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Nokia unveils 4 cheap phones
HELSINKI |
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia Oyj unveiled on Thursday four new cheap phone models, and a first bicycle charger from the world's top cellphone maker, aiming to protect its dominant market share on emerging markets.
Nokia controls more than 50 percent of phone sales in India and Africa, and has a strong prosition on most other emerging markets.
"Tens of millions of these products will be sold, but competition is intensifying as Chinese vendors aggressively target the ultra low cost segment," said Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight.
"With all the focus on its smartphone woes it is easy to forget that Nokia is a power house in entry level products."
Nokia has struggled to keep up with rivals like Apple and RIM in the high-end of the market, and its ailing smartphone offering has hurt the stock price over the last few months.
The four new simple phone models sales prices, excluding possible operators subsidies and local taxes, range from 30 euros ($36.9) to 45 euros.
Two of the new phones, including the cheapest 30 euro model, will enable usage of two different SIM cards -- helping sharing a phone between family members or friends.
Nokia introduced also its first bicycle charger, targeting especially consumers with limited access to electricity, and it will go on sale for roughly 15 euros price, depending on market, later this year, said a company spokesman.
(Additional reporting by Terhi Kinnunen; Editing by Hans Peters)
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Right. It’s not only the Chinese, that Nokia will have to win. Even a new Indian mobile phone Micromax started only a couple of years ago is already challenging Nokia on the Indian market. Two SIM- cards is no novelty. They have been around for many years on mobile phones made by Nokia’s rivals. Bicycle mobile charger is no novelty either. Dynamos generating electricity for bicycle lamps have been in India and other developing countries for over 60 years! The only novelty in this Nokia charger is the semiconductor chip that stabilises and regulates the dynamo voltage to be suitable for the mobile phone. Just wait and see, while the Chinese and Indians come up with an ultra-cheap add-on gadget that can be wired on to the existing dynamo on almost any bicycle in India and Africa. Then the Nokia charger with a 15 euros price tag will seem to be a over-priced luxury, which the rural population living in areas without electricity cannot simply afford.
Workers with 4- years work experience at Nokia’s manufacturing facility in India had to go on strike to get their monthly pay rise from 1400 INR to 2000 INR last year. At the exchange rate then, it meant a hike from 20 euros to roughly 30 euros/ month. And these workers living at Chennai, capital city of TamilNadu state are not among those, who live in poverty in rural India, where always available electricity is still a dream for many.
Nokia’s new cheap models and the charger meant for this rural population are still too expensive for whom these products have been designed. However, the timing of this announcement by Nokia is perfect. Nokia wishes to tell investors worldwide, that Nokia is now and will in the foreseeable future remain the King of the low-end mobile phone market. Nokia’s arch rival Apple is expected to announce its latest smartphone : the 4G iPhone next Monday. That’s where the fattest profit margins lie. That is what interests investors on Wall Street in NY and on Dalal Street in Mumbai.
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