Nokia will not hike cellular phone prices

JAKARTA (JP): Finnish mobile phone producer Nokia has promised not to raises prices of its mobile phones in Indonesia for the next several months despite the rupiah's volatility against the U.S. dollar.

The general manager of Nokia Mobile Phones of Indonesia, Alexander Lambeek, said Monday Nokia raised its products' prices by about 20 percent in the second half of last year due to the monetary crisis.

But, the company said it would keep its prices stable for the next few months as part of its strategy to increase its market share amid the monetary crisis, Lambeek said.

"We feel optimistic about expanding our customer base this year and even to lead the domestic market," Lambeek said.

He said Nokia was currently in the top three mobile phone producers in the country, together with Ericcson and Motorola.

But he refused to reveal last year's sales figures or the company's revenue projection for this year.

Lambeek said the newest product, the Nokia 6110, which was launched internationally last November in Beijing and last week in Indonesia, sold out within a week.

"There is no single phone in stock any longer. We are waiting for another shipment of the phones to fulfill the high domestic demand," Lambeek said, adding that the sales volume here was in the hundreds.

Some observers doubted the Nokia 6110 would be a success due to the economic crisis and its high price of Rp 3.8 million (US$315).

But, the new cellular product has been reportedly sold for more than Rp 4 million due to the high demand.

The phone, designed for the high-end market, provides several new features, including a louder and clearer sound and a standby time of up to 270 hours. It is also small its casing can change in color like a chameleon.

"I think it sells well because it has a good price and also good performance and features," Lambeek said.

According to Lambeek, the phone was recently billed as the best phone for the Global System for Telecommunication Journals (GSM) system by two Norwegian telecommunication journals Telecom Revy and Dagens Telecom in a survey of many noted brands. (jsk)