Nokia eyes Asia’s untapped markets

Nokia, the world’s biggest phone maker has stated, that thau intends to stay ahead of its rivals in Asia with a new range of handsets aimed at the region’s increasingly tech-savvy consumers. An estimated 1.8 million people worldwide become mobile phone users for the first time each day, with a sizeable number coming from Southeast Asia, the subcontinent and China, the Finnish giant said. Some expect Internet access with their very first phone, it added.
“The Asia Pacific market has been an extremely important region for Nokia over the years and remains hugely important to Nokia,” said Mary McDowell, executive vice president and chief development officer.
“Asian consumers’ eagerness to use technology makes this region a great place to introduce new devices and services,” she said in a keynote speech at the opening of the Nokia Connection show held annually in Singapore. The new Nokia line-up includes the E72 smartphone with a fully “QWERTY” keyboard. It comes with a more powerful camera than the popular E71 and easy setup of instant messaging accounts such as Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk.
“The next phase of growth will be very much driven by the emerging markets, including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam,” said Chris Carr, Nokia’s vice president for regional sales.
“Many of the population from these markets are accessing the Internet, information, education and entertainment on their first mobile,” he said.
Nokia is by far the world’s dominant mobile phone maker with sales of 97.39 million units in the first quarter of 2009, giving it a market share of 36.2 percent, according to figures from research house Gartner.


 

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