Nokia CEO Elop throws iPhone on live TV
After dodging questions about a rumored Lumia 928, Nokia's chief exec grabs the interviewer's iPhone and tosses it to the studio floor.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has certainly made clear his feelings about the iPhone.
In an interview on Finnish TV this week, Elop is repeatedly asked about the Lumia 928, which will reportedly pop up next month via Verizon. Despite the interviewer's persistence, the jovial Nokia chief keeps dodging questions about the 928, claiming he doesn't know anything about it because it hasn't yet been announced.
Instead, Elop tries to tout the Lumia 620, a lower-end Windows Phone handset that popped up in January and is now debuting in Finland. Eventually, the frustrated interviewer pulls out his iPhone, an action that prompts Elop to exclaim, "Oh, how embarrassing."
The interviewer says he doesn't want his iPhone. "I'll take care of that," responds Elop, who then grabs it and throws it on the studio floor. The interviewer doesn't seem to care that his phone has hit the ground and keeps telling Elop he wants a Nokia phone, but he wants the 928.
Finally, the interviewer points to his fallen iPhone and asks if Elop will change it to a Nokia phone. The Nokia CEO says he will but doesn't reveal which one.
The interview is very light-hearted, and the interviewer is clearly a Nokia fan. In some ways, it feels like an infomercial. So, it's hard to know if Elop's iPhone throw was totally off the cuff or something planned beforehand.
Either way, the whole exchange is a perfect way for Nokia to create buzz about the Lumia 928 without revealing anything and poke some fun at the iPhone at the same time.