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Nokia to woo RI market with Windows 8

Nokia Indonesia is counting on their brand power, which they say still packs a punch, to “win the war” against competitors by convincing mobile phone users to switch to the company’s latest Windows 8 smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 920

Mariel Grazella (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, December 5, 2012

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Nokia to woo RI market with Windows 8

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okia Indonesia is counting on their brand power, which they say still packs a punch, to “win the war” against competitors by convincing mobile phone users to switch to the company’s latest Windows 8 smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 920.

Nokia introduced their flagship Windows 8 phone in Jakarta on Tuesday nearly three months after Nokia CEO Steve Elop unveiled the smartphones in New York during the first week of September.

Martin Chirotarrab, president director of Nokia Indonesia, reiterated what Elop said, saying that the competition between smartphone manufacturers had turned into a “war of ecosystems”, which included operating systems and application stores.

He added that to win the war, Nokia would continue playing on their strengths, which included the design aesthetics of the smartphones.

According to Chirotarrab, consumers in Indonesia are open to smartphones with colorful exteriors.

“We have seen an evolution, and Indonesia is no exception, that markets have become more open to colors. It has got to a point where the consumers want something different,” he said.

He added that colors drove the pre-order sales of the Windows 8 smartphone, which became a “validation that the research we have done here in Indonesia is valid”.

Nokia has set a two-week pre-order period which will last until Dec. 16. “People want a different experience,” he said, adding that the pre-order numbers had exceeded company targets.

Chirotarrab said that the Nokia brand remained strong, and that the mobile phone manufacturer would battle against their competitors by continuing to provide local content.

With the Windows 8 phones, people can access Nokia Maps which show users the layout of malls, while simultaneously providing information on places such as nearby restaurants.

“The other aspect we are investing significant resources in is at the point of sales,” he said, adding that as with previous Nokia models, would-be consumers could test the Windows 8 phone in Nokia stores.

Nokia are not the only ones betting on the Windows 8 smartphones. Windows are also counting on the new operating system to expand their market share.

The Indonesian market has undergone changes as Android took over 64 percent of the operating system market share in the third quarter of the year, data from the International Data Corporation shows.

As a consequence, although Nokia is still within the top five device brands, Samsung, with their host of Android-based devices, have made it to the top tier.

Rama Mamuaya, a tech blogger for startup media DailySocial, said that Nokia was “a big brand with lots to prove”. “It is going to be a tough battle in the application [app] marketplace,” he said. “Android and iPhone exist because of the app ecosystem.”

The Nokia Lumia Windows 8 has access to around 120,000 apps’ iTunes has more than 600,000 while Android has more than 150,000.

“With the current pricing of Nokia, it is clear that Nokia is aiming at the higher segment market, which will bring them into fierce competition with iOS and Android,” he said.

Andreas Diantoro, president director of Microsoft Indonesia, said that their market share in the operating system market was around 3 percent.

“But that is based on Windows 7 and Windows 7.5,” he said, referring to the older versions of the Windows phone-based operating system.

“We are expecting to see many advancements through our cooperation with Nokia, especially in Indonesia given that Nokia’s brand equity remains strong,” he said.

He added that although he could not reveal specific targets, he expected to see growth beyond 100 percent for the Windows 8 smartphones.

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