It's a nice phone, but there is no way to get one when it's in stock"
     
  • Yep... The company I work at wanted to replace the phones for their entire sales team. I tried to persuade them to go WP8 with W8 surface. They called the local carrier and were told it would be several weeks before it's back in stock... So they bought iPhones instead. If you make it difficult for people to switch they simply won't bother without a compelling reason.
  • Obviously you didn't give them any good reason to switch if they just went with what was available.
  • Of course I did, otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered calling up for it. The problem is that MS is eroding any "must have" features for businesses by giving it to IOS as well i.e. Office supposed to be coming soon. WP is a tough-sell when everyone has iDevices already and they can't even buy something supposed to be better. We have 1 carrier selling it, and once they're out we're out of luck. Anything else is "too hard" and not worth the effort. They'll probably revisit it again in 12-24 months.
  • Guys at WPCentral, I hope you are doing something about this.
  • Yeah, the douchebag spammers are pretty annoying. I know WPC do remove them when they can. Perhaps they can just block the particular comment content as the spammers aren't particularly smart & use the same text each time :P
  • THIS!!
  • I hope the numbers are high. Here in GBG Sweden stores got like 1 or 2 devices and have been waiting for a real batch over 1 month. I hope there are better numbers out there fir Nokias sake, because otherwise its a shame. Otherwise could be said its bad when companys can't meet demand, and gets a long long delay in restock. Its bad business :-/
  • I don't know, being sold out seems to be something a hyped product needs to do these days in order to be considered worthy of its hype. People want exclusive devices. They like to brag that they got a first batch iPhone, before stores ran out of stock. If mainstream newssite pick up the story of Lumia 920 being sold out it might actually make it more attractive to some consumers.
  • But Nokia's not hyping it though, which leads me to worry that they're just not making enough. Hopefully they're just keeping mum to make a bigger splash later on.
  • Amen Brother. Ny wife have been waiting for her L920 from Telenor in GBG for over 6 weeks now. This is not even funny anymore :-(
  • If these launches have proved anything, its that Nokia really needs to improve their supply chain.
  • They purposely undership them so they seem more in high demand. This is becoming a common business practice, especially in tech. No doubt it's selling better than any windows phone before it (which, frankly isn't saying much), but I highly doubt it's a threat to the Galaxy series or the iPhone.
  • Really? Any proof/examples of that?
  • Lol puposely undershipping will hurt Nokia. They need to shoot up their income now more than ever. I don't think they're deliberately doing that. And it is a threat to the iPhone, but not to Samsung yet. iPhone is only major in the US and a couple of countries. But take worldwide market into consideration, Samsung's droids take up the majority.
  • Not true. Having product sit on shelves will lead to big discounts (especially so soon after launch) and a cheapening of the phone/brand. Limiting supply means an opportunity cost of possibly losing a customer but they're thinking that the positive press generated by selling out witll overcome a small percentage of lost sakes.
  • Bring it fast to India, I'm losing my patience. After confirmation by Nokia representatives that 920 will be launching in 1st week of Jan, Nokia actually seems quite relax here. Latest rumours are suggesting that the launch has been pushed back to 15th Jan, or even 25-28th Jan. Hope this ends soon.
  • Me too waiting for its release....losing my patience...updated my Lumia my Lumia 710 to 7.8 that's a bit relief but Nokia is making too late releasing Nokia Lumia 920 a friend of mine opted for iPhone 5 last week
  • I want red!!!
  • No gloss, no mas!!!! Matte black is where it's at!!! ;)
  • Your opinion!! I'll take a glossy phone as long as it grabs attention like my beautiful one does!!! Ok?!!! I love exclamation marks like you!!
  • I had to wait a month and a half to get my yellow Lumia from AT&T. Turned out for the best though as I received it immediately after the Portico update came out. Awesome phone. I love how it can charge without even touching the charging plate. (Makes me want to rig up something with magnets so it charges while floating above the charging plate.)
  • 20 in 1hr? Unless the store is massive it sounds like they got only 20 yellow phones in the most optimistic of the cases... that's 1 phone a minute and I doubt the selling efficiency is that high. I hope I'm wrong though.
  • The Shanghai flagship store has 10000 sq ft of space. I am sure they have more than 1 sales guy working. On top of that, for event like this, the sales procedure goes like this: what color, credit card please, thank you, bye. Besides, they sold out the yellow one in 20 minutes. No mention of any other color.
  • Maybe one person can buy many. Also it is only yellow that's sold out.
  • I'm in China right now for the last week, and I've been keeping an eye out on what phones people use. I see iPhones everywhere (more 4 & 4S over 5), but not a single phone running windows phone! I somehow doubt the lumia lineup ever took over apple in the china market share. Honest outlook.no Lumia 920 spottings either!
  • Considering Android has over 90% marketshare in China and you keep seeing iPhones everywhere, I think the location you're at does not represent the Chinese market.
     
