Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile-phone maker, said it will introduce 35 new handsets this year, fewer than the 40 it previously planned to unveil, after shelving plans for some products.
"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," chief executive officer Jorma Ollila said in a statement released before the Nokia Connection conference in Helsinki.
PHOTO: AFP
Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, has cut prices and is introducing new models to regain market share lost to rivals such as Motorola Inc and Siemens AG, whose phones with digital cameras and color screens have gained in popularity. Nokia is introducing five new handsets in the third and fourth quarter, president Pekka Ala-Pietila said at a conference in Singapore.
Three of the five new phones will have a clamshell design, which flips open to reveal a bigger screen. One of the new phones will target users of the high-speed mobile data network, commonly called 3G, that enables functions such as downloading video files. The handset will also be the world's smallest 3G phone with camera functions, the company said. The new phones are called 6630, 6260, 6170, 2650 and 2600.
"These new introduction will give consumers more choices of designs and features," Ala-Pietila said.
Nokia's market share fell to 29 percent in the first quarter from 35 percent a year earlier, according to US-based researcher Gartner Inc. The company's stated target is 40 percent.
Customers in Asia accounted for about 22 percent of Nokia's sales last year, or 6.48 billion euros (US$7.77 billion). The company said it expects future growth to come from Asia, estimating 60 percent of the 500 million new users added by 2007 to come from the region. It expects mobile-phone subscribers worldwide to reach 2 billion in three years.
The Finnish company expects the global handset market to reach 600 million units this year, Ollila said at the presentation in Helsinki.
Nokia's five main rivals, including Motorola and Siemens, all increased their market share in the quarter on higher sales of handsets with color screens and cameras. Those features help make so-called clamshell phones, which flip open to reveal a larger screen, popular. Nokia started selling its first clamshell model in Europe in March, years after some competitors.
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
RSS