Pages

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Nokia unveils tablet, smartphones

Finnish mobile devices maker Nokia on Wednesday announced five new smartphones and its entry in the tablet segment with launch of 4G enabled Nokia Lumia 2520, widening its portfolio to better compete with larger rivals Samsung and Apple.

Priced at $499 (about Rs 31,000) before taxes, Nokia will start shipping Lumia 2520 to the US, the UK and Finland this quarter. It would be shipped to additional markets in the first quarter of 2014.

“Lumia 2520 is Nokia’s first tablet and a natural extension to Lumia family,” Nokia’s Executive Vice-President (Devices & Services) Stephen Elop said here.

The company did not disclose the time for launching the 10.1 inch screen size Lumia tablet in India but an Indian channel partner of Nokia said that he expects the product to be launched in first quarter of 2014.

The full suite of the tablet, which includes a keyboard, is likely to cost customers around Rs 40,000 before taxes. Nokia will provide a keyboard at an additional cost of $149 (about Rs 9,000) before taxes.

Built on Windows RT 8.1 operating system the tablet will have Microsoft Office Applications like MS Word and Excel preinstalled on it.

The Nokia tablet shares many commonalities with Microsoft’s Surface tablet in terms of price, design and features.

Nokia also unveiled its first smartphones with 6-inch screen size, Nokia Lumia 1320 and 1520, priced at $339 (about Rs 21, 000) and $749 (about Rs 46,000) before taxes. While Elop announced that Nokia Lumia 1320, which has 5 MP rear camera will be available in India in first quarter of 2014, the Lumia 1520 which has 20 megapixel camera will start selling in leading countries from this quarter namely Hong Kong, Singapore, China, UK, France and other European market.

Nokia’s competitor Samsung is already selling smartphones with up to 6.3 inch screen size in India for about Rs 31,000.

The company also unveiled its three economy segment smartphones in Asha series – Nokia Asha 500, 502 and first 3G phone in Asha series, 503 for $69, $89 and $99 before taxes. Nokia will start selling these three products in the Asian markets from this quarter.
Elop announced that instant messaging application WhatsApp will be available on new Nokia Asha phones. This app was not available in previous models.

Nokia has incorporated 5 megapixel camera in Asha 503 which makes it an option for smartphone buyers looking at a new phone priced below Nokia Lumia 520.

Nokia 500 has a 2.8-inch screen size and the rest of the two Asha phones have a 3-inch display. While Nokia 500 and Nokia 503 will come in dual SIM option, Nokia 502 will have only single SIM option.

No comments:

Post a Comment