After seemingly having stood and stared while the likes of the Samsung Star and Corby and the LG Cookie series grabbed the lower mid-segment share of the Indian cellphone market, Nokia now finally seems to be hitting back with some terrific devices in the high volume sub-Rs 10k segment. We were very impressed with the 5233 and now we have the C5, which packs in a whole stack of features at a price that seems way too good to be true. Continue reading »
We have no official word on it, but market rumours indicate that Nokia will be releasing its much-talked about N900 in India. And joy of joys, it might actually be at a relatively low price - we are hearing rumours that it might cost between Rs 25k-27k. The N900 is considered by many to be Nokia’s best device in recent times. It actually is a smartphone, even though Nokia refers to it as a “Mobile Computer.”
The N900 runs on Maemo, a version of Linux, rather than Symbian Series 60 that is seen on most Nokia smartphones. It is a faster, more web-friendly operating system that many tech pundits feel is comparable with that of the iPhone and Google’s Android. Apart from that, the N900 comes with a 3.5inch touchscreen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 5.0-megapixel camera and just about every connectivity option in Celltown.And if its price is really around Rs 26,000, rather than Rs 30,000 as anticipated by just about everyone, it could prove to be a great option for smartphone lovers in the country.
Nokia has been in overdrive of late. The last week has seen the company announce no fewer than five handsets, each of them extremely promising in terms of features and prices - the utterly affordable C3, the touch and keyboard combo of C6, the brilliantly connected E5, the phenomenally specced N8 and the comes-with-free-music-for-a-year-at-an-unbelievable-price X2. Logically, there is enough here to have all Indian cellphone fans salivating and for Nokia to take on all comers in the market, from the iPhone to the BlackBerry to even the Micromaxes.
There is just one problem - none of these devices is in the market yet. And is not likely to be for a while. Which just makes you wonder why a company would announce them. Market strategists might say that this is a smart move by Nokia to ensure that its loyal fans do not go for other brands in the coming days and wait for its forthcoming phones instead. However, we feel that this is a serious mistake from the market leader. Not only is it showing its hand to the competition, allowing it to come up with answers well before its own handsets hit the market, but it is also trying the patience of a number of its loyal consumers who are getting used to the fact that every Nokia announcement will refer to a handset that is not likely to be seen in the market soon.
Not a very good move in a highly competitive market, we think. But then, we could be wrong.
Those wishing they could access mail and instant messenger (IM) on their handsets must be cheering. Nokia has announced a newer version on Nokia Messaging, serving up push mail on all compatible Nokia Symbian users for Indian users - for free. In simple terms, that means that anyone who wants to use push mail on their Nokia device can now access up to ten mail accounts (including the likes of Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail, Sify and Indiatimes) on their handsets, without having to pay a penny. Continue reading »
Nokia has just gone and redefined the whole concept of a value for money phone by bringing the price of its E63 to below Rs 10,000. An advertisement in a mainline daily informs us that the official price of the phone is now Rs 9,599, which makes it perhaps the best value for money enterprise device in the country at the moment. Although introduced as a lower priced (and more plasticky) version of the bestselling E71, the E63 packs more than enough enterprise muscle on its own.
It runs on Symbian Series 60 (3rd edition), has a 2.36 inch 16 million colours screen, a full QWERTY keypad and every connectivity option short of GPS. It also sports a 2.0-megapixel camera. Battery life and call quality are vintage Nokia and this being a smartphone, you can also download hundreds of apps to keep it going. It is available in blue, red and black shades and is as easy on the eye as it is on the wallet.
All this for less than Rs 10,000! If that does not make it a terrific deal for anyone looking for their first enterprise device, we do not know what does.
It was supposed to be the phone that got Nokia back into the mainstream phone marker, offering a whole stack of features, including a touchscreen and GPS for under Rs 10,000. And it has been advertised heavily too, in the Dil Ki Baat Ek Touch Se Sunao ad campaign. But we have just heard a rumour that Nokia has actually withdrawn the Nokia 5230 handset and that work is underway to even remove its mention from hoardings and advertisements, where it had been mentioned alongside the Nokia 5233. A cellphone dealer in Connaught Place, Delhi, says that Nokia pulled the product out because of multiple software problems which kept slowing down or crashing the phone. However, the cellphone is very much on Nokia’s website- check it out here. Continue reading »
