[Ict4women] Nokia: Developing markets?

[Sophia Huyer]

 From IICD online
Nokia: "Developing markets"?
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It's official. Or so it seems. Already the most active handset  
manufacturer in the developing world, Nokia today made an announcement  
which places it well and truly at the heart of the international  
development effort. It's a move which mirrors their 'developed world'  
strategy - a move from out-and-out hardware supplier to one of a more  
inclusive services-based outfit.

As if (very) successfully designing and building low-cost handsets for  
emerging markets wasn't enough, Nokia will now start offering emerging- 
market specific data services through their low-cost phones. And we're  
not talking music or games here. We're talking agriculture and  
education, and that's just for starters.

According to today's Press Release:

"In 2002, Nokia unveiled a strategy to lower the cost of owning and  
operating a mobile phone and to bring the benefits of mobile telephony  
to people in emerging markets. Today, we are expanding that vision by  
introducing a number of devices and services that aim to bring the  
power of the Internet to these markets as well. The mobile device and  
the Internet are a powerful combination in connecting people with each  
other, accessing information, news, entertainment and sharing. By  
introducing products and services that are affordable, relevant and  
easy-to-use, we believe Nokia can fuel the growth of the Internet in  
emerging markets through mobility"

The announcement is interesting on a number of fronts. In addition to  
their move into 'social mobile' services - something previously the  
domain of the ICT4D community and a handful of innovative companies  
who managed to figure out working business models - Nokia also  
announced "Mail on Ovi" which enables Series 40 users to set up and  
run email accounts without the need to go anywhere near a personal  
computer. The mobile browsing world is also set for a shake-up with  
the announcement of new low-cost internet-enabled handsets, including  
the Nokia 2323 Classic (pictured) with a price point of just €40.

Read Kiwanja's full blog post here

More on this:
Visit: http://www.blogspot.kiwanja.net/2008/11/nokia-developing-markets.html 
  
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