Digital Boomerang Singapore 

Nokia 3610 is all set to conquer the Chinese market. But there are hurdles ahead. Can the world’s leading mobile phone producer make it? Anything is possible, the company believes.

Nokia’s latest mobile phone offering, the 3610, is a com-pletely “China-localised” product. And although it is primarily for the Chinese market, which will see the new phone on shelves some time this month, the phone will also be commercially available in the Asia-Pacific region in the third quarter of this year.

The 3610 was conceived in Nokia’s Product Creation Centre in Beijing, manufactured in the Beijing Capitel Nokia Mobile Telecommunications (BNMT) factory and customised for the Chinese market in terms of price, form factor, design and software.

Targeted predominantly at the youth market, it was launched at the Ele/Expo Comm Shanghai 2002 last week.

Features that will appeal to the Chinese-speaking market include a Chinese Lunar calendar with Chinese festival dates, an improved Chinese phonebook sorting and pinyin predictive text input. Nokia has also included other local language support for other Asian markets.

When asked if a “China-made” Nokia product would erode some of the foreign allure, Mr Colin Giles, vice-president and general manager, Nokia Mobile Phones, China, promptly replied “ab-solutely not”.

The attraction of a Nokia, he maintains, is in its “international brand” and the high quality of products and service associated with it.

He agreed during an interview with Computer Times that owning a Nokia is still very much a status symbol in China.

“All manufacturers of mobile phones need to manufacture their products in China,” he explained. “Anyone who buys a mobile phone in China expects it to be made in China.”

In China, there are 150 Nokia Professional Centres providing after-sales ser-vice in both the big and small cities. After-sales service is something that “the Chinese people do appreciate”.

In China, for China

So for China, Nokia’s strategy is “in China for China”. Not only will the handsets be conceptualised and made in China, but the marketing communications for China will also be handled locally. Nokia’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore previously handled this responsibility.

However, that strategy may not be enough to propel Nokia to the pole position in China. Mobile operator, China Unicom, is pushing for CDMA (code division multiple access) instead of GSM and Nokia is not one of the 18 manufacturers who were given licences for manufacturing CDMA handsets. Motorola, Nokia’s fiercest competitor in the China market, has the licence and is working closely with China Unicom to roll out 2.5G services.

Nokia has officially announced that they intend to be number one in CDMA worldwide. But without a licence, Nokia will not be able to manufacture these handsets in its six-month old BNMT factory in Beijing. The cost-savings and the “zero inventory” capabilities the factory provides for the manufacture of GSM handsets will not apply for CDMA handsets.

Nevertheless, the Nokia 3610 reflects Nokia’s bold moves in China and signals more to come. Localised handsets will be a key strategy.

Mr Marko Keskinen, Manager, Technology Marketing, Nokia Mobile Phones, Hongkong and Macau, said Nokia recognises that different markets have different tastes. Clamshell phones, for instance, are particularly popular in Asia. It would not be beyond Nokia to release its own variant as long as Nokia design principles are upheld.

“Anything is possible.”

Charlotte Ong is assistant content manager of AsiaOne. She was in Beijing for the launch of the Nokia 3610.

NOKIA 3610: Beacon bright

The first thing that strikes you about the Nokia 3610 is the glaring backlight. The device can effectively double up as a torch. The effect is deliberately created by the translucent casing and transparent keymat.

Targeted at the youth market, the 3610 will be priced in the same bracket as the 3330, 3350 and the 3315.

Unlike its siblings in the 3000 series, the 3610 spots a smaller form factor which closely resembles the 6510.

To cater to the different language needs of the Asian market, the 3610 supports Chinese characters and pinyin, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia input. It is also the first mobile phone to support Hindi input.

Other features include a Chinese Lunar calendar, SMS chat, picture editing, rhythmic backlight, WAP 1.1, 3D animated screen savers and Xpress-on covers.

- First published in Computer Times, Singapore

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