Nokia has opened a its first flagship store @ China's Mainland, Shanghai.

Read Below...

NOKIA PRESS RELEASE October 25, 2007
Come experience a fashion landmark and mobile life playground

Nokia opens China Mainland's first flagship store in Shanghai

Shanghai, China - Nokia announced the grand opening of the first Nokia Flagship Store in Mainland China, the only stand-alone Nokia Flagship Store and the largest in the world. The Nokia Shanghai Flagship Store is the seventh of 18 planned Flagship Stores and is the second in the region following the opening of the premier Asia Pacific Flagship Store in Hong Kong.

Five Chinese celebrities served as Nokia ambassadors at the opening ceremony - Hu Yan Bing, VJ Li Chen, An Yu Xuan, Du Cong, and Lian Du.

Colin Giles, President of Nokia China, believes that Nokia Shanghai Flagship store is well positioned to serve as a window for consumers to experience the beauty and distinction of the Nokia brand. The store offers a full portfolio of Nokia products and services, and allows consumers to freely interact with cutting-edge mobile experiences.

As Colin Giles explains, "The Nokia Shanghai Flagship store embodies Nokia's commitment to putting the customer first by providing consumers the opportunity to experience the most dynamic and exciting mobile technology in the world."

Innovative consumer experience, unique retail strategy

Nokia Shanghai Flagship store brings a new perspective to the mobile retail industry. In an age of experience-driven consumption, retailers must do more than simple advertising and product placement. Successful retail requires providing a personalized shopping experience for consumers to interact and become familiar with the products. With this in mind, Nokia invites consumers to visit the Shanghai Flagship store and experience first-hand the innovative designs and technologies of Nokia's diverse product lines.

The Nokia Shanghai Flagship Store is equipped to provide an interactive multimedia experience with a state-of-the-art audio and video system that creates a comfortable and energizing environment. Upon entering the front doors, display screens help consumers identify the area of the store containing the products that best meet their needs. Detailed information for a particular product appears on a nearby digital display as a consumer picks up the product. This system helps to create a convenient and enjoyable shopping experience by making mobile technology easy for everyone to understand.

All of the products on display are connected to the store's network, and thus linked to a selection of relevant Nokia accessories such as wireless speakers, headsets, and printers. Consumers can enjoy a complete mobile experience with applications such as navigation, e-mail, music, games, and weather forecasts, among others. The multimedia displays even allow consumers to send text messages to consumers shopping at other Nokia Flagship Store locations around the world.

In addition to these features, the store offers personalized customer service. Staff members at the Nokia Flagship Store are highly trained graduates of Nokia's award-winning Nokia Academy. The staff team provides consumers with personal attention and guidance in selecting mobile products that best-suit their diverse needs.

The Nokia Flagship Store represents Nokia's first business-to-consumer sales model, which allows the entire organization to better understand and meet customer needs, from a supply chain standpoint to marketing and services. Customer feedback and insights from the Flagship Stores are carefully considered when evaluating and designing Nokia products and services, in an effort to ensure brand consistency, world-class customer services, and an unparalleled product experience.

The Flagship Store is Nokia's most dynamic and innovative retail format - an interactive, high-energy retail environment committed to creating an unprecedented mobile retail experience. Nokia's retail network is the largest in China, with 170 Nokia stores and more than 40,000 retail stores.

"The China market has become the leading global market in terms of scale and maturity, and we believe that the Nokia Shanghai Flagship store will become popular among Chinese consumers," said Colin Giles. "The store will elevate our retail services to a new level and strengthen Nokia's leading position in China."

While the Nokia Flagship Stores are an important part of the company's overall retail strategy, the vast majority of Nokia sales come from operators and retail locations around the world - constituting one of the largest global retail distribution networks.

New fashion landmark in Shanghai leads mobile trends

Located on Nanjing East Road in the most prestigious fashion district and business center of Shanghai, the Nokia Shanghai Flagship Store is front-line attraction, allowing the more than 500,000 consumers who pass by every day to experience the future of mobile life.

"A mobile phone is no longer a traditional communication device, as it has become part of our daily lives and represents a new lifestyle. The mobile device that you use is representative of your lifestyle, taste, and preferences - ultimately, who you are. We believe that the Nokia Shanghai Flagship Store will become a fashion landmark in Shanghai," predicts Colin Giles. Nokia believes that the Flagship Store will become a trendy destination for mobile users in Shanghai and will even attract consumers from across China. 

