Emerging Markets -- Engadget Mobile

emerging markets posts

Nokia's latest batch for emerging markets includes its cheapest phone ever

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 6th 2009 @ 7:11AM

We spend most of our time talking about Espoo's Maemo- and Symbian-based lineup, which makes it easy to forget that the company has a vibrant business taking care of the very lowest rungs of the wireless industry -- devices that shatter price barriers and take service to entire new market segments in the furthest reaches of the world. Last year, it was the 1202 raising eyebrows with a €25 price tag, and this week, Nokia's beaten its own mark by coming out with the 1280 (pictured) at just €20 unsubsidized. The phone comes as part of a new five-pack of emerging market devices Nokia has shown this time around, including candybars ranging from the monochrome 1280 to the 1616 and 1800 with color displays for just €4 and €6 more, respectively; we've also got a 2220 slider and 2690 candybar that move a little upmarket at €45 and €54. All of the handsets feature FM radios (particularly critical in some of the markets where these phones will be sold) and feature killer battery life, perfect when power outlets can be hard to come by for days at a time. Indonesia will be the first to get these bad boys in early December, but we imagine they'll find their way to other regions shortly.

Nokia rolls out 2720, 2730, and 7020 on the low end

by Chris Ziegler posted May 18th 2009 @ 2:16PM

Nokia has a tendency to roll out its low-end fare in big batches -- you might think of it as the polar opposite of, say, an NTT DoCoMo launch -- and the trend continues with today's announcement of the 2720, 2730, and 7020 (try saying that three times fast). The theme here is bringing internet capabilities to the very bottom-most reaches of the market, and indeed, all three devices offer email and basic web access. Starting with the 2720, you've got a super-basic clamshell with a mirrored finish that'll retail for €55 (about $74) in the third quarter. The 2730 switches over to the candybar form factor and becomes Nokia's cheapest 3G phone at just €80 (about $108) in the third quarter, while the 7020 follows in the fourth quarter with a concealed external display and 2 megapixel cam.

Gallery: Nokia rolls out 2720, 2730, and 7020 on the low end

Nokia rolls deep on the cheap, cooks up six models

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 4th 2008 @ 2:40PM

Looking through the pictures here, you might not suspect that the sticker prices for these bad boys range from just €90 ($117) all the way down to a jaw-droppingly low €25 (about $32), but they do, which raises a question: why must they be targeting emerging markets alone? Nokia has a history of going after emerging economies with the occasional barrage of models, and the latest round ups the game with features we'd be totally cool with seeing on your average "mature market" handset -- goodies like integrated flashlights, sturdy lanyards, and a vaguely-defined "Nokia Life Tools" service that delivers relevant information in a graphical interface to phones via SMS (the logic being that GPRS isn't always available where these phones are going to be used). The most expensive device of the lot will be the 5130 XpressMusic, the first music-centric Nokia destined for low-income areas of the world with an integrated FM radio, 2-megapixel cam, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Next up we've got the fancy 7100 Supernova, joining Nokia's fashion-friendly line in a couple tasty colors with a 1.3-megapixel cam. If we skip all the way to the bottom, we have the lowly 1202, a rugged-looking little monochrome beast with an extended battery, a five-user phonebook to make it easy to pass around the whole family, and extra-loud ringtones -- and at 25 euros, it's Nokia's lowest-cost phone ever. Why do we want one really badly? Are we crazy? Look for all six of these to start filtering around the globe between now and early 2009.

LG puts an emphasis on emerging markets

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 29th 2008 @ 4:59PM

Chalking up the decision to a gloomy economic outlook, LG has said that it intends to shift its production and marketing strategies over the coming years to sell fully half of its lineup in emerging markets in the $100-$150 range. The low-cost phone market is a truly brutal one for manufacturers -- so brutal, in fact, that Nokia has come right out and said that it chooses not to compete in it -- but LG is now saying that it'll be happy with single-digit profit margins in that arena now that it's gotten over fears that playing dirty there will "hurt [its] brand image." That'd be down a smidge from its latest quarter, where it posted an 11.5 percent margin in the mobile game -- a 2.9 percent decrease from the quarter before that. A little cash is better than no cash, we suppose, eh?

[Via Phone Scoop]

LG takes KM380, KM710 music phones to emerging markets

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 11th 2008 @ 2:23AM

The roll-out of LG's KM380 and KM710 models has already started, but the company has announced that it wants to take them to a whole pile of emerging markets by the third quarter. When all's said in done, it looks like customers throughout most of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa will be able to snap them up locally, offering solid music control (just look at that big honkin' wheel on the KM710!), advanced equalization capabilities, and in the case of the KM380, a whopping 40 hours of continuous playback. Given the target markets, we'd expect the pricing to be pretty reasonable at every local launch, too.

