Nok Watchout For Mot In Asia.....( btw, where the Real Growth Is);
Wireless Messaging: Key To Driving Demand In Hong Kong
NOVEMBER 27, 2001
South China Morning Post via NewsEdge Corporation : Nokia, trumped by a
resurgent Motorola in Asia-Pacific mobile-phone sales this year, is looking to
keep its lead in Hong Kong with new models geared for advanced wireless
messaging systems.
Despite the apparent slowdown in mobile-phone sales worldwide, Nokia said
Hong Kong was one of several markets in the world where demand for its wireless
terminals had been steadily growing.
"Clearly, Nokia remains the market leader in Hong Kong, and we expect our
recently announced new models to benefit from the wider use of local operators'
messaging systems," Nokia general manager for Hong Kong and Macau Timo
Toikkanen said.
He declined to provide market-specific mobile-phone sales figures for Nokia.
Research firm Gartner, however, has reported that Nokia sold 31.55 million units
worldwide this third quarter, down from 32.42 million in the same period last
year, to remain the global market leader.
The Finnish communications giant's new 5210 and 6510 models, available in the
first quarter of next year, as well as the 7650 "imaging phone" , available by the
middle of next year, are expected to take advantage of belated initiatives by
domestic operators to interconnect their short-messaging service (SMS)
operations.
Unlike their European, American and other Asian counterparts, Hong Kong cellular
operators of the GSM (global system for mobile) standard have just agreed to
interconnect SMS platforms from next month, following months of negotiations
about revenue-sharing and interoperability.
"We are very confident of the timing of our new releases because of this
development," Mr Toikkanen said. "We even predict further demand for the
8310, our first GPRS [general packet radio service] phone, and our 9210
Communicator, which is reportedly outselling traditional PDAs [personal digital
assistants] in Europe."
He said all Nokia models were designed to support present SMS operations.
SMS is a messaging platform that has proved popular with consumers in the
West and other Asian markets, such as the Philippines, but has been slow to pick
up in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland.
Estimates from the GSM Association, an international wireless industry body
representing GSM operators and equipment providers, show that between 200
billion and 250 billion SMS text messages will be sent this year.
Mr Toikkanen said the release early next year of a Chinese character-enabled
9210 model should lift sales of this Nokia hybrid of a mobile phone and PDA in
Hong Kong.
But it is the expansion of personal messaging over future multimedia-messaging
system (MMS) services on which Nokia is betting its success in Hong Kong.
Nokia expects more than half of its wireless terminals to be MMS-capable by the
end of next year, starting with the 7650 model. By 2003, MMS will be an integral
feature in all new Nokia phones, according to the firm.
MMS works much the same way as SMS messages but allows users to combine
audio, graphic, text and imaging content in one message. Once the user has
selected a picture, written a text and included an audio clip, a multimedia
message can be sent directly to another MMS-capable terminal as well as to the
recipient's e-mail address.
Even with its MMS-based initiatives, Nokia has seen its mobile-phone market
share challenged in the Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, as global sales declined 9
per cent to 94.36 million units this third quarter from 103.22 million in the same
period last year.
Gartner reported that Motorola, not Nokia, was leading the Asian mobile-phone
market, because of the United States-based company's strong sales in the
mainland.
Motorola shipped 14.77 million units worldwide this quarter, up from 14.54
million in the same period a year ago.
The research firm said Nokia, for the first time, had one of the older product
portfolios as of this third quarter, which resulted in the loss of some market
share to competitors with more contemporary designs.
Samsung Electronics assistant manager in Hong Kong, Joseph Choi, said: "Nokia
still leads the Hong Kong market, but other vendors, like Samsung, will continue
to gain ground with the release of innovative new models at the most
competitive prices."
All Material Subject to Copyright Copyright 2001: South China Morning Post. All
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Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
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gartner.com
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