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Technology Stocks : Nokia (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (15442)	10/2/2001 8:16:11 AM
From: Eric L	Respond to of 34857

re: Nokia 8310 Shipments >> Nokia Ships New Web Phone - Key to GPRS Takeup Paul de Bendern Reuters Helsinki October 02, 2001 Nokia has finally started shipping its first Internet phone it hopes will convince consumers in Europe that the Mobile Web is a reality. Nokia's phone launch, which comes months after rivals started selling similar mobile Internet phones, is important for the industry because of the Finnish company's number one position in handsets and customers' loyalty to the Nokia brand. Some carriers and rival handset makers, including Ericsson, have partly blamed Nokia for the delay in the take off of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in Europe. GPRS, a taste of the mobile Internet ahead of the coming third generation technology, will enable consumers quickly to access data via a phone. "The first units were delivered to retailers last Friday, but it will take a few days before there is a general availability," said Nokia spokesman Tapio Hedman. Hedman declined to say how many of the 8310 "fashion" phones were shipped last Friday or to which countries in Europe, except to say they were shipped to Finnish retailers. One of Finland's leading mobile phone retailers Makitorppa told Reuters it had received fewer than 30 GPRS phones from Nokia last Friday and expected 100 more units this Wednesday. Stockmann, Finland's leading department chain, did not yet have any of the models in its flagship Helsinki store on Monday. Nokia managed to meet its timetable of shipping its so-called GPRS phone during the third quarter, even if it was the last working day of the quarter. It still expects to be selling GPRS phones in the millions in the fourth quarter. "This is not a cosmetic delivery but at the same time the 8310 shipments are at the early phase and from now on volumes will continue to increase," said Hedman. "This is the right time to start shipping the 8310. The networks, the services and the billing schemes are coming into place." The 8310 model is built on Nokia's fashion line, with interchangeable covers. The gadget the size of a small packet of cigarettes, comes with advanced voice recognition, an in-built FM radio and access to the Internet. Rivalry Motorola, the world's second-biggest mobile phone maker, started selling GPRS phones in Europe early this year and now has several models on the market. Ericsson, which has teamed up with Sony in mobile phones, also has several GPRS models on the market and some are selling well. Analysts say Motorola, Ericsson and Siemens mobile Internet phones have put pressure on Nokia, squeezing the Finnish manufacturer's market share slightly. Ericsson's T39 GPRS model has been selling out in stores in Helsinki and Stockholm. Hedman said the 8310 phone would not be a big volume product like cheaper 3000-series phones. The model would be selling for around 3,600 markka (USD 553) compared to Ericsson's T39, which retails at 2,995 markka (463 USD) in Helsinki, retailers said. UK retailer The Link has been inviting pre-orders for the phone at 149.99 sterling as part of a contract with the BT Cellnet network. [Note the Link UK Price for the T39 is £89 Sterling with a contract and £269 (399 USD) without ... less expensive than the Helsinki price quoted above] Early this year the industry expected GPRS phones to be big sellers this year, but now they now see around 10 million units being sold out of total unit sales of 400 million or less. The global economic slowdown, saturated markets, especially in Europe, the lack of funky new services to tempt consumers and simply too many phones chasing too few clients have hit sales. << - Eric -