On why Nokia needs the Rural Indian Market Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President & CEO of Nokia was in Delhi to announce the companys plans to launch entry level handsets in India, in order to cater to the non-urban consumers. To facilitate adoption, Nokia will initially offer a base phone with microfinancing options, and is currently running pilots in order to tweak its offering to make mobiles more affordable, reports the Hindu. In terms of services on offer, Nokia is in talks with content providers for information on the weather, and market prices for agricultural products. That's fairly similar to the Reuters Market Light product which Reuters India has piloted, and I wonder if there's a tie-up in the offing there. In Q1 of 2008, around 10,000 phones per hour were shipped to India. Nokia has a significant lead over its nearest competitor - LG. Nokia has a market share of 52.8 percent, followed by LG at 10.2 percent, and Samsung at 8.3 percent in terms of units shipped during the quarter ended March 31, 2008. There are around 25 handset vendors operating in India, and the average selling value of handsets has been steadily declining, according to IDC. However, IDC doesn't mention how many of the handsets are actually sold. Handsets are essentially consumer durable items - you really don't need to buy a new one. The entire handset business is dependent on creating a new need - whether it is a higher resolution camera, more storage capacity, clear music, a…
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