While Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) remains the second largest maker of mobile phones worldwide, they have certainly been struggling to breakthrough in the over $500 smartphone niche despite its best efforts. As more and more people seem to rely on an internet connected phone, but may not have the money to splash out on an iPhone or Galaxy S4, or their parents may not be willing, the Finnish company has announced that it will begin shipping two cheaper models sometime this quarter.
Shipment Of Nokia Phones
The phones will be released as the Nokia 207 and 208. A third phone will ship shortly thereafter and will be a dual-SIM version of the 208.
The phones are roughly candy bar shaped and will come preloaded with Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V)’s Xpress Browser that compresses data and will include social applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. Further the earlier suggestion is that these phones may be marketed to pre-teens and teens.
The company said the new models are its “most affordable 3G devices yet,” in a statement today. While $68 is quite an affordable option for an internet connected phone, the company is also planning on continuing its pursuit of Asian phone makers who have been stealing Nokia’s once dominant market share in phones under $40.
Nokia’s Plans
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is planning “aggressive moves” to deal with rising competition according to Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop. Nokia has been slipping in its core-business as it tries to compete with smartphone makers Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), HTC Corp (TPE:2498) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930).
Only about 10 percent of the 336 million phones that Nokia sold last year could be considered smartphones though that accounted for 18 percent of the company’s revenue. Network equipment still makes up over 50 percent of Nokia’s revenue stream and the company is looking to build on this.
NokiaNokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) disappointed analysts by selling 11 million low-end phones than expected and this is a key revenue stream that Nokia must have in order to challenge the big four smartphone makers.
Earlier this week Nokia said it plans to buy Siemens AG (SIE)’s share in the six-year Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture for 1.7 billion euros, giving it full access to the phone-equipment maker’s cash flow.
That same company announced today that it had won a contract worth at least $200 million to build a fourth-generation wireless system for Russia’s biggest mobile-phone company OAO Mobile TeleSystems.
