Nokia brings out affordable mobiles for emerging markets

Respecting developing countries and helping them getting their first footing on the mobile ladder, Nokia has come up with 7 handsets aimed at such markets.

They’re focussing this spate of devices on providing internet access, email, agriculture and education to those places in an effort “to bridge the digital divide”.

Besides offering their lowest cost phones to date, they’ve also curiously added integrated digital music players in the handset range.

Nokia is hoping these will have a retail price of around the 25 to 90 Euros mark, when they start to ship later on this year. But those with the power of the internet onboard will be arriving early next year.

Their Nokia Life Tools provide a series of agriculture information and education services aimed solely at rural and small town communities in those emerging markets.

These can help to combat the information constraints and provide farmers, students with timely and relevant information. All of which run off a GUI layout that can even offer up information displayed simultaneously in two languages.

The tools can also use the power of SMS to deliver critical information guaranteeing the service works wherever the mobile phone does, especially in those areas where GPRS coverage is thin on the ground.

Handsets supporting such services are the Nokia 2323 classic and 2330 classic expected to arrive next year.

Other phones in the series are the Nokia 7100 with a high resolution colour screen, FM radio and a 1.3 megapixel camera besides supporting email, at around 75 Euros.

Also on board for this market is the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic, their most affordable music phone to date with a 2 megapixel camera and FM radio. This is also expected to ship in Q1 of next year at around 90 Euros.

For the more up market look, they are offering up three phones: the Nokia 2320 classic, 2323 classic and 2330 classic all running from 40 to 50 Euros.

And lastly, the Nokia 1202 and 1661 value phones, at 25 and 30 Euros. With feature sets developed for people in rural areas; such as a flashlight, extended battery life, loud ringtones and a phone book for up to five users.