Faced with increased competition from up-and-coming rivals, Finnish telecom giant Nokia plans to launch a slew of new products this year, but analysts say it faces a tough battle to hold on to its position as the world’s No. 1 mobile phone manufacturer.
To fight back against Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry, Nokia announced plans to launch three new smartphones with touch screens, a portable notebook PC and will tie up with Microsoft to use its popular Office software on its handsets.
Industry observers criticized the Finnish giant for its aging product lineup and for not bringing smartphones to market quickly enough to take on their up-and-coming rivals.
Analysts interviewed by AFP agreed that Nokia had not yet found a product to challenge the iPhone as most new Nokia devices use an outdated operating system to drive their phones.
“It is going to be 2011 before they have the right software to make a really competitive product,” said Richard Windsor, a London-based technology analyst for Nomura Securities.
Its latest smartphone, the N97, has achieved modest sales so far compared with the iPhone.
Technology consultancy Gartner estimates Nokia has sold just 500,000 of them worldwide since its launch in June. Apple’s new third-generation iPhone sold 1 million units in its first weekend on sale.
Nokia needs its new models to be a success — smartphones, handsets with high-speed Internet access, are the fastest growing segment in the mobile phone market and their higher price tags mean they carry higher profit margins than cheaper, more basic models.
The Finnish giant’s share of this lucrative segment has ebbed away in recent months. In the second quarter of this year, it sold 45 percent of all 40 million smartphones sold worldwide. That compares with 47.4 percent of 32 million handsets at the same time last year, Gartner data show.
“The right high-end product and an increased focus on services and content are vital for Nokia if it wants to both revamp its brand and please investors,” Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi wrote in a research note to clients.
In addition to its partnership with Microsoft, Nokia will also use Linux software and work with social networking site Facebook to develop new services.
“They have realized that for certain things it makes sense to partner,” said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight.
Apple also beat Nokia in drawing in additional revenue from the sale of online applications: ringtones, videos, games and other Internet gadgets. Its AppStore went online last July, while Nokia’s Ovi store launched in May this year.
“Nokia cannot create one killer product to beat Apple or Google. Nokia has to create an experience or a solution that is so compelling that a consumer says, ‘I like the whole proposition,’” Wood said.
The global financial crisis has weakened mobile phone demand after six years of growth.
Nokia, which has 1.1 billion customers worldwide, posted a 66 percent drop in net profit in the second quarter of this year and a nearly 25 percent decline in revenues on a 12-month basis.
In a bid to restore the company to profitability, a cost-cutting program was launched in January aimed at reducing Nokia’s workforce by 4,000 people.
Also See: Experts see iPhone launch in China as a tough sell
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS