E As convergence continues to take place in handsets with standard mobiles equipped with Bluetooth, a personal organizer, and email capabilities, what is happening to the smart phone and PDA market?
The next challenge, from a corporate perspective, is to consider what other company information assets can be of benefit. Mobile devices today allow access at near broadband speeds and in many cases offer WiFi in addition to cellular support. Mobile teams can access, update and share large amounts of information as though they are connected directly to their corporate network. Operators around the world and here in the Middle East are offering flat rate data plans which enable cost effective access for teams across wireless networks and with the increasing prevalence of WiFi hotspots, this is also a viable mobile access route. As for Nokia, it is the world’s largest manufacturer of converged devices with 14.6 million shipped in the first quarter of 2008.
Enterprise systems such as SAP allow access to inventory levels, production reports, customer sales and credit history. Enabling mobile access to these will allow greater levels of customer response and service.
With access to wider and deeper levels of company information there will also be a need for companies to consider what security solutions they need to put in place. Security solutions will need to be adaptable, scaleable and most importantly, able to manage the idiosyncrasies of mobile communications.
E It has been reported by IDC that sales of PDA handheld devices were down 43.5% globally, is this accurate in your market?
We have experienced great interest within the MEA (Middle East & Africa) for our latest E-series devices such as the E65, E61i, E90 and E51, which have proven to be the new access point for business people that provides them access to corporate data, documents and emails at all times.
A recent TNS survey found that the UAE for instance is one of the countries with the highest users of smartphones — around 32% of mobile phone users in the UAE actually carry a smartphone, or a PDA, compared to an average 13% worldwide.
E How are high-end handsets selling in the region? How do sales for upper-end models in the GCC compare to the rest of the region? Is this region unique in this way?
There has been a very positive response in the region to high end handsets, but not only, as our latest figures show. In the first quarter 2008, the total mobile device volume of our Devices & Services group reached 115.5 million units globally, representing 27% year on year growth. The MEA accounted for 20.2 million devices, marking a growth of 28.7% to the first quarter of 2007. It definitely is a unique region and a challenging one, comprising many different countries, cultures and lifestyles: the region includes some of the world’s poorest countries as well as some with the highest per capita income. The use of a mobile phone device differs completely throughout the region.
E What is your growth in the region for 2007 and your current market share?
Nokia’s mobile device volume for MEA in 2007 was equal to 75.6 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 42%. This was the highest growth of all the Nokia regions.
Based on our preliminary market estimate, Nokia’s global market share for the first quarter 2008 was 39%, compared with 36% in the first quarter of 2007.
E What type of influence do your local partners have on your strategy and products?
Nokia has begun a strategic transition from being a mobile phone pioneer to a consumer Internet services company providing multimedia devices, concepts and services. Within such strategy, local partners will be playing an increasingly important role. We work closely with our partners to offer our customers solutions that meet their needs — be it local music, as in the agreement with Rotana, Ramadan applications, launched last year, along with a Special Edition of the N73, on occasion of the Holy Month, or business solutions — we recently announced with du that the Nokia Intellisync service will be shortly available and will allow customers to receive mobile email immediately via the push email service.
E How important are internet options and mobile browsing features in the region?
Extremely important. Today, Nokia is expanding from a focus on mobile devices to offering a range of Internet services with the introduction of Ovi. Ovi is a gateway to Nokia’s Internet services and an open door to web communities enabling people to have all of their content, communities and contacts in one place. The core principles of Ovi are to empower and enable Nokia device owners to realize the full potential of the Internet. Ovi services include our music, navigation and games. We believe this region will highly appreciate these services.
E What are the current trends in mobiles and what can we expect in the future? Will devices continue to converge and what effect does that have on mobiles in terms of new products and services?
During the last years, we have experienced some new trends when it comes to mobile technology, which are likely to continue in the next few years — such as imaging, music, navigation and business-on-the-go.
Imaging is becoming a key phone feature — in 2007 Nokia shipped 200 million camera devices, making it the world’s largest manufacturer of digital cameras. Nokia devices are increasingly being equipped with high-performance cameras and DVD quality recording with wider screens, to enable the best imaging and video experiences. This is evident in the Nokia N95 8GB and Nokia N82, which are enhanced imaging tools with 5 megapixel cameras that deliver the utmost imaging experience. We’ve also recently announced the Nokia N96, which will become available later this year, which is feature-packed for the next level of mobile entertainment, and optimized for exciting video and TV consumption.
Furthermore, Nokia sees that location-based experiences, such as mapping and navigation are to be a fundamental platform in mobile devices going forward. Nokia’s mapping and navigation solutions give people navigation features, local content and world maps directly on their mobile device. Maps and navigation have become a standard feature in all Nokia N-series multimedia computers and in a wide range of Nokia phones. Nokia will introduce a number of GPS enabled mobile devices in 2008 that will offer an enhanced maps and navigation experience. Nokia has introduced the “Navigator” branded devices which are truly optimized for navigation, such as the 6110 Navigator and the soon to come 6210 Navigator.
Music and gaming are also on the rise comprising an integral part of what consumers want from their converged devices. The Nokia N-series range of multimedia devices, such as the N81 and the recently announced Nokia N78, offer high quality music and entertainment experiences. Additionally, the Nokia XpressMusic range such as the Nokia 5310 and Nokia 5610 are optimized for music lovers with dedicated music features.
On the business front, mobile technology is transforming when and where business is conducted. Devices such as the Nokia E-series can contribute to increasing employee efficiency and productivity, allowing them to better balance work, life and free time.
The Nokia E-series devices — such as the Nokia E65, the Nokia E61i, the Nokia E90 Communicator and the recently launched E51 — support the most popular email and business voice and other productivity and leisure time solutions, operate across different continents using the quadband GSM and 3G network frequencies, provide fast broadband data connectivity with 3G WCDMA and WLAN. Each Nokia E-series device features a combination of advanced technologies that will enhance the way people experience work in a mobile world, by allowing faster and better quality access to important information for greater collaboration and productivity.
