The Hindu : Business : Nokia unveils new smartphone

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 22, 2011
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Business

Nokia unveils new smartphone

V. Sridhar

Price will be revealed closer to the launch

Will be based on Windows Mobile platform
Unveils new dual SIM phone Nokia C2-03

— PHOTO: AFP

FUTURISTIC:Nokia Senior Vice-President, Design, Marko Ahtisaari, displaying a Nokia N9 smartphone at the CommunicAsia exhibition and conference in Singapore on Tuesday.

SINGAPORE: Nokia unveiled its latest smartphone, N9, at the Nokia Connections 2011 on Tuesday. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the phone, which was to be launched later this year, would be based on the Windows Mobile platform. He said the price of the phone would be revealed closer to the launch.

Mr. Elop said Nokia's smartphones would henceforth be based on the Windows Mobile platform, while the Symbian platform would be used for lower-end phones. “We would offer continued support, up to at least 2016, for the Symbian-based phones,” Mr. Elop said. He said 10 new phones based on the Symbian operating system would be launched soon.

Arguing his case for Nokia's continued support for Symbian, he said, “Ninety per cent of our consumers cannot afford a smartphone. We also realise that there is a gap in terms of access to the Internet.”

He said Nokia's promotion of the Symbian Anna reflected the company's commitment to the platform. He said Anna had an improved browser, which had been deployed on N8. He said that maps had been integrated with Anna to offer a richer experience. He said Symbian would be a crucial element in Nokia's efforts to reach out to the next billion.

Mary McDowell, Executive Vice-President, Mobile Phones, unveiled a new dual SIM phone, Nokia C2-03, which offers maps stored on the device.

She said the phone used cell tower location capabilities instead of GPS. The quality of web applications enabled users to enjoy a richer experience, she said.

Demonstrating the N9 smartphone, Marko Ahtisaari, Senior Vice-President, Design, said, “The future of touch is beyond the screen.” The N9 reflected this, he said. The device will have near-field communication (NFC) capabilities, which will enable the pairing of the device to speakers and other devices. N9, which uses a Carl Zeiss 8 megapixel camera, will be available in three colours — black, blue and cyan-magenta. Nokai also announced the launch of a speaker with NFC capability, enabling it to be paired to a mobile phone such as the N9 when it becomes available.

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