Nokia Launches 4 Budget Phones and Bicycle Charger for Emerging Markets

Nokia Communications is taking the mass or emerging markets seriously. When you have over 6 senior Nokia executives in Nairobi for the launch of communications products, you have to take it seriously.

At a media conference held today at Serena Hotel Nairobi, Nokia unveiled its latest of the C series mobile phones with three new products under the Nokia C1 name, as well as the new dual-SIM Nokia C2 which will follow at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010.  At the same event, Nokia also took the wraps off the Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit, an alternative charging solution built especially for people with limited access to electricity.

The most affordable of the Nokia C1 trio (C1-00) is priced at EUR 30 before taxes and subsidies and is the first Nokia mobile phone to feature a 2-in-1 double SIM solution. “By simply holding down a key, people are able to switch between SIM cards. This enables them to take advantage of reduced call rates, flexibility when traveling from one country to another, or helps with sharing a phone within a family and still use their own SIM,” said Alex Lambeek, vice president at Nokia. “This is a great added convenience feature considering the low price of the phone.”

Nokia C1 boasts of standby time of upto 6 weeks.

The Nokia C2 features

• Dual SIM with dual standby capability.
• Nokia C2 can also keep both SIM cards active; meaning calls and text messages can come to either number while the phone is on.
• The first SIM card on the Nokia C2 sits underneath the battery and the second is ‘hot-swappable’, a feature unique to Nokia which means it can be removed and inserted when the phone is on.

Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit consists of a charger and dynamo, as well as a holder to secure the phone to the bike. When the kit is installed, the dynamo – a small electrical generator – uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset through the standard 2mm charging jack used in most Nokia mobile phones.

The estimated retail prices of the new Nokia mobile phones, before taxes and subsidies, are:

Nokia C1 (C1-00)             EUR 30

Nokia C1 (C1-02)             EUR 35

Nokia C1 (C1-01)             EUR 39

Nokia C2 (C2-00)            EUR 45

The Nokia C1 (C1-00) is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2010, with the Nokia C1 (C1-01) in the early fourth quarter, and the Nokia C1 (C1-02) and Nokia C2 towards the end of the fourth quarter 2010.