Nokia shines at Mobile World Congress

Nokia has introduced a range of new products, services and partnerships at Mobile World Congress, setting the pace for 2012 and demonstrating rapid execution of its new strategic direction.

The new strategy already has resulted in the adoption of Windows Phone as Nokia’s primary smartphone platform, major changes to its feature phones, and additional emphasis on location-based services with the launch of its Location & Commerce business.

“One year ago, we shared that Nokia was embarking on a new journey to build great mobile devices,” said Stephen Elop, president and CEO of Nokia. “Today, with our fourth Lumia device, smarter mobile phones and an array of new services, we are demonstrating that we can change the clock speed of Nokia.”

Lumia portfolio extends, availability expands

Nokia has extended the range of products with Windows Phone by introducing the Nokia Lumia 610, the most affordable Lumia yet, as well as targeting availability of the widely acclaimed Lumia 900 to additional markets beyond the U.S.

Aimed at young people who want an affordable introduction to Lumia and Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia 610 provides easy access to social networks, web browsing, music, games, navigation and tens of thousands of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It comes in four vibrant colors and will cost just €189, before taxes or subsidies, and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

The Nokia Lumia 900, which launched in January as Nokia’s first LTE-enabled smartphone, will now be available in Dual Carrier HSPA for up 42.2 Mbps. The superior content experience of the phone’s 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display and large capacity battery will be available to more countries around the world.

Nokia announced Nokia Reading providing a single, integrated reading hub experience. Nokia Reading makes it easier and faster to enjoy news, books, and audio books including an extensive catalogue of local language reading material and the ability to access content offline.

The announcements cap a year in which Nokia introduced the Lumia 710, Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 to critical acclaim and ahead of schedule.

New era in smartphone imaging starts with Nokia 808 PureView

Nokia also ushered in a new era in high end smartphone imaging. The Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature exclusive Nokia PureView imaging technologies that will enable a range of high-end imaging experiences into Nokia products over the coming years. The Nokia 808 PureView combines a large, high-resolution 41-megapixel sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed pixel over-sampling technology. This means incredibly sharp, detailed images, superior low light performance and the capability to save images in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS and on social networks.

The Nokia 808 PureView also includes Nokia Rich Recording for CD-like quality audio recording, full HD 1080p video recording and playback, and exclusive Dolby Headphone technology to transform any stereo content into a personal surround sound experience over any headphones.

Asha ignites smarter feature phones

Nokia is further blurring the line between feature phones and smartphones, launching three new Asha devices for people who want to work, learn and play. Developed for urban consumers and entrepreneurs, the Nokia Asha 302 is a premium QWERTY device. It delivers a mobile office experience with push email and calendar, and contacts synchronization under the Mail for Exchange support – a first for Nokia Series 40 devices.

Designed for easy access to social networks, the Nokia Asha 202 and 203 bring touchscreens to volume-priced products and a pack of 40 free Electronic Arts games. The Asha 202 also features Nokia’s Easy Swap Dual SIM technology, allowing people to simply swap between tariffs and get the best value from carriers.

Nokia is also differentiating itself by updating its popular Life Tools service, now called Nokia Life, that provides life-enhancing information across the range of Nokia Series 30 and Series 40 products, including the new Asha 202 and Asha 203. People in India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria will benefit from life skills, parenting, education, agriculture and entertainment services, delivered via SMS.

The new Asha devices complement the Nokia Asha range that is available now in more than 100 markets globally.

Going further, faster

In location-based services, Nokia and Groupon plan to offer market-leading location-sensitive discounts and deals. Nokia is also announcing a new version of Nokia Drive for Windows Phone that will come with full offline support for turn-by-turn navigation. Moving forward, Nokia Drive will also remember a personal commute, give advance traffic notice and automatically re-route to avoid jams.

Additionally, Nokia plans to release the Windows Phone version of Nokia Transport for door-to-door, underground, tram, suburban train, and bus directions in more than 500 cities and 45 countries.