Pass-It-On campaign

To mark the grand opening of the Shanghai Flagship Store, Nokia launched the Pass-It-On campaign, which was inspired by its consumer vision of "Connecting people." The campaign began with five famous influencers - famous singer Hu Yan Bing, An Yi Xuan, VJ Li Chen, philanthropist Du Chong, and Lian Du, the owner of a famous dance school. All of them participated in the opening ceremony and shared their mobile life experiences.

To support the Pass-It-On campaign, Nokia launched an official website named meet-your-city (www.meet-your-city.com). Consumers can log onto this website to meet mobile users in different cities and to become involved in the Pass-It-On campaign.

Nokia is committed to the long-term development in China and to be the best partner for China. With localized R&D, manufacturing and innovative technologies, Nokia continues to strengthen its leadership in the Chinese mobile market. Nokia is one of the largest exporters in Chinese mobile communications industry. With R&D centers and manufacturing sites, and offices in mainland China, Hongkong, Taiwan and Macao, Nokia has more than 12,000 employees in China area (including Nokia Siemens Networks).

Seems like Nokia is going to pre-load Spiderman 3 on their New Nokia N95 8GB's as a special offer. Read on...

NOKIA PRESS RELEASE October 15, 2007
Experience the Next Episode in Entertainment with Spider-Man(TM) 3 and the Nokia N95 8GB

Watch Peter Parker battle his demons on the move

Espoo, Finland -Nokia today announced the shipping start of the Nokia N95 8GB multimedia computer. To celebrate its launch, Nokia has teamed up with Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) to offer a Nokia N95 8GB which comes pre-loaded with the full-length feature film in Europe and selected countries in Middle East and Africa region.

The movie sees Spider-Man's suit turn jet-black and enhance his powers and, in its latest incarnation, the Nokia N95 has undergone a similar transformation to emerge as the Nokia N95 8GB. The device has a sleek black cover and its enhanced powers include up to 8GB internal memory, a large 2.8 inch QVGA display and superior speakers. For the first time, full multimedia use of the two-way slide design and dedicated media keys allow users to control video on their mobile just as they would on DVD: play, pause, fast forward and rewind. With the Nokia N95 8GB, watch Peter Parker battle his demons; will he choose the seductive power of the new suit or the compassionate hero he used to be? 

"The Nokia N95 8GB opens up a wealth of exciting options for film fans as they can now watch world-class movies like Spider-Man(TM) 3 whenever they want, wherever they want. Pre-loading a film with such fantastic special effects truly shows off the device's advanced capabilities. With its ground-breaking features, users can now fully appreciate the meaning of entertainment on-the-go," said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Multimedia Experiences, Nokia.

The movie comes in ten languages and subtitle combinations. Part of the same range as the hugely successful Nokia N95, the Nokia N95 8GB also includes a unique Spider-Man(TM) 3 message and ring tone, wallpaper and screen saver, specially crafted for the new device. Spider-Man(TM) 3 games, ring tone and additional video clips will also be available via the Download! Catalog in selected countries.

Nokia selected Spider-Man(TM) 3 to show off the full capabilities of the device due to overwhelming demand from Nokia Nseries users.  When asked which film Nokia Nseries users wanted to watch on their device, Spider-Man(TM) 3 was voted the 'most wanted movie'. The film also has huge global appeal as the #1 grossing film of 2007 at the international box office.

The device's eight gigabytes internal memory capacity means more music, more movies. DVD-like quality video capture and control allows film fanatics to create their own movies and share their creations and favorite movies with others by using the easy 'transfer to PC functions', allowing uploads to their social networking profiles and other online sites. Enhanced WiFi connectivity ensures you are connected whilst on-the-move and the assisted GPS (A-GPS) keeps you on the right path for worldwide adventure. With all these amazing features, the Nokia N95 8GB is set to take mobile entertainment to the next level.

But anyway they could have release this offer a bit sooner though.

Good news. It seems that N95 started its global shipping today.

