Nokia executive has hinted at a Nokia 4G feature phone for the Indian market. Nokia has had a very busy few weeks as it launched the highly anticipated Nokia 8 and is now working towards providing Oreo update to most of its 4G smart phones in India.
Before the rumours of a Nokia 4G feature phone HMD Global launched the immensely popular 3310 in India a few months back. The phone that was called virtually indestructible received a makeover in 2017 to launch in emerging markets like India and Brazil. The phone initially came with only 2G network compatibility as it was aimed at developing countries. The phone then went on to the U.S. in a 3G avatar since the U.S. carriers do not support 2G anymore. Answering to the question ‘if 3310 3G will come to India’ Ajay Mehta (the vice president of Nokia India) commented that the 3G market does not excite India anymore and they might actually bring a Nokia 4G feature phone in the market. We have our fingers crossed that 3310 manages to hit the Indian shelves in a 4G avatar.
Why Nokia wants to enter the 4G feature phone market:
Ajay Mehta confirmed that the Jio 4G feature phone was giving a strong push to the segment and it may be a valuable move to bring Nokia 4G feature phone for rural India. Major other companies along with Nokia are waiting to observe how the JIO 4G phone materialises and if they find a viable business here they will definitely enter it with the Nokia 4G feature phone. At the moment Lava, Intex, and Airtel along with Nokia are working on 4G feature phones for the Indian market.
The Nokia executive Ajay Mehta seemed very interested in the 4G feature phone market. He believes that the Nokia 4G feature phone is very important to the brand as the market accounts for a potential size in India. The brand has four feature phones in the country and currently none of them support 4G.
Importance of Nokia 4G feature phone:
Feature phone market is very critical for the Nokia brand as it has a strong presence there. Nokia might have to partner with operators to make the Nokia 4G feature phone possible. Feature phones account for an annual sale of almost 10 million devices in a time when cheaper smartphones are flooding the market. The JIO company LYF never really took off due to its poor build quality and cheap designs and the same may be true for its feature phones. It is important for a brand like HMD Global to have a Nokia 4G feature phone with its vast offline presence and service network.
Source: GsmArena
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