Editorial Features: Power in Your Palm
Nokia is introducing a family of next-generation multimedia mobile devices - aptly described as the Nokia Nseries - to put unprecedented power in the palms of customer hands.
The company is to ship three such devices this year to harness the benefits of 'digital convergence' that allows customers to enjoy high-quality video, music, data and voice functions wherever they like. The three new models share a number of common features such as a 2 mega-pixel camera, a full HTML web browser, email, a music player and video-streaming. But the models are optimized in different ways.
The first to be shipped, the N90, is ideal for imaging with a precision Carl Zeiss lens for sharp pictures and video recording to VHS standards. Later in the year customers who think 'small is beautiful' will be able to buy the compact N70. By the end of 2005, the N91 will offer music fans a jukebox capable of storing 3,000 songs on a 4 Gig hard disk - the largest hard drive available in a mobile.
All three can be used over standard operator networks such as GSM, GPRS and EDGE but a 3G network allows faster music downloads and e-mail.
A compelling experience
Kari Tuutti, Nokia's Director of Multimedia Communications, describes the Nokia Nseries as the next step in smartphone development. "Today's smartphones have some of these capabilities but the Nokia Nseries offers an enriched and more compelling experience. "We don't expect the world's 2 billion mobile users to buy Nokia Nseries but our target is the 10 per cent of technology enthusiasts and early adopters who want to be the first with the latest gadgets and want to have the richest possible mobile experiences.
The company is aiming Nokia Nseries at three distinct customer groups:
Operators of all types of networks will be able to launch new services to increase revenue and customer loyalty. Content is particularly important to 3G operators who have invested in new infrastructure and want their customers to capitalize on 3G's high-speed capabilities.
Consumers who will be able to take print-quality pictures, listen to music, browse the Web and watch mobile TV.
Business users who will be able to send and receive e-mail - together with attachments - and use the built-in organizer function.
Tuutti describes the Nokia Nseries as handheld multimedia computers. "Even if they don't have the QWERTY keyboard, they definitely have the processing power, the memory and applications of a pocketable computer. You can work on e-mails with standard PDF and PowerPoint attachments and surf the Web with the HTML browser."
Nokia is positioning Nokia Nseries as a 'sub brand' in its own right to indicate to customers who are interested in multimedia and the latest technologies that it stands for state-of-the-art mobile products. "Nokia Nseries is a way for the company to build a leading position in the mobile multimedia area and to position the company as the leader in digital convergence.
"We were very excited by the positive feedback we received when we first launched our plans and, as the year unfolds, we are going to deliver the goods," says Tuutti.
