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To: tuck who wrote (4143)	9/6/2002 9:53:51 AM
From: tuck	Respond to of 4849

I'll be damned; they do do video! At least, they'll do so soon. Brings to mind an old sci fi story, in which every citizen had little real time video cameras. All public crimes were filmed, which of course cut down on such crimes. But Big Brother meet Little Brother . . . >>Nokia Launches Two Color Phones, Shares Soar Friday September 6, 9:36 am ET By Paul de Bendern HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE), the world's largest mobile phone maker, unveiled two new budget color screen handsets aimed at the mass market on Friday and predicted they will help boost the sluggish mobile phone market. The news helped send shares in Nokia, a technology bellwether stock, 6.4 percent higher to 14.05 euros ($13.95), outperforming the DJ Stoxx European technology index (Zurich:^SX8P - News). The models, aimed at the youth market, will strengthen Nokia's portfolio of budget priced phones, a key segment that accounts for around 70 percent of all handsets sold globally, and enable the Finnish company to keep ahead of the competition, analysts said. "We believe these products will bring optimism to the market," Juha Putkiranta, senior vice president of Nokia Mobile Phones' imaging unit, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "People would like to replace their handsets and now I believe we have provided those triggers and provided confidence in the market in general," he added. The industry saw annual sales fall in 2001 after years of runaway growth and is at risk of failing to meet a consensus target of 400 million units sold for 2002 unless consumers start upgrading their phones in coming months. Nokia will start selling the 3510i mobile phone in Europe and Africa in the fourth quarter of this year in high volumes while the more advanced 3650 model with a built-in digital camera and camcorder will be available early next year.</b/> "This is good news. Nokia will again lead the pack in the low-end market when everyone else is just starting to introduce low-end color screen phones," said Jussi Uskola, analyst at Nordea Securities, which rates Nokia a "buy." Analysts said the new phones would help Nokia meet its sales numbers for the fourth quarter, the key Christmas sales season. "The 3510i, along with the other color screen phones expected to be shipping in Q4... make us more comfortable on our forecasts for average selling prices and revenue increases during Q4," CSFB analyst Sean Faughnan said in a statement. BUILDS UP COLOR-SCREEN ARSENAL Nokia has already unveiled six color-screen models this year, all mid-to-high-end range phones, one with a camera. Industry experts say color screen phones will drive sales as they are among consumers' most favored features. This helped make Sony Ericsson's (Tokyo:6758.T - News; Stockholm:ERICb.ST - News) tiny T68i a big seller. Bringing budget phones with color screens to the market in big numbers, like Nokia is expected to do, will also trigger industry-wide growth, analysts said. But the number of colors in its displays are considerably less than some Asian rivals. Nokia launches are important because of its dominant position in handsets with a market share of around 36 percent, more than double that of its nearest rival Motorola (NYSE:MOT - News). Nokia's 3650 device, which has a big color screen and weighs 4.55 ounces, is the size of a glasses case. It will cost $449-499 excluding subsidies. The phone will work on five continents using the GSM network. Nokia said the 3650 device incorporated a camcorder for filming images as well as other technology to allow users to download and view real-time video content. The 3510i will cost 200-300 euros without subsidies, Putkiranta said. Both models feature multimedia messaging (MMS) technology, which is currently being rolled out in Europe to enabled consumers to send and receive pictures, sound clips and play games. They also include high-speed GPRS technology. "These products will ensure MMS take-up will be pretty fast," said Putkiranta, shrugging off concern about MMS failing to meet market expectations. "It will be a trigger to a wider phenomenon where people upgrade terminals faster," he added.<< emphasis mine Cheers, Tuck