NOKIA TO DEVELOP FEATURES OF LOW COST INTERNET PHONES

Nokia India announced yesterday that it would be
concentrating on creating a richer app ecosystem for its
low-cost internet-ready mobile phones in the sub-Rs.
6,000 category. The company has undoubtedly been
thinking along these lines for a while, with their latest
browser providing compression features to render
webpages faster.
Now, with the results of a Nielsen study in hand,
Nokia has identified that Indians who use mobile
internet on their phones, spend more time browsing the
internetthan checking their e-mails, chatting, or
indulging in some social-networking.
Elaborating on the company’s plans, Jasmeet Gandhi,
Head (Services Marketing) of Nokia India, said:
“Indians use internet on the phone more for browsing,
and less for emails. The expectation is to buy a phone
with inbuilt features like chat and mail, but at a lower
price point… The segment at this price point is growing
at five-six per cent. While the percentage is not much,
the installed base itself is huge in India.”
“The advantage will come from the additional value
one can offer. This includes innovate apps that need to
be localised. Given the size of the market at this price
point, the challenge is to package more and more
features in this price point. The ability to create a
phone with a better, smarter ecosystem would
determine our success.”
The Nielsen study surveyed over 3,000 mobile
internet users across eight cities, finding 73% of them
to be under the age of 35. A majority of the mobile
internet users defined a good mobile phone as one that
delivered a fast internet browsing speed.
Elaborating on the results, Gandhi added:
"Good Internet speed defines good overall internet
experience on the mobile when it comes to browsing,
emailing and chat and social networking."