    Also Lumia didn't overtake iPhone's total marketshare but sold more units during a quarter last year. This is supported by hard data. But true enough none of this means that the Lumia is selling wel in China as Apple is constantly losing ground to Google over there. We'll have to wait for the actual figures but this is a positive sign.
     
    Ive always expected the collorful design of Windows Phone to appeal to the asian markets so I wouldnt be suprised if salefigurs actually turn out to be great.
  • I also see iPhones everywhere in Shanghai, but I saw many times Nokia's in the wild. I never saw Nokias in Spain, my homeland on the street.
  • In Singapore it took me almost a month to see a fellow lumia 920 user since I got my phone but it was like a jackpot.. There were three friends and all three of them were holding a Lumia 920 each of different colors.
  • Was it red, white, and blue (cyan)? That would have been awesome :)
  • I saw a LOT of Lumia's in Russia. Quite a lot of Androids... Only a few iPhones, mostly held by American tourists ;)
  • I live in Shanghai and commute on Metro Line 2 every day. Almost all smartphones are iPhones or Androids. I regularly spot Nokias (several C7, some N8, a couple of 800) and saw a Lumia 920 twice already (both matte black). But it looks like the 920 hit a sweet spot here, all major stores have the Yellow 920 in display and people are crowding to get a chance to touch it, while nobody seems really interested in the iPhone5 (cannot blame them, the Yellow and Red glossy colors really steal the show!).
    There are already advertisements for the Lumia 920T (at 0 RMB), but it is still not available in the China Mobile shops. At the moment, only the matte black Luma 920 is avaliable from the other stores, such as 360buy.com (White is announced for January) or Suning.com (Yellow in pre-order). I went to one of those electronic shopping malls today: Lumia 920 black or cyan, Hong Kong import, at 5000 RMB (4600 RMB official price). Yellow or Red are hard to get and more expensive, they trade at over 6000 RMB. The clerk told me the Lumias are hotter than iPhone5 at the moment. So I can very well believe they sold out the Yellow ones in 20 minutes! Interstingly I am seeing more and more Lumia 800, I guess some people will just stick to that instead of waiting for the 920.
  • Very interesting to have first hand reporting of sighttings and plans from China.
    I expect that this is where the big battle will occur, and where Nokia stands a very good chance at least against Apple.
  • Yes, thank you for your first hand report... Keep us posted :)  and take some pictures?
  • I have yet to see any Androids or iPhones when I traveled to Antarctica. I only saw blue Nokia 920's. Go figure?
  • MicroNokia are Not serious about WP8. Check out the ATT site and they just show that Yellow and Cyan are sold out without any indication of when they'll be in stock and Lumia 920 is exclusive to ATT!!! If a small player like ATT cannot have Lumia 920 in store, why do you expect China Mobile and China Unicom to have them?
  • at&t is the second largest carrier in the US behind Verizon by only a few million subscribers..they are not small and its actually a good thing they're sold out. It means there's demand!
  • Knowing that AT&T had millions of phones and are sold out is good news, problem is that nobody knows how many 920's are in stock anywhere at any given time. Nokia nor Microsoft ever talk numbers, the China store could have only had a couple hundred phones for all we know. All this hush hush on actual number of phones sold means not many.
  • You're being ironic when you say ATT is a small player, right ?
  •   The Brazilians are angry with the delay of the launch of Lumia 920, 820 and 620 in Brazil, are saying that will be released in March or April 2013.
  • Why can't Nokia produce more phones? Is this because of the factory's that have closed down? Not meting consumer demand is detrimental to WP, and Nokia.
  • Pre-ordered my yellow 920 in Germany back in November and they delayed my order week after week. What bothers me most, is that the online retailer took my money out front. Really hope they deliver in January.
  • I fail to understand the biased reviews for nokia lumia....even from other sites....why is it when nokia lumia is out of stock the review is ..... "This is yet more news of the Lumia 920 not meeting consumer demand." but when a google nexus or X android phone or even an iphone is out of stock "it has fantastic demand"..... why so????
  • Oh cmon. Im a big as Nokia fanboy as anyone but when Apple says iPhone has been met with amazing demand, you know its true because they give the numbers to prove it. (and you have a gazillion other pieces of evidence as well)
    Nokia never releases any sales numbers, until quarterly results, which have been disappointing until this point. (that said I am optimistic we are finally gonna see healthy numbers)
    This story = a local store selling out in 20 minutes. how many units did you think they had if they sold out in 20 minutes? Amazing demand would hardly be true, atleast we dont have any evidence to back that up
    this is just Nokia sending out small shipments to create this kind of sell-out headlines to create buzz. nothing more. OR, they really dont have the supply. either way, we are not talking iPhone or SGS3, so dont kid yourself. Go to amazon bestsellers list right now and you can see the top 10 consisting almost entirely of different SGS3 variants.
  • thanks for your insight mate.... but lumia 920 being the flagship phone I am sure nokia wouldnt have had a low supply, also considering they are waiting to make a comeback. seriously it would be suicidal if they were not prepared for it. but regardless of what amazon says this phone is kickass :)
  • Have you been to that so called local store? The bias is true 'cause if the Lumia 920 is not selling out, the press will say nobody wants it. The key is of course in the actual sales volume. But until the number is out, anything you said is just conjecture.
  • nokia never used to break out sales figures for individual models and only recently gives breakdowns for generic phone type sales.  having said that, they did once break out sales figures for the 5800 .. from memory when it sold 1 million devices. bear in mind they still sell over 1 million phones a day (although that's fewer than samsung now).
  • I guess Nokia doesn't have enough cash to make enough!
  • TRUE that spend some to make some
  • I'm glad I grabbed my L920 here in CDA when I did O.O I really hope you guys get your phones soon, it truly is a lovely piece of hardware.
  • Im BB all the way but DAMN! If I had to choose anything besides a Z10 it would be a yellow lumia 920, that phone looks sweet!
  • BB Z10 all the way! Lol.. @rkopsie
  • You screwed up Nokia! Stupid shit not to have enough! Some countries have to wait to spring!!!!! Sent from my yellow Lumia 920
  • I got a Lumia 920 for some time ago in Sweden with no problem. I think its more a problem with some of the operators like Telenor than Nokia itself.
    Its many avaible Lumia 920 devices at prisjakt:
    http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=1398672
  • I wonder whether the issue is low stock or high demand.
     
  • its sold out here in singapore too! :( bern trying to get it since launch
  • If Nokia manages to sell 3million lumia 920's by the end of January with a total of 8million windows phones sold that would be incredible. But im gonna remain skeptical this time around.
  • Preordered mine when this first came out in Singapore. I asked a small Nokia shop here about the numbers they initially had at the store. The salesperson said they had about 20. My modest estimate, during the first launch in Singapore, there should be around 600 phones sold. That was the first batch. I was there to pick up the phone from the adjacent shop next to Nokia. Looking at the queue then, I would say the phone would be sold off within an hour.
  • In sweden all the Lumia 920 phones are also hard to purchase at the moment.
    There are one place that actually shows how many units they have/are recieiving and when. For the moment they are awaiting a batch from nokia. http://www.komplett.se/k/search.aspx?q=lumia+920
    Also, Lumia 920 are at the top of all units on the most used price watch page for consumer products in sweden. http://www.prisjakt.nu/kategori.php?k=v100&o=lokal_rank#prodlista
    So it's not hard to understand that there is a hard demand on these units when a small contry like Sweden has a hig demand that can't be met. And as said earlier, it is a two sided blad to have to few units vs. to many units. But this is not good for anyone and I hope things go better everywhere. Cause WP8 is the best thing I have used in a very long time.
  • http://www.komplett.se/k/search.aspx?q=apple+iphone+5 weird the website you say didn't even carry Iphone5? so does that mean Iphone 5 is sold out or totally no demand?
    i think basically this website is only showing what they are able to buy off supplier as they are not priority seller to supplier so they are not alloted with more units.
  • No shortages here in Switzerland; the Lumia 920 is available on the Swisscom network as well as some private retailers. In yellow, white and matte black. 
    As a replacement to my iPhone 5, I first got a yellow as a test unit, now I've purchased a black with a 30% discount (Somebody returned during the 14 days).... But I still can't make up my mind between yellow and black; my friends didn't really like the yellow....
  • Get some new friends... :P
  • How convenient.. I just happen to be leaving for China in a few days.. ;D
  • and that's convenient why?
     
  • abit curious, the article reads the "Yellow" one sold out in 20min, but the other part/comment section seems to suggest all stock sold out in 20 min...? which is it?