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Nokia Launches Two Phones for Asian Market
Wed Apr 28, 2004 06:30 AM ET

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=4968554§ion=news

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's largest mobile telephone maker, Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) , launched on Wednesday two phones aimed at the booming Asia-Pacific markets and said it would set up a research and development facility in India.
Asian countries such as India and China offer huge potential to global cellphone majors because mobile ownership in those markets is much lower than many western nations.

Growing disposable incomes and expanding economies in Asia are fueling demand for mobility in the fast-growing region, home to more than half the world's population.

The 3125 and 2112 phones, using the CDMA technical standard, are aimed at the cheaper end of the market. Both would appear in shops in the third quarter, Nokia Oyj said in a statement released in Helsinki.

"Nokia views Asia-Pacific as a growing and important region for CDMA and is committed to expanding our portfolio of products to cater to ... this region," the statement said.

In another statement released in New Delhi, Nokia -- which competes with Motorola (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) and LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) -- said it would establish an R&D facility for CDMA technology in Bombay.

The unit, expected to be fully functional by June, will cater to local demands and the needs of other CDMA service providers in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The creation of a new CDMA R&D facility in India is a part of the continuous expansion of Nokia's global efforts to grow and invest in the CDMA business in the region," Soren Peterson, senior vice president of Nokia's CDMA business unit, said.

Although no industry figures are available, analysts say Nokia is the biggest player in India's flourishing wireless industry, the fastest growing major mobile market in the world.

But South Korean phone firms have stolen a march on the Finnish giant in the CDMA segment by directly tying up with services providers, because such phones are not widely available in shops.

India's Reliance Infocomm and the Tata group are the main providers of CDMA-based mobile services in India, which has more than 7.2 million CDMA customers.

The country has more than 34 million mobile subscribers and is expected to have more than 100 million by 2005 thanks to some of the lowest charges in the world. (Additional reporting by Shailendra Bhatnagar in New Delhi)

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