Tech Interview
Nokia plans digital identity for the mass
Paula Laine, vice president, Entry Category Marketing, Nokia, speaks at the Ovi Mail launch in Dhaka.
Nokia, the world's leading mobile phone handset manufacturer, unveiled Ovi Mail in Bangladesh and other emerging markets on May 22, which has the potential to help people have a digital identity. Researches show half of the people in emerging markets prefer to use a phone instead of PC for Internet. In Bangladesh many people have experienced the Internet for the first time on mobile phone. Paula Laine, vice president, Entry Category Marketing, Nokia in an exclusive interview told The Daily Star about the handset giant's new solutions that will open the door to information, entertainment, family and friends. "When you buy an N-Series or E-Series device, it does offer you the full Internet experiecne on a mobile device but today we are bringing the key internet capabilities in the entry devices. We are not just unveiling a device, but also a service for the emerging markets," said Paula. The Ovi Mail is an email service from Nokia that can be set up and used directly from the affordable Nokia phone without having a PC touched. "There are less than a million people in Bangladesh connected to the Internet with 45 million people having mobile phone set. So potentially there are over 40 million people in Bangladesh who could have their first Internet experiecne on their mobile phone, which is the ideal platform for services like the Ovi Mail," she added. According to Paula, there are huge amount of benefits of Ovi Mail and it is the best way to communicate, it is very cost efficient, compared to the amount one would spend on SMSs or talking on the phone, for the same amount more texts can be sent via email. It is a new way to communicate; it enables picture communications, supports attachments such as images and one can participate in large number of distribution lists for relevant information such as job postings. "It creates a digital identity for you for the digital world and a door to more Ovi services, as we go along," said Paula. According to Prem Chand, managing director of Nokia EA, in terms of accessibility, the mobile device provides the best solution based on the present scenario of low internet penetration and scarcity of fixed lines in Bangladesh. "In terms of ease of setup, only three clicks are required and you have your first digital ID," said Prem. "All you need to do is choose a username, password and hit go. Email is a cost effective solution, in terms of content it's cheaper. Ovi Mail is also available in local language," he added. Nokia plans to launch Ovi Mail through more than 200 retail outlets and in each of those outlets they plan to have a dedicated promoter who will assist the consumer in setting up the email account as well as helping them to teach the basic email functionalities. Nokia wants to take Ovi Mail in rural areas of Bangladesh. "We are giving the opportunity for the South East Asia Pacific countries to establish themselves globally as leader in mobile email adaptation," said Paula. Paula also introduced three new phones, which are Internet-ready and work with Ovi Mail, giving the first-time email users the opportunity to set up and start using an email account directly on their mobile phone. The Nokia 2323 classic and Nokia 2330 classic will be available in stores from June 2009 whilst the Nokia 2730 classic will be available during the 3rd quarter this year. In emerging Asia markets 2730 Classic will be Nokia's most affordable 3G device with approximately 110 USD retail price. It will be available during the third quarter of 2009 in alignment with 3G deployment in the area. With a choice of colours (black and dark blue) the user-friendly Nokia 2323 Classic will retail for approximately UD$ 60 while the Nokia 2330 Classic is a low cost camera phone with a contemporary design and enhanced features, including a VGA Camera, BT and Stereo FM radio and radio recording, and support for MP3 ring tones. It comes in black or deep red and will retail for approximately US$ 50.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments