JOIN USThe choice of Windows as operating system for its mobile phones has helped Nokia sustain itself in the Indian market, a senior Nokia official said on Tuesday.
“Our partnership (with Microsoft) has worked well in India. We have a shared interest in India given our popularity and our synergy is creating more interest for
smartphones in India,” said Nokia’s Senior Vice-President for India, Middle East and Africa D Shivakumar, while speaking to Deccan Herald on the sidelines of the All India Management Association’s (AIMA) 'Knowledge and Professional Services Summit' in the city on Tuesday.
“We chose to partner with (Windows) platform in February 2011 and by the end of the year we had nearly six to seven Lumia models. Over the last few months, we have seen the momentum increase in the market, which obviously, is important given the accelerated growth for mobile phones,” he added.
Earlier, addressing a session on mobile consumption at the Summit, Shivakumar, also president of AIMA, said that apps downloads from Nokia India stores in a one-year period from October 2011 to October 2012 jumped to 76 per cent.
“App explosion is redefining the way people consume entertainment and digital content. The fact that the number of apps on Windows stores has reached 1 lakh in a short period of time is a measure of how people like to consume and create content using mobile phones and apps,” he said.
Shivakumar declined to share sales figures of Nokia Lumia in India, stating instead that the brand has gone some way in establishing itself as the company’s premier product in the country.
“Our plan is to make Windows phones more accessible to the Indian market,” he said, talking about the company’s future plans for India.
“Right now, we are offering the Lumia 510 in the Rs 12,990 range. We are adding more apps and Nokia’s signature services such as music, navigation, location, among others, so that the experience is compelling for Indian users.”
Nokia is currently encouraging the creation of more “blockbuster global and local apps” through outreach and training programmes for Indian developers.