Here is the press release;

NOKIA PRESS RELEASE October 15, 2007
"Ship Me!" says the Nokia N95 8GB
Power-packed multimedia computer starts shipping

Espoo, Finland - The stunning Nokia N95 8GB made its debut global shipments today, and will be hitting a store near you soon. The Nokia N95 8GB is the memory-packed big brother of the Nokia N95 multimedia computer.

"Our Nokia Nseries family has expanded with added pizzazz and performance with the Nokia N95 8GB, a device as personal as it is powerful," said Jonas Geust, vice president, Multimedia, at Nokia. "We've reached a pinnacle with the Nokia N95 and now with the addition of one of the largest ever displays, built-in Assisted-GPS and improved battery power, the Nokia N95 8GB takes entertainment enjoyment to another level."

Boasting up to eight gigabytes of built-in memory, the Nokia N95 8GB has all the key features of its predecessor, including a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, built-in A-GPS, WLAN, HSDPA and an innovative 2-way slide. The sleek black N95 8GB also boasts a luminous 2.8" (240 x 320) QVGA display, so watching videos, browsing the Internet or viewing maps is a real pleasure. With its expanded memory, the N95 8GB offers up to 20 hours of video or up to 6000 songs*.

Entertaining yourself has taken on a whole new meaning with this multimedia computer, optimized for enjoying videos, playing games, or even locating your favorite destinations with A-GPS.

The ideal companion for any lull in your day, the Nokia N95 8GB supports services like Nokia Music Store and N-Gage Games**, so you can delve into a world of leisure. Access millions of music tracks from the Nokia Music Store or get a sneak-peak at N-Gage gaming - live later this year. Test out games like FIFA 2007 and Asphalt 3: Street Rules***. Once N-Gage goes live, you'll be able to try games for free before deciding on your purchase.

Now with A-GPS, Nokia N95 8GB connoisseurs can whiz to their locations on Nokia Maps faster and enjoy maps for over 150 countries. Explore the world, find specific routes or locate services such as restaurants and hotels, covering more than 15 million points of interest. Purchase additional features, such as city guides and voice guided navigation, is an option too.

The N95 8GB multimedia computer has an estimated retail price of EUR 560 before taxes or subsidies.

*Capacity based on 3:45 mins per song and 48kbps eAAC+ encoding. Capacity with 128kbps AAC encoding is up to 2000 songs.

**The Nokia Music Store and the N-Gage Games Service are expected to be available during the fourth quarter 2007

***Games will vary according to the region

So you should have a problem grabbing one from those Nokia outlets. Good Luck.

A new stylish phone by Motorola. Its Moto U9. These are its features:

• With a 4GB microSD card you could store up to 1,000 songs.
• Easily syncs with Windows Media Player.
• MP3 music player with dedicated touch sensor buttons.
• A variety of floating animated external screen savers to choose from.
• Integrated stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology.
• With CrystalTalk™ technology, you get crystal clear voice quality in noisy environments.
• Talking phone gives you a voice readout while dialing numbers or receiving a call.
• Faster downloads from your PC to your phone with USB 2.0.
• Internal 25 MB user memory.
• Touch sensitive music keys appear on the front flip during music mode.
• Combination of metallic gloss finish and soft feel for a visual and tactile rich experience.
• Small, curvaceous, seamless form, designed to be thin and lightweight.
• 2 mega-pixel camera with digital zoom captures high quality pictures.
  User interface with new main menu, offering grid, list and new spinner view.

 

More Info @ Motorola - Moto U9

Ever since Apple started Bricking their iPhone from installing any 3rd party application, they have been busy with several lawsuit. & due to the fact that it only work on AT&T.

Here are the some of the stories:

TG Daily | Computerworld | Salon's Machinist

As you all know Apple have the right to choose which ever service provider it wishes to work with. But do they have to torment around 1 million iPhone users.

If Apple ever want to compete in this market they have to make least number of slips. Already Nokia is using Apple's mistakes to their advantage. See below:

 

See the story @ AppleInsider

Apple should have released a unlocked version of their iPhones. They seems to be pissing off their existing clients and well as any future prospects.

Why I Won't Buy an iPhone

Apple don't stand a chance in this market against other major competition (e.g., Nokia) with their current market strategy. And if Nokia release their version of iPhone to the market the their will be several people switching over to Nokia from Apple.

Seems like Apple has to learn that they should leave the mobile phone industry very soon unless they change they marketing strategies.