Beijing, China - The "Nokia: Our Mobile Life 2006" conference commenced in Beijing today, presenting a remarkable showcase of Nokia's latest mobile devices, technologies, services and solutions. The one day event brought business leaders, mobile operators, government bodies, business partners and media together from across China to address market trends that will shape the future of the mobile industry. Nokia used the event to share its vision of the future, "Life Goes Mobile", and reaffirmed its long-term partnership with China as the 3G era draws closer.
China and Nokia - Working in partnership to bring mobility to a truly massive market
"China currently has 380 million mobile subscribers. We believe that by 2010, China will have added another 250 million mobile subscribers, making it the single largest mobile market in the world," said Jorma Ollila, Chairman and CEO of Nokia.
"Nokia has built a thorough business in China over the past 20 years, and grown together with China's mobile industry. In the first nine months of 2005, we sold 23 million handsets in Greater China, a year-on-year increase of 77%," Ollila added. "For the combined Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets, we now have an estimated device market share of well over 30%. Moving forward, we will build on this tremendous strength to further grow our R&D, manufacturing, investment, market position and innovation capabilities in China. With the expected launch of 3G services, we believe China will enter a new era of mobility and will play a significant role in the global market."
Mr. Ollila described Nokia's commitment as a combination of four themes that drives Nokia in China: Partner, Innovator, Investor and Supplier. He explained that "digital convergence is coming to the mobile mass market in China," and he reflected on Nokia's leadership role in this as Internet access, music, imaging, video, television, and e-mail goes mobile. "For many Chinese consumers the first experience of digitalization is likely to be through a mobile device," commented Ollila.
Nokia has been a leading investor in China for over 20 years, partnering with universities and employing nearly 6,000 staff across Greater China. In total, Nokia has invested over 2.2 billion USD in China and has created over 30,000 jobs in related industries. In the first nine months of 2005, Nokia sales in Greater China exceeded 3.3 billion USD (2.7 billion EUR), and in the same period exports were 2.3 billion USD (1.9 billion EUR), bringing a substantial contribution to the Chinese economy.
Total mobility - Bringing us closer together, in both work and at play
Mr. Ollila also discussed how mobile technology is increasingly becoming "social technology." More than ever before, mobile technology is shaping the way we communicate with each other, enjoy our free time together, and work together.
David Ho, President of Nokia China, elaborated on this trend towards greater mobility. According to Ho, mobile traffic represents 60 percent of total telecom traffic in Mainland China. For mobile operators on the Mainland and in Hong Kong, data services already make up over 20% of revenue.
"As the world's lea ding enabler of mobile life, Nokia has already become the number one 3G mobile infrastructure and solution partner for China area operators. We expect to continue to be the undisputed market leader in the Chinese mobile market," said Ho.
A glimpse into the future - The shape of things to come
Among the portfolio of latest devices being showcased for the first time at the "Nokia: Our Mobile Life 2006" conference were the three new Nokia Nseries devices, the fashion inspired L'Amour Collection and the new Nokia Eseries smartphones.
The event also gave a taste of things to come - featuring several groundbreaking technologies and applications, illustrating Nokia's leading position in the ongoing evolution of the mobile industry. Visual Radio, mobile TV, the Lifeblog and the AirAlbum were demonstrated, technologies that will soon be part of our lives. With mobile devices already outnumbering PC's by four to one, it is likely that for many Chinese consumers, a mobile device will provide their first experience with the Internet, video call or e-mail.
Colin Giles, Senior Vice President of Customer and Market Operations, shared Nokia's insights into Chinese consumers and the China market, and reflected on Nokia's leadership. "We do intensive brand tracking that shows that not only are our devices selling well, but our sales are growing in tandem with the strength of the Nokia brand, and product quality. We have found that Nokia leads the pack throughout the country," commented Giles.
Mr. Ollila concluded, "Mobility is bringing us closer to one another by giving us the freedom to choose the way we wish to communicate. Digital convergence enabled by mobility will also signify the revitalization of businesses as they discover new ways of doing business never before thought possible."
