Nokia serious about multimedia on cell phones

Mon, 08 Nov 2004

Zatni Arbi, Contributor/zatni@cbn.net.id

Due to my hectic schedule, I didn't go to the Gran Melia Hotel on Oct. 28 or Oct. 29, the two days Nokia Indonesia was launching its new Communicator 9500. It was also not my top priority, as I had had the chance to play around with it for a week and wrote my review here before the event.

However, I was told later that, on those two days, people stood in line for hours eager to buy a unit right then and there. I was also told that even the tickets to enter the venue, which had been freely distributed by the company, were offered for Rp 500,000 apiece by those who happened to have them. Detik.com reported that people were willing to pay up to 50 percent higher for this expensive gadget, and one Nokia distributor told me that several people called him and urgently said "I want to buy seven of them!"

No wonder that people in other countries say this is a unique market." Painfully embarrassing, I should say, but so true. Destination Nokia 2004

Right after the Communicator 9500 launch -- which was also the first worldwide -- the company took a number of Indonesian journalists, including myself, to its annual Destination Nokia event in the fabulous city of Bangkok.

Now, do you still remember Nokia 7700, the first Nokia cell phone to require a stylus for input? I wrote about it after Destination Nokia 2003 on the Gold Coast, Australia. This model never really took off. It was basically a trial product that Nokia, the world's No. 1 cell phone maker, was using to test the water. This time around, however, Nokia feels confident that there will be a sizable market for this format, which falls into a category that the company calls Series 90.

The revision, which is called Nokia 7710, was the highlight of Destination Nokia 2004. It has a wider touch screen than the original N7700, as you can see in the accompanying picture. The Web-optimized display screen has 65K color capability and 640 x 320 pixel resolution. Like its predecessor, it does not have a keypad and you need a stylus to operate it. One highly welcomed improvement is the location of the speaker and the microphone, which has been moved to the unit's face. So, unlike the N7700, you will no longer have to awkwardly hold the device against the side of your head when making voice calls.

If you look at the screen, you will see a ticker line at the bottom. It is an e-mail ticker. Tap on it with the stylus, and the push technology using Smartner solution will bring you the latest news or inform you of the availability of a new ringtone that you can download. Two other very interesting capabilities are Mobile TV and video sharing. We shall discuss these two new technologies in upcoming articles.

N7710 also has a handwriting recognition tool, but I did not get the chance to test its effectiveness. Other notable features include a megapixel digital and video camera with 2x digital zoom, a built-in FM radio, Bluetooth, 24-chord polyphonic ringtones and True Tones, RealPlayer and Sketch image editing tool. Nokia promises that you will never get bored in the company of an N7710. There is no built-in Wi-Fi capability, though.

Compared to the original model, the N7710 definitely has a much more stylish design. Like the N7700, it is also meant to be a multimedia smartphone. It adopts a number of office tools that are the strengths of Communicator 9500, such as a word processor, a spreadsheet and a presentation program that can all use Microsoft Office files. It also comes with an Opera browser that will let you view HTML as well as xHTML pages. It is the right model if you want to download and play back music files, browse the Internet and do some office work while on the go.

N7710 has a huge memory capacity. It has a built-in 90 MB memory, and a 128 MB MultiMediaCard (MMC) is included in the box. If you must use a keyboard and you choose the N7710 for your next cell phone, Nokia has a wireless keyboard that works with any Bluetooth-capable cell phone.

I was told during a group interview with Peter Ollikainen, director, business line management, Nokia Mobile Phones, Asia-Pacific, that the life cycle of a cell phone model is 18 months on average. That is obviously not the case with Communicator 9500. Now, whether the N7710, which has no keypad, will be as successful as the N9500 or the N-Gage gaming cell phone --in Indonesia, I mean -- remains to be seen. Personally, I would say that the lack of an integrated keypad will be the N7710's Achilles' heel.

Two other models were launched during the event: The N6020 and N3230. The N6020 is a camera phone that lets you communicate in richer ways --including using Push to Talk -- while the N3230 is a fun megapixel camera phone. What I like most about the N6020 is its rather classic design, strong build and all the latest technologies incorporated into it.

The N3230 is boxier and it reminds me of several models from Sony-Ericsson. It comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, the best that Nokia has put in their cell phones to date. One of the interesting functions available in N3230 is the one to help you update your blog entries using MoBlog via EDGE or GPRS. It is also the second cell phone that supports Visual Radio.

The three new models seem to underline Nokia's effort to maximize the use of EDGE, which is available in more places. None of them is WCDMA-ready.

In addition to the three new cell phone models, Nokia also introduced an upgrade to its N610 car kit. The new N616 can be used with a broader range of Bluetooth equipped Nokia phones. A much better-looking security camera was also highlighted at the event. No price has been announced, as Nokia will not start shipping these products until the first quarter of next year.

Life is getting more interesting, but does productivity mix well with rich media entertainment? What do you think?

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