Nokia India to develop features of low-cost mobile 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 internet than 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.”
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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.”