STIFF competition in electronics gadgets has prompted mobile phone supplier Nokia to introduce new models in the mainstream and high-end market.
Nikka Abes, Nokia Philippines corporate communications manager, said Nokia’s new phone models aim to regain market share.
Abes said market studies by intelligence companies such as IDC and Gartner Inc. placed Nokia as still the leading brand in the global market.
However, the competition gained ground and caused their market share to shrink.
“According to IDC we still hold the major market share of 24.3 percent as of first quarter of this year while Gartner says we have 25 percent share which is still good for us. We are, however, determined to get back what’s rightfully ours by introducing more value-for-money product propositions, more features and technology-rich phones,” Abes said.
Nokia recently launched two dual-SIM phone models – the C2-00 and the X1-01 with affordable prices between P1,900 and P3,000.
“In the high-end segment, we are also set to launch more models in the coming months like N8, C601, E7, E6 which is our touch screen, qwerty- type phone and the X7,” she said.
“We believe that with the launch of these new products we can really get back market share we’ve lost to competitor brands,” she said.
Abes also cited market studies of ENS Philippines, which showed that eight out of ten Filipinos still use Nokia phones.
She said this would mean that the Nokia brand was still considered top-of-mind and the most preferred brand in the Philippine market.
The challenge is to make the products more available to consumers.
“The reason why we launched a dual-SIM dual standby coverage phones and introduced them at very affordable prices is that we know that there are still households in the country today that only have one phone and many SIM cards. We’d like to tap that market as well,” she said.
She said the mainstream market had always been a strong one for Nokia and that the Finnish company gained ground in the high-end market with its executive business phones as well.
She cited new developments such as Windows -ready phones for their smart phones particularly the E6 and E7 models which Nokia plans to launch next year. /Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap