Nokia targets emerging markets with ‘X’ Android phone

 

Nokia is targeting emerging markets with a low-cost smartphone that uses Google’s Android operating system rather than the Windows Phone software from Microsoft, the company about to buy Nokia’s phone business. 

 

Nokia will ditch many of the Google services that come with Android, which Google lets phone makers customize at will. 

 

Instead, the new Nokia X phone announced Monday will emphasize Microsoft services such as Bing search, Skype communications and OneDrive file storage. 

 

Its home screen sports larger, resizable tiles resembling those on Windows phone.

 

 

“The Lumia continues to be our primary smartphone strategy,” Nevanlinna said. “We take that pinnacle experience and make it more affordable.”

Once the No.1 maker of cellphones, Nokia has been struggling to keep up with the iPhone and devices running Android.

Nokia said smartphone revenue fell 29% in the recent holiday quarter compared with the same period in 2012.

And even as competition intensifies for high-end smartphones such as the Xperia Z series, Nokia has been hit by competition from cheaper
mobile phones made by Chinese and other companies in Asia. 

 

The Nokia X phone will sell for €89 ($122) and won’t be available in the US, Canada, Korea and Japan in part to avoid competing with Lumia phones, which cost hundreds of dollars in the US without subsidies from phone carriers. 

 

Nokia officials said that although much of the development on the new phone came after Microsoft announced the deal in September, there was already talk before then as part of a long-standing partnership between the two. 

 

At the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia announced two even cheaper phones on Monday. The Nokia 220 is meant as a starter phone for €29 ($40). It will have Facebook, Twitter and some games already installed, but users won’t be able to add apps. The Asha 230 will offer more options for apps. The €45($62) phone is meant for people who are not yet ready for the Nokia X. It comes with a touch screen, but lacks the power and versatility found in smartphones. 

 

For a first-time smartphone experience, Nokia Corp. is pushing the Nokia X. Because it uses Android, it will be able to run most Android apps. However, app developers may have to tweak some of their software because the phone doesn’t have key Google services. 

 

For instance, location services will have to be designed for Nokia’s Here mapping software rather than Google Maps. In-app payments will have to be tweaked to allow billing through mobile carriers rather than credit cards, which many people in emerging markets lack. 

 

RANJAY KUMAR

PGDM 1ST YEAR

SOURCE -: MINT