When Nokia announced in February that it will offload Symbian and use Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 as the major operating system for its forthcoming range of smartphones, the news received mixed reactions from industry observers.
But Tom Farrell,
Nokia’s General Manager for its Lower Gulf operations, said the decision was a natural transition for the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones – especially at a time when the smartphone market has become increasingly competitive.
“It’s just a fact of life that we’re in this transition and there’s nothing wrong with that. Symbian is a tremendous portfolio, it’s a strong platform that has given us leadership [all these years],” said Farrell.
However as smartphone competition intensifies, he said gradually pulling the plug on Symbian and switching to a Windows mobile platform is the strategy needed to be taken in order to regain any market share that they have lost in recent years.
“The Nokia-
Microsoft partnership is exactly how we’re going to compete in the future. [We’re] combining forces to catalyse our eco-system so we can compete in the smartphone market. I believe what will happen overtime in [the Middle East] is that Nokia will become much stronger with Nokia and Microsoft together,” the executive said.
According to media reports, Nokia will release its first Windows Phone 7 handset Lumia 800 in the United Kingdom on November 16 and the rest of Europe will get their hands on the device towards the end of 2011.
In the Middle East, however, tech-savvy consumers would have to wait until the second half of 2012 before they can get a glimpse of Nokia’s latest gadget. Farrell said the longer timeframe has been attributed to the technical modifications needed to be done in order for Nokia Windows Phone devices to be able to support Arabic language programmes.
What’s in store for Symbian
Prior to officially raising the curtain on the latest Windows Phone 7 device, Nokia released this year new handsets that included the N9 series, which run on MeeGo, a Linux-based operating system; and the Nokia 603, 700 and 701 smartphones that use Symbian Belle.
Farrell said Nokia will produce Symbian-operated smartphones in the next five years, side-by-side its portfolio of Windows Phone 7 handsets. He likewise assured that consumers who have Symbian phones will continue to receive technical support from Nokia.
“Symbian will continue until 2016 in the market and of course during that time we will ramp up on the Nokia-Microsoft eco-system. [As for the consumers] the fact of the matter is, irrespective of what’s underneath the covers, [consumers] will get support and guarantee. That’s the promise of Nokia,” he says.
Still top smartphone in Middle East, tablet eyed
Quoting a study by market intelligence firm
Gartner Group, Farrell mentions that Nokia continues to occupy the lion’s share of the Middle East smartphone market.
“In this region, six out of 10 people use Nokia. In fact Gartner just recently published a report saying that we have a 42.3-per-cent market share in smartphones. So actually in pure quantitative terms, we are a market leader in the region,” he noted.
On a global scale, Nokia remained as the top mobile device vendor, selling about 97,869.3 units or 22.8 per cent of the market in the second quarter of 2011, according to a Gartner survey released in August. The report also noted how Nokia’s market dominance has gradually slipped from 30.3 per cent in the same period of 2010.
According to Gartner, Nokia’s second-quarter smartphone sales took a hit due to a very competitive market that deflated demand for Symbian, but also to inventory management issues in Europe and China in particular.
With regard to its app store, Farrell said Nokia has been doing well with nine million downloads per day worldwide. In the Middle East, Nokia generates 7m downloads per week. The regional Nokia Ovi store also offers over 250,000 contents in the Arabic language.
“We have full operator billing integration with Etisalat as a local partner, which means consumers can buy an app on their Nokia device and the amount turns up on their phone bill. As opposed to competition where you have to enter your credit card details,” he said.
Meanwhile, asked whether Nokia has plans to develop its own tablet device, Farrell said it is something that they are considering.
“Nothing to share or announce now, but of course we’re looking at that in Nokia,” he said.
Farrell believes that overtime, as convergence of devices increases, multiple-screen platforms would become prevalent in consumers’ daily lives.
“And this is where we’re going [with regard] to convergence. Already our partner Microsoft has shown three-screen features with Windows [Phone 7]. For example, users can play Xbox on their smartphones, tablet or PC. That’s already happening and we’re the strategic partner of Microsoft so this is where convergence will accelerate and we are looking at multi-screen,” he said.
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