[Via Unwired View]

Nokia blasts out four affordable handsets for emerging markets

by Darren Murph posted Apr 2nd 2008 @ 9:33AM

Hot on the heels of the 1606 and 3606 comes a foursome for emerging markets announced today not at CTIA, but at the Growing Together 2008 conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Getting us started is the €90 ($142) 5000 (ships in Q2), which checks in with a QVGA display, FM tuner, MP3 ringtone support, Bluetooth, GPRS connectivity and a 1.3-megapixel camera -- the firm's first at the aforesaid price point. Next up is the Q3-bound 2680 slide (pictured), which boasts a camera, FM radio and a manageable €75 ($119) price tag. Moving on, there's the 7070 Prism, which rocks those same geometric patterns we've grown to love (or hate) on the 7500, a voice recorder and a €50 ($79) sticker. Lastly, the 1680 classic (ships in Q2) arrives as the company's most "affordable cameraphone to date" at just €50 ($79). Go on, check out the whole gang in the gallery below!

Gallery: Nokia blasts out four affordable handsets for emerging markets

Nokia's 1209 and 2600 classic, simple and super cheap

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 22nd 2008 @ 12:02PM

Doesn't seem like that long ago that Nokia totally juiced its low-end offerings, but the world of inexpensive ear candy moves just as quickly as the rest of the market -- if not quicker -- and so the fleet is getting rejuvenated just a tad. The 1209 (pictured left) is naturally the lower end of the pair, a phone that Nokia has specifically designed for the concept of "phone sharing" that is largely unique to emerging markets; special features include extra cost tracking apps and separate phonebooks for up to five users. The more interesting of the two is the 2600 classic, featuring interchangeable Xpress-on (wow, it's been a while since we've heard that word) covers, support for MP3 ringtones, a VGA cam, and integrated FM radio. Look for the 1209 to start shipping next quarter for a mere €35 (about $51) while the 2600 classic has already kicked off deliveries for €65 (about $95).

UN plans to fight poverty with wireless

by Michael Caputo posted Sep 15th 2007 @ 11:57PM

The United Nations is taking on the enormous project of supplying wireless service to almost 80 African tribes covering 10 countries. The project is expected to encompass nearly a half-million people from the area and is expected to boost the local economy by providing health care and education. Consumers would also have access to 2G data, giving customers the ability to surf the internet. Even though this doesn't fall under the GSMA 3G for all plan -- something is better than nothing, right?

[Via Textually]

Motorola busts out slew of low-end candybars

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 1st 2007 @ 6:46PM

From our "never have so many handsets collectively interested us so little" department come these six gems, all Moto candybars from the low-end "W" line that are presumably destined primarily for emerging markets. We've yet to see any press releases detailing exactly what Motorola intends to do with these, but the imagery in its media database pretty much says it all; heck, two of the six even have monochrome displays (and no, they aren't e-ink, either). Four of the handsets -- the W156, W160, W175, and W180 -- do at least carry over the F3's wedge-shaped slim design, while the last two, the W206 and W213, look like they're straight outta 2003. We'll pass on this bunch, but if you want to send us a GSM 850 / 1900 MOTOFONE, guys, be our guest!

Nokia busts out new low-end fleet

by Chris Ziegler posted May 3rd 2007 @ 11:08AM

Avert your eyes if you're married to S60 -- you'll find nary a smartphone here -- but Nokia's mustered a new slew of devices for emerging markets today that cover the full spectrum of form factors and radio technologies. Starting from the upper left, the lowly 1200 keeps things about as simple as they possibly could be with a throwback monochrome display, 32-chord ringtones, a "dust-resistant" keypad, and an integrated flashlight. The 1208 takes a small step up, swapping out the monochrome screen for a color one but otherwise keeping specs the same. The 1650 moves yet a little more upmarket with a considerably larger screen, though the keypad apparently loses dust resistance in the process. The 2505 is a CDMA (!) flip that maintains the integrated flashlight and rocks downloadable ringtones and wallpapers, a speakerphone, and a handful of integrated games and tools. Onto the second row starting at the left, the 2630 re-ups the 1650's formula and adds Bluetooth, GPRS data, and a VGA cam (heck, this seems like a perfectly decent handset for... uh, emerged markets, let alone emerging ones) -- and get this -- it becomes Nokia's thinnest phone, period, at 9.9 millimeters. The 2660 does the 2630's features in flip form, but loses the cam in the conversion -- but no worries, you can get it back with the 2760. Did ya get all that? Look for all of 'em to launch in the middle of this year in "select markets" for between €35 and €90 ($48 and $123) -- not bad at all, considering those are unsubsidized prices.

