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Music and games at the Nokia Playground
Prem Chand, general manager, Nokia Emerging Asia speaks at the event, left, visitors try out games on the phones displayed in a large screen.
Walking into the RAOWA Club's open ground area on Tuesday, November 14, one was greeted by a massive black structure shaped like one of those gaming arcades at theme parks. This, then, was The Playground, the venue where Nokia launched its Ovi platform, a package of internet services for Nokia users in Bangladesh. Inside the temporary building, the decor was flashy, futuristic and eye-catching, with splashes of dark paint on the cloth walls, colourful posters and projector screens and LCD monitors showing video clips about various models of Nokia phones. MC'd by Shabnam A Huq, communications manager, Nokia Emerging Asia, the program kicked off with interactive presentations by Nowfel Anower, marketing manager, and Itekhar Matin, product marketing manager, Nokia Emerging Asia. With the aid of some dynamic and musical audio-visual clips, the pair talked about the evolution of infotainment, from the large cinema screens to the television screens, and then the arrival of the internet, which made the shift from collective viewing to personal utility. Mobile internet, then becomes the 'fourth screen', by means of which the isolation suffered by internet users on their PC's was overcome. Users can now enjoy a wealth of information and entertainment no matter where they are. The Ovi (www.ovi.com) platform was first launched in Singapore on August 29. Ovi means 'door' in Finnish, and Nokia's Ovi aims to open a door to new and exciting experiences. As part of Ovi, Nokia announced the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage, services that enable users to try and buy music and games from a blockbuster range of artists and publishers including exclusive content only available through Nokia. Speaking at the event, Prem Chand, general manager, Nokia Emerging Asia presented the company's future plans as an internet company: "Looking into the future, we will deliver great devices, combined with compelling experiences and services, to make it easy for people to unlock the potential of the internet." Of the two Ovi services available to Bangladeshi users from this month onwards (more are to be expected very soon), the Nokia Music Store, (http://music.nokia.com) offers millions of tracks from major artists, independent labels, as well as a broad range of local artists around the world, as available via a desktop computer or directly from a compatible Nokia device, such as the Nokia N81 or Nokia N95 8GB, which have also been released at this launching. The N-Gage service offers an easy way to locate, try and purchase quality games directly from the compatible Nokia device, and is available at http://www.n-gage.com. Those attending the launch on November 14 were taken to the Playground section, an innovative dark maze, fashioned after the Hall of Mirrors at circuses. Going through the winding corridors, they arrived at different rooms or sections where different Ovi features were on display and demos available for trial. This included a music section with choreographers grooving to music from the Nokia Music Store, as well as the hugely popular game corner where one could try out the games on offer from N-Gage. Previews of the Maps application, which is yet to be made applicable to Bangladesh, were also involved. The evening ended with a rocking performance by veteran band Souls. The grand launch of Ovi was definitely a glittering success.
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