Archive for November 26th, 2008

Microblogging History

Published by Babar Bhatti on November 26, 2008 under SMS, Social Networks, blogging

The twitter timeline (click to enlarge).

Source: Technology Review.

Nokia’s Best Hits And Flops In Pakistan

Published by Omar Aijaz on November 26, 2008 under GSM, Mobile Applications, Mobile Phones, Mobile Web, Nokia, Pakistan, Smart Phones, Telecommunications

Nokia started off with their sales in Pakistan way back in 1998-99. The only models available at that time were analog and the Nokia 282 was one of Nokia’s first mobile phone to enter Pakistani markets. Nokia’s real hit in Pakistan was the Nokia 3310 and it established the Nokia brand in the market and gave Nokia a large market share. Soon after this hit, there was a rush of different mobile brands such as Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung. These brands came with competitive pricing and penetrated the markets. But Nokia on other hand had the customer preference more then the new brands and held a stable position in the market. The handsets manufactured by Nokia are much more favored in the market because of the compatibility and robustness. Nokia’s quality control and over all reputation makes it the top choice for customers choice in Pakistan and other Asian countries.

Nokia is known for understanding their markets all over the world. The customer preferences for Nokia varies from place to place all around Pakistan. Nokia has introduced a variety of models to capture all market segments. The prices range from Rs. 2,500 to over 50,000. While conducting a survey of Lahore to measure Nokia market share and customer satisfaction, I observed that the demographics of the area play an important role. for e.g in DHA (Defense) people prefer quality and brand reputation matters, whereas price is not a major factor for such customers. On the contrast if we take areas like inner city for instance the demographics and preferences for phones totally changes. The majority of customers are attracted to the lower prices rather than anything else.

In my opinion, the pricing strategy of Nokia can be improved. Lets look deeper into the classifications of the models. Although prices have appreciated a lot because of the devaluing rupee value. Some handsets like Nokia 6120 have the SymbianS60 operating system, N series and E series also have the same. The 2 mega pixel camera in N80 and E51 does not provide the quality of that in 6120 although the prices of both are higher then that of 6120. While selecting a handset some people have different ideas as I mentioned earlier, but still people somehow correlate the quality and the function of the phone to its price. Before buying a handset we should focus on our needs and the functionality it offers. That is why Nokia has come up with tools for comparing handsets on their website.

Popular Nokia phones in Pakistan

Nearly every GSM Nokia model is available in the market. Now a days the customers are demanding more and more compatibility in the user interface of the handset, no matter Nokia has got the most friendly user interface. Nokia has also very clearly done the market research for Pakistan as people go for cheap and still want the best possible. I have used nearly every handset Nokia ever introduced in Pakistani market. The hits and flops section of this post is written with the point of view of general popularity among the public but of course it is a subjective listing. The mobile prices listed below are based on United Mobile are in Pk Rupees and of course, subject to change.

The Top Ten Hits :

  • 1110 (simple phone, nice battery time) – Market price 2800-3200
  • 2630 (sleek, simple and stylish,1.3 Mp cam) – Market price 8500-9000
  • 5310 (music series most popular because of its high quality TFT screen and sleek design although battery time is not that impressive) – Market price 16,900
  • 6120c (the most commendable phone present in the market, there are many many reasons for buying this handset, camera quality, video quality is better then any other phone in its competition,the TFT display, video call, USB port, music quality is good, battery time rocks!) – Market price 18,900
  • 6500 (slide)(favorite among public because of its looks, stainless steel with brush proofing on the screen as well, 3.2 MP camera with Carl ziess lens, too expensive for its range) – Market price 26,500
  • N70 (first phone N series launched, customers made it a hit in starting few months, it has got a new look and a flash of tomorrow) – Market price 13,000 (out of stock these days)
  • N82 (camera 5 mega pixel, 3G enabled, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology) - Market price 37,000
  • N95 8Gigs(software mobility, camera5 mega pixel, TFT, 16M colors 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches) – Market price 48,000
  • E51 (business class phone, Symbian s60, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11g, VoIP over WLAN) – Market price 23,000
  • E65 (GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps, HSCSD, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps 3G 384 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, VoIP over WLAN) – Market price 26,500

The Flops:

1650 (teasing keypad), 3110c (looks and extra large keypad), 5610(wear and tear), 7900 (prism), N76, N73 (Software hangs very often),6300(battery timing) N78 (handset with the size of a brick and keypad that has got its own explanation), N81 (the sliding gear collapses after 500 hours, the company has got no explanation for that, the keys for accepting and rejecting the calls are too far off the keypad).