Nokia to launch 3 smartphones and 2 Asha phones in 2012

Nokia 808 Pureview, which has a 41 megapixel camera, is expected to start shipping in India in the middle of June

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is planning to launch three smartphones including its Pureview model of 41 megapixel sensor camera phone in India, this year. The company would also start manufacturing and marketing its two new models of feature phone series Asha, from India, in 2012, according a senior executive from the company.

Nokia 808 Pureview, which has a 41 megapixel sensor which enhances imaging quality of the camera, is expected to start shipping in India in the middle of this month. The company would launch Lumia 900 and Lumia 610, the Lumia subbrand of smart phones it develops in collaboration with Microsoft, in the country in the 3rd quarter of the year 2012, said Vipul Mehrotra, director, smart devices, Nokia India.

The company is also planning to launch two touch phone models in its feature phone with internet connectivity, Asha series, in India in the third quarter of current year. Asha 305 and Asha 311, launched this week in Bangkok, would be manufactured in the Indian facility, said Prakash Katama, who heads the Nokia factory operations in Chennai.

Speaking to reporters here, D Shivakumar, senior vice president, IMEA, Nokia said, “Globally, Lumia subbrand is seeing a good traction and in the first quarter of 2012, around 2 million units of Nokia Lumia were sold. The Microsoft Windows operating system in India has a good demand and it is growing fast, which would help the sales of Nokia Lumia.”

He added that the online payment option for Nokia store in the handsets, in collaboration with mobile service operators, has increased the purchases through the store almost five times. Nokia has signed an agreement with Airtel and Vodafone to offer download services to its customers from Nokia store by billing the product or content through the periodical bills of the operators.

“This has been widely accepted by the consumers and we see almost 66% of the consumers prefer operator billing for their purchase from Nokia store. We are in discussion with other operators to extend the service to more customers,” said Shivakumar.

The company is also planning to offer two new services, Nokia City Lens in which it would provide information and services based on the location of the device and Nokia Music with Mix Radio, which offer free mobile music-streaming and offline listening app, this year. The Mix Radio service would be launched by September, this year, said Mehrotra.