It’s Nokia season again!

Singapore – Determined to maintain its lead in the mobile phone handset space, Finnish giant Nokia unveiled here last week five new models catering to different market segments.

Unveiled during the "Nokia: Live, Work and Play the Mobile Way" coordinated event taking place in Helsinki, Finland and Singapore were the Nokia 2600, 2650, 6170, 6260 and 6630 models as well as innovative new enhancements designed to extend the handset’s functio-nality.

Analysts saw the announce-ment of the new handsets as Nokia’s battlecry to meet rising competition head-on with sleek new designs and feature-packed mobile phones.

Nokia is reeling from a decline in sales performance as well as growing competition from makers such as Samsung and Moto-rola and a host of other smaller manu-facturers.

The new models, plus a refocusing of technologies, are expected to sustain Nokia’s superiority and expand its product segments.

At the top of the line of the newly announced handsets is the Nokia 6630, a sleek mobile with both 3G (WCD-MA) and GSM triband capabilities, a built-in 1.3-mega-pixel camera and the ability to record over an hour of video.

The 6630 can handle wireless broadband network connections like those offered in Japan and Korea. It ushers in a new era of mobiles that can be used in the present and future 3G networks.

Incredibly small, the 6630 runs on Symbian’s popular Series 60 operating system, currently the leading smartphone OS that allows almost PC-like functionality from smartphones such as the capability to run programs and connect to the Internet wire-lessly.

"The Nokia 6630 is built for speed and smart working. It offers high-quality performance with leading operating times as well as mobile broadband services to a growing number of 3G customers," said Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia EVP and general manager for multimedia.

Expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2004, the 6630 will be Nokia’s flagship handset and one capable of wireless video conferencing.

The 6630 pushes the envelope in the emerging 3G network line and is also expected to sell successfully as a high-end megapixel GSM smartphone.

Nokia also released three models in the flip-phone form factor. Since the start, Nokia’s most popular models have been monobloc or one-piece mobiles or phones with a slider function. Released during the event was the entry-level Nokia 2650, the Nokia 6170 stainless steel camera phone and the 6260 smartphone with multiple fold and swivel functions.

Nokia’s decision to release flipphone units seems to answer the gro-wing trend in mobile phones. Users in Asia are starting to pur-chase sleeker folding mobile phones that offer the same features and functionality of larger monobloc sets.

The entry level 2650 is not just a flip-phone but also a colored entry-level unit incorporating Java applications and GPRS mobile Internet functions not usually associated with budget phones.

The flip-phones fall into the fashion phone category that integrates high-end functions with attractive designs — an area where Nokia’s rivals have concentrated on in the recent past.

By releasing flip-phones in nearly each of its segments, Nokia is giving potential new customers ample options in this form factor.

Last but not the least is the utilitarian Nokia 2600, an entry-level mobile with 4,096 colors in a small but compact design. Bringing color to the entry level, the 2600 may be an indicator that colored screens will soon be seen across the line.

With a 200-entry phonebook, a built-in spreadsheet appli-cation, a hands-free speaker and screening capabilities for unwanted SMS and phone calls, the 2600 does pack a lot of value and is certain to be a popular model for young professionals and students.

Nokia also released a number of enhancements such as a wireless Bluetooth keyboard for SMS and e-mail input in most of its smartphone models; a video call camera stand to be used with the 6630 in a 3G network; a music stand that allows MP3-capable mobile phones to play into loudspeakers; and new Xpress-on covers that integrate GPS (Global Positioning System) and Java games into specific models with the covers serving as the storage device.

Most of the new models will be released in the fourth quarter of 2004. Nokia did not specify which mobile phones will be available in the local market.