Nokia has a loyal following in some of the largest mobile phone populations. With the recent pressure from competitors, Nokia has adopted a strategy of providing phones with improved connectivity and seamless applications for web, email, music, photos and maps which help with the daily lives of their users. Here’s a piece we received from Nokia about how its contributing to the big shift in how people connect with each others via phones.
The greatest shift is happening right now. It’s the shift of connecting the unconnected – and the opportunity to bring information, knowledge and services directly to more than six billion people on our planet – that will drive our future. Mobile phones have a profound impact on people’s lives – on the way they live, the way they work and the way they connect. Studies have revealed that on average, 10 mobile phones per 100 people increases GDP by 0.6%.
Socio-economically, the emerging markets in Middle East and Africa represent both the vast growth potential in many of the rural, unconnected areas and the more developed urban cities in many of these countries. Each day, 1.8 million people globally become mobile phone users, with the majority of these people being from countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
In emerging markets, mobile phones are being used in new and innovative ways. Such examples reflect the difference mobile innovation is making in the world. People from Pakistan’s rural areas are also using their mobile phones to earn their livelihood more efficiently. Gul Ghani Shah is currently working in Karachi as Security Guard. He uses his Nokia mobile phone to stay in contact with his family which lives in a small town of NWFP, Kohat. His mobile phone also helps him to urgently contact the Security Services Company in case of any threat or mishap.
Millions of people who are living in small towns especially those from the rural areas are now reshaping their lives by being more connected with one another through mobile devices. The innovation which was earlier considered a luxury and supposedly designed for the urban population is gradually becoming an integral part of people in rural areas.
As the leading mobile phones manufacturing company, Nokia is coming up with a series of innovative services that are designed not only for the urban population but also for people living in rural areas.
At a launch event held in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Nokia has unveiled the latest device in the company’s range focused on mapping and navigation, the Nokia 2710 Navigation Edition. The new arrival is GPS enabled and pre-loaded with Nokia Maps, making it the most affordable GPS device in Nokia’s broad portfolio. Due to the accessible and affordable pricing, the new device is expected to be popular in the developed and developing world alike. Pakistan is one of the fastest emerging markets for Nokia. As the major part of the country consists of rural areas, Nokia is committed to bring innovations in the lives of rural population by introducing meaningful technology at the most affordable prices.
“There is a clear trend to provide navigation, mapping and other location based services to mobile phones, and having mapping and location based services integrated in one single mobile device rather than buying two devices is a great benefit” says Alex Lambeek, Vice President, Mobile Phones, and Nokia. “Of course, when bringing this experience to new people, new prices and new countries, you need to make sure the experience is optimized and locally relevant. With Nokia Maps, Nokia provides the broadest navigation coverage of any competitor and we continue to add new countries all the time.”
At the same event, Nokia also showcased its recently announced range of new affordable and easy-to-use mobile phones: Nokia 1280, Nokia 1616, Nokia 1800, Nokia 2220 slide and Nokia 2690. Considering the most affordable prices of the devices, the new range is ideal for consumers the world over.
Nokia believes in offering a broad portfolio that caters to a wide variety of needs. This full device range will serve a broad spectrum of people, empower entrepreneurs and provide consumers with knowledge, entertainment and the ability to connect with friends and family. Services like Nokia Life Tools (not available in Pakistan) and Ovi Mail offer consumers a whole new range of opportunities, including getting their first digital identity, without the need for a PC. With the longstanding commitment to emerging markets, the new affordable devices will let people in rural areas access information to make informed decisions and will have a positive and lasting impact on their lives.
Nokia is Life Tools gives people in small towns and rural areas the ability to get a range of livelihood and life-improvement services on their mobile phones. They can subscribe to agriculture, education and entertainment information and content.
The agriculture service is available for commodities beginning with crops, livestock, horticulture and fisheries. The education service helps people learn English, general knowledge and with test preparation. And the entertainment service features a range of mobile entertainment content, including news, music, comics, astrology, movie news and reviews.
Nokia Life Tools is currently only commercially available in India and Indonesia but people from other developing countries will also benefit from this service soon.
The incredibly successful offering of Nokia, Ovi Mail is accessible to 75% of the world’s population that doesn’t have an email account. Ovi Mail allows you to sign up using a wide range of Nokia phones without having access to a PC, hence giving people their first digital identity on the web.
Phenomenal results of the service have been observed during the last one year. In less than a year, close to 4 million Ovi Mail accounts have been created. A significant portion of these are from Africa, with Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda being in the top ten markets.
Today, Ovi Mail can be set up on the web, or directly on more than 100 Nokia handsets, and is available in over 20 languages which shows the popularity of the service among the various cultures and nations.
According to a research, there are 4 billion people who do not have bank account. But there are already 4 billion mobile phones in the world. Meeting the needs of those people, Nokia announced Nokia Money, a mobile financial service earlier this year, this will offer basic financial management and payments from a mobile phone.
It will allow you to send money to another person, using just their mobile phone number, pay for goods, services and bills
Or recharge pre-paid SIM cards with great convenience.Nokia Money will be rolled out in selected markets beginning in early 2010. While Nokia will be keen to cover all markets,
it is the emerging economies where Nokia may have the biggest potential.Nokia has developed locally relevant solutions that consist of affordable mobile phones and applications, designed and built
from the ground up to meet the specific needs of the customers in emerging markets. These solutions will prove to be the gateway to information, entertainment and will help people connect with their loved ones. The new range of devices introduced by Nokia for the emerging markets is the continuation of materializing Nokia’s vision of providing latest technology at affordable prices. Nokia is capitalizing on mobile phone usage patterns which reflect that next technological innovation is most likely to come from emerging markets. It is in these markets that people are using basic mobile phone functionalities in most unique ways. For this reason, Nokia is bringing more opportunities to these high potential developing countries.
