Contemporary clamshells, a megapixel 3G WCDMA smartphone and stylish mid-range phones
Mid-range clamshells and products for new growth markets took center-stage today, as Nokia revealed the latest additions to its product portfolio at the annual Nokia Connection conference. Held simultaneously in Singapore and Helsinki, the conference also witnessed the launch of the world’s smallest 3G GSM/WCDMA phone.
Chairman and CEO Jorma Ollila launched the products, including three clamshell phones and a 3G WCDMA smartphone aimed at bringing 3G to the broader market. Introducing the products, he said, “We have now sharpened our product portfolio in key areas, bringing new phones to the market in the mid-range, and adding more clamshells to our offering.” Nokia’s ongoing commitment to growth markets was also evident, with the launch of two new color-screen phones tailored for these areas.
Nokia’s newest 3G phone, the Nokia 6630 featured prominently at the conference, combining the benefits of 3G, EDGE and Series 60, the world’s leading smartphone platform. The Nokia 6630 boosts personal information management in 3G WCDMA networks with secure access to corporate Intranet and email at mobile broadband speeds. Uniquely, the Nokia 6630 is the first dual-mode, tri-band handset designed to work on 3G (WCDMA), EDGE and 2G networks in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Combined with the power of customization enabled by Series 60, operators will be able to deploy successful services across different networks and across the world.
Nokia also launched the Nokia 6260 phone, a high-performance business phone designed for mobile professionals. It offers the latest mobile technology features and applications, including push to talk, email, Bluetooth connectivity and a VGA camera in an innovative fold design. The tri-band Nokia 6260 smartphone is based on the Symbian operating system and Series 60, the world’s leading smartphone platform. As for the design: it is more than just a clamshell, it’s a fold with a twist!
In the mid-range, the Nokia 6170 is an attractive, clamshell camera phone that combines modern, stainless steel design with a feature set that emphasizes quality of life. The strength of this phone is its flexible messaging options: e-mail, instant messaging, MMS and push to talk all in one handset. Push to talk brings GSM subscribers a totally new way of using mobile phone for one-on-one and group communications. Several operators around the world are likely to launch push to talk services this year, introducing an enticing option for operators, business users and consumers.
The remaining two phones announced today enhance Nokia’s product offering towards mobile subscribers in growing markets. The Nokia 2650 is an affordable, small and stylish clamshell phone with a color display and balanced functionality. It is Nokia’s first color display phone in the entry category. The Nokia 2600 is a classically designed and easy-to-use phone which is ideal for small business owners and professionals. Of particular interest is the spreadsheet application for bookkeeping and customizable converter. Together, the Nokia 2600 and Nokia 2650 bring color displays to new price points. Color is now reaching entry-level phones.
In addition to the phones, Nokia launched a foldable keyboard with wireless Bluetooth connection. It serves an an extension to Series 60 phones like the Nokia 6260 and Nokia 6630, enabling easy text input to phone applications, including e-mail. The wireless keyboard is compatible with Series 60 phones with Bluetooth support, and is addressed towards business users.
In summarizing the new releases, Ollila also touched on Nokia’s plans to strengthen the focus on R&D and renew its product portfolio: “Earlier this year we said we would renew our product portfolio by introducing a range of new products. This has not changed. During the spring, we have conducted a thorough analysis of our roadmaps; we have reviewed the timings and pruned our portfolio, adding some new products and accelerating others – and during this process, we have even killed some product plans. As a result of this work, I feel that we will have a much sharper and competitive product range to meet the expectations of both consumers and operators. All in all, we expect to launch a total of approximately 35 products globally this year.”