The Lumia 900 may not be coming out until Sunday in the United States, but the gloves are already off at the Nokia offices with Nokia’s new ad campaign that takes a direct punch at Apple‘s iPhone.
The SmartphoneBetaTest website features 30 Rock actor Chris Parnell 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 of the site claim to go “behind the beta” testing for an unnamed phone that is clearly the iPhone.
All three videos are embedded below.
The first video “Death Grip” pokes fun at the fourth-generation iPhone’s connection issues 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 entitled “Outside” features the same female exec from the above video, only this time she’s encouraging her co-worker to stay inside if he wants to avoid glare and screen problems.
Nokia’s Lumia line features an anti-glare LED display.
In the final video, “Fragile,” 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 4, 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, but they have seen more success with their Galaxy line than Microsoft has with Windows Phone.
The Lumia 900 is the first high-end smartphone to come out of Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft for Windows Phone, so a lot is riding on this gadget.
Despite being well received by reviewers and adopters, Windows Phone has struggled to gain market share from competitors Android and iOS, and only had just 1.9 percent of the market in 2011, according to IHS iSuppli.
Many analysts, however, have projected big things for Windows Phone in the years to come. The Lumia 900 launch could be a jumping off point for its rise.