$10 cellphone may be coming in two years

by Brian White posted Apr 13th 2007 @ 5:33AM

With Motorola not making a heckuva lot of profit these days, can it and the other handset makers really get a $10 handset to market? Some at UC Berkeley's Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) say that it may be possible to get a $10 cellphone -- likely targeted at emerging markets -- on the streets. Still, can it be done from a cost and logistics perspective? CITRIS in California (no pun intended) believes such a handset could be on the global market within a few years if any Taiwanese contract manufacturers care to sign up to the vision. With Taiwan's Quanta being the top maker of the $100 OLPC laptop computer system that is shipping, perhaps a $10 cellphone can, in fact, be done. After all, the MOTOFONE ain't that far away.

CDMA phones to get ultra cheap, too

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 27th 2006 @ 1:18AM

Anyone else notice that most of the fanfare surrounding the concept of the almost-free unsubsidized handset has been largely restricted to the GSM camp? Sure, we have occasional CDMA examples like Kyocera's K122 and K132 -- but with all due respect to Kyocera, cooler looking GSM goodies like the MOTOFONE have been generating just a bit more buzz. No worries, though; a handful of scrappy Korean startups are looking to correct the imbalance, committing to deliver $30 handsets utilizing CDMA2000 1x radios (no EV-DO, we're guessing) to India starting in December of this year with other Southeast Asian countries hopping on the bandwagon in '07. According to Rose Telecom, one of the startups involved in the initiative, the phones should take another dive to the $20 mark in 2008. We can almost sense American prepaid MVNOs expressing interest already.

Update: A resourceful reader has pointed out that Motorola's also offering a CDMA variant of the MOTOFONE, which clearly raises the bar for style in the CDMA emerging markets segment. The Korean folks still look to have a slight edge on pricing here -- but with Motorola having suggested that we'll be seeing $15 handsets by '08, they may not for long. [Thanks, Rich]

Motorola chairman predicts ultra-cheap mobiles by '08

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2006 @ 2:10PM

$15 contract-free cellphones might just be a reality by 2008. David Brown, Chairman of the Board for Motorola's British outpost, delivered the good news during a speech to the UK's Institute of Engineering and Technology, saying that agreements with suppliers are largely to thank for the development. Of course, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves -- 2008 is still a little ways off yet -- but coming from the company that brings us the ultra-low-cost (yet still reasonably fashionable) MOTOFONE, we'd like to believe the statement carries some weight. If it all goes down, Mr. Brown believes it'll lead to another 100 million people investing in their first cellphone each and every year, and if that's not motivation for the manufacturers to make it a reality, we don't know what is.

Motorola shows variety of entry-level phones

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 20th 2006 @ 11:15PM

With the exception of the Q, it's been a while since we've had the good fortune of being able to talk about some genuinely new Moto handsets in the pipeline -- not counting the endless array of RAZR, SLVR, and PEBL variants, of course. That looks to have changed thanks to this week's CommunicAsia expo in Singapore, where Motorola's dropped a handful of clever-looking handsets for emerging markets (Nokia, pay attention here). First up is the W170, a roundish ultra low-end candybar sporting a 128 x 128 black and white display with blue backlight, 32 tone polyphony, speakerphone, and FM radio. Next up in the pecking order is the W208, which trades the black and white display for color at the same resolution and a slightly different case design. Finally, arguably the most interesting of the bunch, the W375 clamshell borrows design cues from its pricier cousins in the V3 line but eliminates the external display in favor of a series of status icons. Look for all of these to drop in Q3 and Q4, and if you ask politely, Moto might even drop some of 'em in the States thanks to GSM 850/1900 support.

[Via Phone Scoop and Mobilewhack]

Nokia announces 1110i for "first time users"

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 19th 2006 @ 3:04PM

Apparently there exists a market somewhere for bargain-basement phones, devoid of even the most basic features, that look like they've been sitting in a warehouse somewhere since 1999. Wherever you folks are, Nokia's got you covered with their latest ultra low-end offering, the 1110i. A modest update for the similarly-designed 1110, the 1110i rocks a freshly updated version of S30, 96 x 68 1-bit display with green backlight, 20-tone polyphony with "MP3-grade tones," EGSM 900 / 1800 support, and that's about it. At just €45 ($57) unsubsidized, what's there not to love? Available starting Q3 in areas friendly to dual-band coverage. [Warning: PDF link]

[Thanks, Donald]