Nokia ready to change its fortunes in the U.S. market

NOKIA HITS US MARKETS.....
Nokia has steadily lost ground in recent years, watching its market share shrivel to single digits.
Nokia hopes to reverse that trend. On Mar. 30, AT&T (T), the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., plans to announce it will soon carry Nokia's e71x, the thinnest smartphone available in the U.S. The phone is similar to traditional BlackBerry devices in looks, but is a sleeker 0.39 inches thick. It has a Qwerty keyboard, allowing for Web browsing and corporate e-mail access via regular wireless networks and Wi-Fi hotspots at cafés and airports. The device also has a built-in Global Positioning System, a music player, a video camera, and a memory card slot. The Nokia e71x is expected to hit the U.S. market in May and should cost $100 after rebate with a two-year contract.

"We believe this is a great opportunity for Nokia," says Hugo Hernandez, Nokia's head of E-series marketing for North America. "We are bringing in a device with the right [features] and the right price point."

Investing more in the U.S. market
To gain back market share and prove it's serious about the U.S. market this time, Nokia needs to follow up the e71x with comparably promising phones. In particular, the company needs to develop more phones with the CDMA wireless technology used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint (S). "It'll be difficult [to increase their market share] due to their [near] lack of CDMA presence," says Hughes De La Vergne, a principal analyst at Gartner (IT).

Nokia announced the new Nokia 5800 Xpress Music's availability in the United States

Challenging the iPhone is apparently easier said than done. RIM’s Blackberry Storm has plenty of software and interface issues, SonyEricsson’s Xperia X1 is way too expensive and those who hoped that Nokia’s 5800 phone would provide a contract-free alternative may be disappointed as well. The phone came with faulty earpiece speakers and cannot find AT&T’s 3G network, prompting Nokia to remove the phone from store shelves again.

Technical problems with the U.S. version of the newly launched Nokia 5800 music mobile phone have led flagship stores in New York and Chicago to pull the model, according to PC World. For now, U.S. customers have to settle for a European version instead.
Positioned as a rival to Apple's iPhone, the phone is a music device with a touch-screen interface, priced at $399 before taxes and subsidies in the U.S.
But according to PC World, the U.S. launch has been interrupted by consumer complaints that the earpiece is not properly protected against moisture, which ruins the speaker. Users have also reported difficulties connecting to AT&T's 3G network, and many customers have reportedly already returned their phones.

Following its introduction in October 2008, the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music has seen successful sales in a number of markets, including Hong Kong and Moscow, where the device sold out within hours of the sales kickoff, Nokia said.

Many consumers have returned their 5800s to the Nokia stores in Chicago and New York, which eventually convinced Nokia to stop selling the phone for now. Nokia did not say how many 5800s have been sold in the U.S.

Meanwhile there is also talk about Nokia’s Comes with Music service, a major selling point of the 5800, which was promised to allow users unlimited access to the service’s entire music library one year free of charge.
U.S. launch likelihood: Very Strong.

Wi-Fi phones - Nokia 6301 - Nokia launches 6301 Wi-Fi phone

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Nokia today revealed a new phone that will allow users to switch from traditional mobile networks to make calls over the internet when they are in reach of a wireless network such as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The 6301 is the latest handset to use unlicensed mobile access (UMA) technology, which allows users to switch between GSM cellular and WLAN networks. Nokia said the new model, which will be available through operators including Orange, would begin shipping in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year. It will cost an estimated €230 (£161), before subsidies and taxes.

Interest in UMA has been steadily building this year, especially in the US, as mobile operators face increased competition from free and low-cost internet telephony services such as Skype.

Earlier this month, Research in Motion, the company behind the BlackBerry mobile e-mail service, released a new UMA handset in the US with AT&T, the US operator.

Also in the US, T-Mobile recently unveiled a new service where customers pay $10 a month, on top of their regular payments, which allows them to make calls through a Wi-Fi network when they are at home and through T-Mobile hotspots in locations such as cafes and airport lounges.

In particular, mobile operators are keen to tap into the large numbers of phone calls people make using their mobiles at home.

According to Ovum, the marker researcher, in Europe 30 to 40 per cent of mobile calls are made within the home. That figure rises as high as 60 per cent in the United States.

Jeremy Green, an analyst for Ovum, the researchers, said: "Fixed-mobile convergence is one of the hottest topics in the mobile industry, even though the benefits of UMA for consumers are not yet clear."

Alongside UMA, operators including Vodafone, the world's largest, are also testing femtocell technology, small indoor versions of the large phone towers that link up national mobile networks. Commercial versions of the technology are slated to be rolled out next year.

ABI Research forecasts that about 70 million femtocells will be installed in homes around the world by 2012. Groups funding femtocell start-ups include Google, the search giant, and Intel, the world's largest microchip maker.

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Switching automatically between GSM and Wi-Fi networks, the Nokia 6301 will soon ship in Europe.

With a sleek stainless steel design, the Nokia 6301 phone launched today offers seamless voice and data mobility across GSM cellular and Wi-Fi networks via Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology. The Nokia 6301 phone uses UMA technology to integrate the benefits of landline and a mobile phone, including seamless indoor coverage, sound quality and affordability.

With UMA technology, the consumer can use the GSM network or a broadband Internet-connected Wi-Fi network for mobile services. This is supposed to ensure excellent indoor coverage both at office and home. European carrier Orange will be one of the first carriers to offer the Nokia 6301.

Weighing a mere 93 grams and measuring 106 by 44 by 13 mm, the Nokia 6301 also offers a 2-megapixel camera and a 2" QVGA screen, as well as Bluetooth support and microSD memory slot. Running on GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz networks, the Nokia 6301 will likely not appear in the U.S.

The Nokia 6301 will begin shipping in Europe during the fourth quarter of 2007 with an estimated retail price of 230 euros before subsidies or taxes.

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