DHAKA – The Sri Lankan mobile phone market is growing at a rapid pace due to wide availability and low cost compared to other countries in the region as a result of less duties and restrictions on imports.
Some 18.1 million mobile phones are in use in the island and 95% of them use basic phones. Nokia is still regarded as the number one feature phone.
The reason for this was the user friendliness, durability and long battery life, Shiblee Shakik Ahmed, Nokia Sales and Business Development Manager told Sri Lankan journalists on the sidelines of the Nokia launch event of apps enabled smart mobile phones at the Western Hotel in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka last week.
 He revealed that Nokia has recorded a 20% growth in Sri Lanka in 2011 and the demand was for feature phones. He said that smart phones should be popularized among Sri Lankans who are very quality conscious.
He said in Sri Lanka, Nokia’s main competitor is Samsung, and Chinese and Indian low priced feature phones have been competitive. This year Nokia will be equally concentrating on both segments of the market in Sri Lanka but there would be more focus on smart phones, he revealed.
“As the Sri Lankan consumer is very quality conscious there is still a high demand for Nokia feature phones. We hope to market our smart phones aggressively and to also be the leader in the smart phone segment in Sri Lanka,” he said. Abu Daud Khan , Country Manager – Bangladesh said “Nokia Asha (“Asha” Meaning ‘hope’ in Hindi) blurs the line between smart phones and feature phones and provides the consumer a faster internet experience. Though owning a smart phone is costly, with Nokia Asha devices now the consumers can get a smarter mobile experience, close to smart phone experience.”
“On the Nokia online store, Nokia provides free unlimited download benefits to the consumers with thousands of applications that are available. These apps are not only provided for the smart phone but also for Internet enabled feature phones as well,” he added.
As part of Nokia’s commitment in connecting the next billion, the company recently showcased its latest line up of devices which have been named ‘Asha’ at the event at the Westin Hotel. The ‘Asha’ series comprises four handsets namely Asha 303, Asha 300 Asha 200 and Asha 201, a press release issued by the company said.
Nokia has been leading the way to drive mobile applications usage and to empower the people by connecting them with the wonderful world of Internet, it said.
Through its online store, Nokia provides free unlimited download benefits to the consumers with thousands of applications that are available. With local & customized apps like ‘Weather Now’, ‘Stock Assist’ and ‘Scoreboard’ and over 2.5 million downloads per month, Nokia Bangladesh ranks among the top 30 globally. |
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