The Road Ahead for Nokia

By Pranz Kaeno

?You need to be faster, have the right information at the right time. You need to be reactive,? said William Hamilton-Whyte, Nokia Philippines general manager, on the virtues of being mobile. The popular maker of cell phones recently held a press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati. The Finnish company outlined their latest strategies in ushering in a more mobile, more connected, and more environment-friendly future.

The Ovi portal

Nokia?s venture into Internet services has led to the development of their Web portal Ovi. According to the mobile giant, Ovi brings together a user?s online world, mobile device and computer into an easy-to-use and consistent experience. The portal facilitates management, updating and syncing of user files and information among the user?s different devices. It also serves as a gateway to Nokia?s services like media sharing, maps, games, music and messaging.

Ovi is like social-networking Web site Multiply coupled with the functionalities of?for example?iTunes, Google Map, Gmail (or Yahoo! Mail), and online file storage Box.net (or Microsoft Live?s SkyDrive). All these features can be accessed through a Web browser or through a mobile phone?s Ovi app.

With Ovi you can share moments as soon as you capture them. You can instantly upload photos and videos you took with your phone and your Ovi-connected friends will be automatically notified through their handsets and computers about the updates you made. It is mobile social-networking Nokia style. (Of course, you can also upload content captured with other devices through your computer.)

Future plans for Ovi include instant alerts for events and bargains that match your tastes and preferences. Also there are some Ovi services not yet available locally like maps, games and music. Nokia Philippines is hoping that soon these services would be available?especially Maps. The Metro is teeming with precious finds waiting to be discovered. With Maps, finding your way to that critically acclaimed resto or the hottest evening happening is just a click away.

Personally, I hope they?d bring their ?Comes with Music? service here. It allows users of certain handset models to download almost 5 million tracks?for free. The service was initially launched in Britain and will soon hit the shores of Australia, Singapore and other European cities.

To create an Ovi account or to learn more about the portal, check out its Web site at http://www.ovi.com.

Pushing e-mail forward

SMS has been a very popular mode of mobile communication here in the Philippines, the texting capital of the world. While doing e-mail on the run has been embraced by BlackBerry-toting corporate junkies, lawyers, and Mr. Obama for quite some time now, the trend has yet to spread in the local mainstream. E-mail offers numerous benefits over SMS. Per message e-mail has virtually no text limit, and can carry files of any format.

Newer models like Nokia 2320 and 2330 Classic are integrated with e-mail accounts from Ovi. E-mail at Ovi.com comes with 1GB storage and has multi-layered spam and virus protection. With the handsets? diminutive price, Hamilton-Whyte?s vision of farmers in remote barrios exchanging e-mails with family, pals and retailers might be within reach. That is if telecom carriers could come up with a more appealing rate for the service.

A greener future

To mitigate the influx of defunct gadgets in landfills, Nokia has set up drop-off points where anyone can leave their old products for recycling. You may visit any Nokia Care center for more info. Recycling saves energy and resources and helps ensure proper disposal of harmful substances. It also (somehow) lessens your guilt of replacing your aging handset with the latest, slicker gizmo.