Nokia sees more Pinoys getting into messaging

MANILA, Philippines –  “The medium is the message,” the popular phrase coined by the late media theorist Marshall McLuhan about how a medium influences the message, today finds relevance in mobile communications as handsets become the total medium for all modern forms of interactions.

It’s a medium to handle what is expected to become a popular type of communication this year - mobile messaging. Nokia sees messaging exploding in terms of usage as this capability also becomes available to mid-range handset models and no longer limited to high-end smartphones.

Benoit Nalin, general manager of Nokia Philippines, said the market positively reacted to the launch of Nokia Messaging last year along with a mid-range handset, the Nokia C3.

This year, given better operator services and data plans, messaging will take off even further, he added.

“After call and text, it’s messaging that will be big in the Philippines where there are around 15 million Facebook users. It used to be that mobile Internet is only enjoyed by those in the high-end segment of the market, but this year it will reach the mid-range market so more Filipino mobile users could experience it. Messaging will change the habits of Filipino mobile phone users,” said Nalin.

Nokia, Nalin said, will offer new premium services this year designed to improve user experience even when using not-so-premium devices such as the Nokia C3.

This way the mid- and lower-end segments of the market could start moving up to messaging and enjoy using more applications, too, Nalin added.

Aside from the availability of more affordable Internet-capable devices, messaging is also becoming prevalent, thanks to data plans that are available for P20 a day or lower. It is at this low price point that Nokia introduced the C3 with a partnership with Smart Communications so that more Filipinos will be open to use messaging.

Also feeding the messaging trend is access to downloadable mobile applications - free or not. In the Philippines, Nokia users can enjoy free use of applications from the company’s Ovi Store.

Nalin explained, however, that what local users can access for free is only about a third of the total number of applications they have in the store. The rest are pay-per-use applications that are only available in other countries at the moment.

Meanwhile, Nokia fans are waiting with bated breath for the company’s much-anticipated next operating system, Meego, which is slated for release this year. “Sometimes you see Nokia not going too fast, but only because we want to get it right,” Nalin said.

Although many have weighed in with their opinions that Nokia faces a tough battle with Android, Google’s mobile operating system, and Apple’s iOS, the Finnish market leader is determined to make go of Meego.

“It won’t be an option for Nokia to go Android,” Nalin said emphatically. “It would be a mistake. We don’t believe in fragmented OSes as these cause difficulties for developers.”

Nor is Nokia worried that there are already 175 Android phone models worldwide. Nalin said while other phone brands adopt Android because it fits easily on their hardware, they also have a need to differentiate themselves from the other players on the same platform.

Nalin also played down reports of 16 million application downloads per day on Android and 10 million downloads for Apple as of November last year.

“We have not marketed the Ovi Store as aggressively as we should,” he said.

Ovi Stores have so far hit only 3.5 million downloads on a single day. In the Philippines, Nokia is hoping to achieve a million downloads a month.

And for all iPhone and Android users who enjoyed Angry Birds, Nalin revealed that the company that developed the wildly popular game is Finnish - just like Nokia.