Abu Daud Khan is Country Manager for Nokia Emerging Asia Ltd. He was in Nepal recently to showcase Nokia C2-03, the first handset from the company to feature a dual sim. The handset also comes with an in-built Nokia Browser. In an interview with New Business Age, Khan spoke about Nokia’s consistent effort to drive more value by introducing exciting new features that promise to change Internet usage for millions of Nokia consumers. Excerpts:

In which other markets have you launched Nokia C2-03?

We are targeting all developing countries where a large consumer segment cannot afford high-end smart phones. Nepal is definitely a focus market for us. But apart from this country, we have already launched the product in India, China, Indonesia and Brazil.

What is the target audience you are looking at through this particular product?

We are looking at the masses and our vision is to connect the next billion. There is a huge market still lying untapped. Let’s take Nepal as an example which has a population of around 30 million people. I have learnt that the number of mobile phone subscribers in this country has reached 10 million. There are 20 million people out there who are not connected by mobile telephony which means that affordability is still a factor for them. Therefore, we have tried to make the product as affordable as possible so that these people too can get connected. We are also trying to cater the need of dual-sim through this product.

Even among the 10 million mobile phone subscribers in Nepal, a very small number of people actually have Internet access. We need to connect these people to Internet and that is precisely what this particular product will do. We are trying to do a couple of things here – one is to connect a large population on account of voice and the next is to make a serious effort to make Internet available to people who can’t afford laptops or personal computers  at home.

How cost-effective will Internet browsing be, courtesy Nokia Browser vis-a-vis traditional browsers?

Well, we are claiming that it has the ability to compress websites up to 90 per cent. It means that in terms of compression, it can perform 90 per cent better and faster than the other operator browsers. The cost of downloading is, of course, the operator’s domain. From our perspective, the speed at which downloading takes place also determines the eventual expense. The Nokia browser compresses at a faster pace which enables Nokia users to consume more at a given budget. 

Do you have any specific reason to introduce Nokia Browser with Series-40 devices?

Our clear focus for developing markets is the price factor because a lot of people can’t afford smart phones. However, they need to be connected to Internet or else there is a fear of them getting left behind in this fast changing global scenario. We wanted to cater to this large segment of people by developing a device which is easy to use and affordable. 

Are there any plans to introduce Nokia Browser to mobile handsets of other brands or personal computers?

It’s only available with Nokia phones to ensure best experience. This is the first product that comes with an inbuilt Nokia browser. All the upcoming Nokia handsets will have the Nokia browser from now onwards. Apart from that, we are also giving options to existing Nokia users for downloading the browser free of cost from Nokia stores.

Could you tell us a little about Nokia’s NAVTEQ?

NAVTEQ basically provides the base electronic navigable maps and its underlying map database is based on first-hand observation of geographic features. At this moment, we don’t have the Nepali map available with us but we do plan to have maps in this product Nokia C2-03 in the future.