Nokia's new strategy in US market

I, and other much wiser bloggers, have already written about how unsuccessful Nokia had been in selling phones on the US market. It seems that American people are resistant to smart phones, they're simply satisfied with text messaging and using their phones mainly for voice calls. Unfortunately, the carriers didn't make it easy for Nokia to be the #1 in North-America, either.

But that might change over time. As Nokia reported in their press release, they are trying to find new ways to sell their phones, but this time without involving the carriers. I hope that Ewan's prediction will come true and users are now ready to buy and use such advanced mobile gadgets. Especially if they are from the business segment: first, it's more likely that those users can afford cell phones for hundreds of $s, second, they might even use more than 10% of the provided functionality. :-\

Let's see, I really wish all the best to Nokia! You know, my future might depend on it. :)

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Forum Nokia Champion Day in Singapore

Hmm, I've already wanted to write a blog about this event, but it seems Naresh was faster. :) Anyway, I can add my thoughts, too.

So, one of the great benefits of being a Forum Nokia Champion (or FNC) is that we can attend the FNC Day held twice a year at various locations. The first was in San Francisco, which I unfortunately couldn't attend. The second was held in London just one day before Smartphone Show, 2006. That was great! First, I always like kind of networking with other people who are interested in the same area (i.e. mobility). Second, Nokia is a gallant company meaning that we couldn't have any complaints as to how we were treated during these events.

For example, let's take this event that took place in Singapore. Not only did Nokia pay for the accommodation in a 4-star hotel, but - for some of us - they also paid the airfare. Okay, we've got it as a reward for contributing to the successful launch of Forum Nokia Wiki, but still: let's say it was a fair deal. :)

By the way, I thought in the beginning that Singapore was not the best selection for the FNC Day. Not as if it wasn't a nice location, but it's too far away from most of us. But still, about 20 of us could make it and were there and it was fun to be there. I liked all the Indian guys (they were the nicest, the funniest:) and it was a pleasure for me to meet "TCB" Paul (I could never imagine that a 3rd-party software could get TCB capability), "FlashLite Master" Alessandro, "Medical Man" Arto, "Y-Browser" Jukka, Paul "My students can do everything" Coulton and "I evangelize Python for S60" Jurgen. It's by far not an exhaustive list of people who were there and I enjoyed staying with - I've just picked up some from my memories.

So, I'm pretty much satisfied and happy that I could be there, now I just need a few days (weeks?:) to relax and recover from the long flight. :) Thanks Anina, Hung and the whole FN Champion team to make it happen! I'm wondering, however, where the next event will be held. London, New York, Brazil? Why not?

Cheers,

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