At a press conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, Nokia outlined its strategy to bring the benefits of mobility to new growth markets. Today, Nokia also introduced the Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 - two new mobile phones aimed at first time users and consumers in growth markets like Africa. At the same time, Nokia unveiled the Nokia Prepaid Tracker, the world's first completely networks-based solution that enables prepaid users to monitor their account balance on the handset display after each call. The Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 join Nokia's range of entry level phones which emphasize ease-of-use, reliability and affordability, and contain technological features which reduce the total cost of mobile ownership for consumers. Both models are expected to be commercially available during the third quarter 2005.
"The number of new mobile users in fast growing markets continues to rise dramatically and nowhere is the rate of growth more evident than in Africa. By the end of this year, Nokia anticipates Africa will be home to 100 million subscribers and expects the African subscriber base to double to 200 million by 2009. Nokia has been instrumental in propelling the industry towards the goal of 3 billion people connected globally by 2010 because mobility offers so many benefits, such as creating employment, opening new channels of communication for social services and even helping to stimulate economies," said Juha Pinomaa, Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia.
"At Nokia, we firmly believe the key to success in new growth markets like Africa, is to work closely with mobile operators to reduce the overall cost of mobile phone ownership for consumers. It is equally important for us to work closely with government bodies to overcome possible barriers that are preventing forward momentum. With the right combination of mobile phones, network solutions services and a regulated environment, we envision a mobile landscape where operators can profitably offer mobile services to consumers for as little as USD 5 per month. When the cost of mobile services becomes this affordable, we foresee the growth curve in growth markets accelerating sharply."
Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600
Nokia handsets are renowned for their ease of use. The Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 phones continue this tradition with a new, highly intuitive user interface that makes full use of graphical icons and large font sizes. The Nokia 1110 has an inverted black and white display (ideal for sunny conditions) whereas the Nokia 1600 has a 65,536 color display. With the new menu structure, basic features, such as managing calls and contacts, are made easier to access. Other new features include a Speaking Clock with Alarm, which announces the time in the user's local language, as well as large fonts to allow greater readability.
Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 phones have excellent voice quality and coverage based on state-of-the-art radio software with AMR and SAIC. The AMR (Adaptive Multi Rate) technology enables operators to add voice capacity within their networks smoothly and cost-efficiently. SAIC (Single Antenna Interference Cancellation) is a network independent capacity enhancing feature in the handset, improving network capacity and call quality.
Both the Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 also feature a "Demo Mode," an on-screen visual guide of primary phone functions for first-time mobile phone users. The demo guide also allows consumers to play the pre-installed games or hear the Speaking Clock without a SIM card inserted into the phone.
In addition to polyphonic ring tones with MP3-grade sounds, the Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 also feature a number of cost management features, such as Nokia Prepaid Tracker support to help users monitor their phone usage.
Weighing 80 grams, the Nokia 1110 has a talk time of up to over 5 hours and a standby time of up to 380 hours. The available colors for the standard sales packages will be White, Blue, Painted Silver, Light Grey, Mid Grey and Dark Brown. The estimated retail price, before subsidies or taxes, is expected to be 65 euros.
Weighing 85 grams, the Nokia 1600 has a talk time of up to 5, 5 hours and a standby time of up to 450 hours. The available colors for the standard sales packages will be Black, White, Light Silver, Bluish Silver. The estimated retail price, before subsidies or taxes, is expected to be 85 euros.
Nokia Prepaid Tracker
The majority of mobile subscribers in new growth markets tend to opt for prepaid services. Nokia Prepaid Tracker's up-to-the-minute account information eliminates the need - and expense - of contacting the operator for basic balance inquiries, a common cost in new growth markets. Both the Nokia 1110 and Nokia 1600 are the first to offer built-in support for Nokia Prepaid Tracker, which automatically notifies prepaid users of their account balance after each call or message.
