Nokia’s CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo announced recently that the Finnish company plans on entering the portable PC biz, by launching a laptop, or more. We’ve heard such rumours in the past year, but this is the first time we’ve ever received official confirmation.
Kallasvuo mentions that the PC-mobile convergence will take both devices and merge them into one, so Nokia can only adhere to the process, while major PC manufacturers like Acer enter the smartphone market. Acer launched no less than the 8 cellphones as it started competing with fellow PC manufacturing rivals HP and Lenovo, while proving that one market segment is never enough.
The announcement that Nokia will be launching its own range of laptops has sent shock waves across the tech sector and could cause a (much) bigger revolution than Asus' Netbooks.
Reasons Why Nokia's Laptops Will Rule :
(1) Bargaining Power
Nokia accounts for around 450 million mobile phones every year and although the global economic downturn may dent this, the Finnish manufacturer still produces roughly 1 in every 3 phones on the planet. This gives the Finnish manufacturer a formidable bargaining power that can drive prices down, computer or anything else.
(2) Experience
Nokia has far more experience selling worldwide than most players out there. The handset manufacturer is uniquely placed to sell mobile computers to people on all five continents. The Nokia 1100 for example is testament of the company's fantastic ability to adapt to local requirements. More than 200 million Nokia 1100 were sold since 2003, more than the PS2 or the iPod.
(3) Brand Name
Nokia is one of the biggest and most well known brands in the world, regularly appearing in top 100 brands lists. last year, one published by Interbrand ranked it at number 5, above Google (10) and well above Apple (24). Its universal popularity will give it a head start in emerging markets like Brazil or Russia
Interbrand | Best Global Brands List | 2008
(4) Comes With Music
Nokia has another card up its sleeve. "Comes with Music" subscription service could well prove to be a winner in more mature countries where it could trump Apple and iTunes. In emerging countries, combined with advertising, a free CMW could prove radical against the plight of piracy. All of course, bundled with Nokia's mobile computer.
(5) Symbian
Unlike say Asus, Nokia has complete control over both hardware and software. The prototype mobile computer that Unwiredview claims Nokia demoed at the recent MWC used Linux. But chances are that it will use Symbian, an OS and a platform that it knows inside out and that could be at the core of its mobile computer offering.
Nokia already has a large loyal customer base, and its products are widely considered to be of superior quality, sturdy, and stable. They have a ready distribution network, and have large ready supply chain and manufacturing capacity, which they can use to gain foothold, and emerge successfully in the field.
