By Sven Grundberg
STOCKHOLM-- Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp (NOK) Monday
unveiled two additions to its increasingly successful portfolio of
basic mobile phones aimed at less affluent customers in emerging
markets.
The two new Nokia devices -- the Asha 205 and the Nokia 206 --
both cost $62 and are expected to start shipping before the end of
the year.
The new devices run on Nokia's home-grown Series 40 software, a
basic mobile phone operating system that was first introduced by
Nokia more than a decade ago, in 1999. The software has been
upgraded in recent years and now supports several smartphone-like
functions, including social networking apps such as Facebook and
Twitter, and a web browser that compresses websites so reducing
data consumption. The new Asha 205 even has a dedicated Facebook
button that gives users instant access to the popular social
network.
Once market leader in mobile phone sales, Nokia has slipped
badly as it struggles to compete against Apple Inc. (AAPL) Samsung
Electronics Co. (005930.SE) at the high-end of the smartphone
market. But the Finnish company is starting to stage a comeback on
developing markets, where basic mobile phones typically sell for
$99 or less.
The addition of smartphone features on basic phones has helped
Nokia to fend off competition from increasingly cheap devices
running Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android platform, and bode well for
Nokia's continued success in developing countries, where many
mobile subscribers can't afford expensive all-you-can-eat data
plans and where mobile data networks aren't as capable or
widespread as in more developed parts of the world, said Timo
Toikkanen, who heads Nokia's mobile phones business.
Much of Nokia's recent success on developing markets has been
driven by a new range of touch-screen Asha devices that the company
introduced this summer. These new Asha devices are outselling cheap
Android devices such as Samsung's Galaxy Mini and Galaxy Y models
in many developing markets, and are also proving popular in some
European markets, such as Germany, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
"Currently, the Asha 305 is the best selling touch-screen device
across India, Africa and the Middle East," Mr. Toikkanen said.
Write to Sven Grundberg at sven.grundberg@dowjones.com; Twitter:
@svengrundberg
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