Thread: 20 New Nokia Phones in 2005

Nokia's Ollila Says Global Mobile-Phone Users Reach 1.7 Billion

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj Chief Executive Officer Jorma Ollila said there are 1.7 billion mobile-phone users globally, equivalent to 26 percent penetration, and market growth will come from camera phones and so-called smartphones.

``Today, there are more mobile phones in the world than there are fixed connections,'' and wireless telephony is growing six times faster than traditional telephone use, Ollila said in a speech at the Nokia Mobility Conference in Monaco. ``We have seen many countries leapfrogging fixed voice altogether and going directly to mobile service.''

Nokia, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, said yesterday it plans to introduce more than 20 phones featuring cameras with at least 1 megapixel resolution next year in a bid to regain lost market share after its share fell to a five-year low earlier this year. Espoo, Finland-based Nokia last month said its profit may drop for a second straight quarter as prices drop and it increases marketing spending.

Camera phones with higher resolution and smartphones, which have computer-like functions that appeal to business users, will lead growth, he said.

``A few years ago it would have been difficult to see that Nokia would be the biggest supplier of cameras,'' Ollila said. Nokia expects more than 200 million camera phones to be sold this year, almost a third of the total number of sold handsets.

Nokia shares rose as much as 17 cents, or 1.4 percent, to 12.51 euros, and traded at 12.48 euros as of 12:55 p.m. in Helsinki. They had lost 9.6 percent this year before today.

Wireless Television

``In a relatively short space of time, we are learning to use mobile devices to watch television, play games and listen to music,'' Ollila said. ``Mobile TV will be a hit'' and there will be a ``swift'' uptake of the service, he said.

The company is testing the service, and will start selling a handset capable of receiving mobile television in 2006.

Nokia and Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard Co. are cooperating on a service called visual radio, which lets consumers listen to radio on their handsets and at the same time view related information on the phone screen, such as advertisements and artist pictures.

``Next year, we will already have several visual radio enabled devices in the market,'' Ollila said.

Nokia yesterday unveiled its first handsets that can use the service, the 7710 and the 3230. Hewlett-Packard will market the service worldwide to broadcasters and service providers.

``This service is a sign of things to come,'' Hewlett- Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said at the Monaco presentation.

Smartphone Demand

Ollila said the market for smartphones is now growing more than 100 percent a year.

Sales of smartphones are expected to make up a quarter of total mobile-phone unit sales in 2008, Antti Vasara, Nokia's vice president of technology and sales, said in a speech at the event in Monaco yesterday.

Nokia is betting new features will help the company increase average phone prices. Nokia's average selling price fell to 105 euros in the third quarter from 110 euros in the previous three months and 124 euros a year earlier, FIM Securities analyst Jussi Hyoety wrote in an Oct. 14 note.

Nokia yesterday unveiled the 3220 model, with a 1 megapixel camera for higher resolution pictures, the 6020 camera phone for business users and the 7710 smartphone.

The 3230 and 6020 models will start shipping in the first quarter. The 3230 will cost about 350 euros ($445) and the 6020 about 200 euros. The 7710, which will cost 450 euros to 500 euros goes on sale in Asia, including China, this quarter and in Europe and Africa in the first quarter, Anssi Vanjoki, who runs the Nokia unit that makes camera and game phones, said yesterday.

Retaking Market Shares

Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. took market share by starting to sell foldable camera phones earlier than Nokia. Ollila earlier this year started cutting prices and shipping more phones with the foldable, so-called clamshell design to recover market share.

Nokia's market share fell to 30.6 percent in the third quarter from 33.8 percent a year earlier, Boston-based researcher Strategy Analytics said last week. Still, its share rose from 28.8 percent in the second quarter. Motorola had 13.9 percent and Samsung had 13.5 percent in the third quarter.

The company still has a long-term target of winning 40 percent of the global market for mobile phones, Vanjoki said yesterday.

The company last month said fourth-quarter sales would be 8.4 billion euros to 8.6 billion euros, down from 8.79 billion euros a year ago.

Nokia last month said it expects 2004 global unit sales by all manufacturers will reach 630 million phones. Strategy Analytics last week said unit growth may rise 30 percent to 670 million phones in 2004 as operators add subscribers in countries such as India, and as U.S. and European consumers change to more advanced models. Growth will slow to 8 percent next year, the researcher said.

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