Yokia! Why Nokia Should Buy Yahoo

Forget Microsoft, News Corp. or even Apple. Nokia, the world's no.1 mobile handset maker, should buy Yahoo. Or so says Information Week's Stephen Wellman, who puts forward a compelling argument: If Nokia is repositioning itself as a Web services company, to combat falling profit margins on its hardware, then acquiring Yahoo would help to give the company a much needed presence on the desktop (not just mobile), as well as beef up its Web offerings and Internet brand recognition in general.

"Nokia is now a Web company, not just a handset maker. But, the company acts as if the Web is just mobile and has no desktop component. This isn't a very smart strategy", writes Wellman. All of Nokia's mobile web rivals: Google, Microsoft and, of course, Yahoo all have desktop products.

"These Web giants are leveraging their vast desktop Web audiences to grow their mobile initiatives. While Nokia has tons of mobile phone customers, it doesn't have as many Web application users", notes Wellman.

As well as gaining a presence on the desktop, a Yahoo acquisition would help Nokia to further develop its range of location-based services (building on its purchase of GPS company Navteq), again to fend off challenges from Google. Ditto mobile advertising. In addition, Yahoo would give Nokia an instant bump in its U.S. brand recognition. Despite claiming a 40% worldwide market share for mobile phones, Nokia doesn't compete nearly as well in North America.

Overall, however, a combined Yahoo/Nokia (Yokia!) would provide Google with a formidable competitor in the pending battle for the mobile web. This is, as ex-Microsoftee Robert Scoble likes to point out, the real reason why Microsoft is attempting an aggressive takeover of Yahoo.

Alternatively, a nightmare scenario exists for both Microsoft and Yahoo: Yahoo sells it ad business to Google in return for an ad-revenue partnership. Meanwhile, the Open Handset Alliance starts to produce real results and Google's Android becomes a widely adopted mobile OS. The result? Google dominates the mobile Web (i.e. mobile ads) as it does on the desktop.

What do you think? Should Nokia merge with Yahoo? And yes, before you ask, Nokia does have the cash.

Via readwriteweb.com.

Nokia 6288 - Compact & Stylish Mobile Phone

Nokia 6288, a new slider phone with video playback features at QVGA resolution (320x240 pixels). For Europe for now at 325 euros so roughly $412.00 US.

The mobile handset is easy for the user to use in one hand as the casing is 100 x 46 x 21 mm in dimension and weighs 115 grams.



QVGA screen is quite wide and useful when the phone is in the closed or open position & the screen provides a high quality display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.

The 1600 x 1200 pixel camera integrated in this compact phone lets you record high-quality video.

This best-equipped handset from Nokia provides a phonebook with 500x16 fields and can keep a track of the last 20 received, dialled, and missed calls each. The 6288 has an internal memory of 6 MB and also MiniSD memory card of 512 MB.

The fitted battery of this phone is rechargeable and provides upto 280 hrs of standby time & approximately 4.5 hrs of talk-time for GSM & upto 3.5 hrs of talktime for WCDMA. The Nokia 6288 comes with a start up kit which includes a headset, travel charger, user guide, Nokia PC Suite CD-ROM & a battery.

Now you can stay connected to your family, friends, and colleagues by sending SMS, MMS, Instant Messaging, & emails through this contemporary handset from Nokia. If you wish your mobile phone could help you in staying connected to the internet while you are on the move, the 6288 allows you to do that as well! Enjoy browsing through the web, check & send emails whenever you want. This user-friendly & versatile gadget from Nokia has all the features that you might be seeking in your contemporary handset.

Go get it now!

For Nokia, Excess is a Vertu

Its luxury division is booming as a high-end cell phone becomes the latest status symbol for the world's richest people

And you thought you were a big spender, splashing out a few hundred on that Apple (AAPL) iPhone or LG (TK) Prada cell phone this holiday season.

For the very rich, a high-end cell phone means something else entirely. They're plunking down thousands —even millions—for handsets loaded with gold, gems, and other over-the-top extras.

The biggest purveyor of cell-phone bling is Vertu. This British subsidiary of mobile phone giant Nokia (NOK) makes phones costing from $6,500 to $72,500. Even the lower-priced models boast fine materials such as Italian leather and 18-carat gold, while top-of-the-line units are studded with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones. And every phone has access to a concierge service that can help you, say, charter a private jet to the Bahamas.

That Warm Luxury Feeling

The market for such luxury is bigger than you might think. Parent company Nokia doesn't disclose sales figures, but Neil Mawston, associate director at the British telecom consultancy Strategy Analytics, reckons Vertu sells about 200,000 handsets a year at an average $8,000 each. That works out to a cool $1.6 billion, nearly 3% of Nokia's $58 billion revenues.

And, says Mawston, "Vertu is Nokia's version of Ferrari. It creates a warm luxury feeling for the rest of the phone line."

Vertu's president, Alberto Torres, says sales are on track to rise 120% this year. That follows 140% growth in 2006 fueled by booming sales in Russia, China, and the Middle East. "From what we've seen, the creation of a multibillion-dollar market in luxury phones over the next few years is very possible," Torres says.

Sales Up Everywhere

The success of Vertu contrasts with Nokia's strategy of bringing low-cost phones to the masses in emerging markets (BusinessWeek.com, 8/10/07) such as India and Brazil. Surprisingly, these countries are now some of Vertu's most important markets as the mega-rich across the developing world seek the trappings of their newfound wealth.

According to Vertu's Torres, sales in Russia already outstrip those of any country in Western Europe, while the Mideast market should clock triple-digit growth until 2010. Demand is strong in more developed countries, too, with U.S. sales up 200% last year. And Vertu plans to enter the tech-savvy Japanese market in the second half of 2008.

Now some luxurious extras on Vertu handsets are starting to migrate to less expensive Nokia models. In December the Finnish company unveiled two versions of its 8800 series, priced at almost $1,500—that include leather casings and sapphire-encrusted keypads.

Diamonds Are Forever, Until You Upgrade

"Nokia can use what has worked well at Vertu and take it to a wider audience," says Steven Hartley, senior analyst at London telecom consultancy Ovum. "Vertu will remain an aspirational brand, but its ethos will filter down into more mainstream phones." The relationship between Nokia and Vertu could help the Finnish company fend off rivals that are increasingly targeting superrich customers.

Already companies such as Switzerland's GoldVish and Russia's Gresso offer handsets with diamond finishings and solid gold cases that run into the thousands of dollars. The prize for the most expensive phone, though, goes to Russian data-protection company Ancort, whose platinum-covered, diamond-studded Crypto smart phone sells for $1.3 million.

Luxury watchmakers such as Tag Heuer (LVMH.PA) have announced plans to enter the luxury mobile phone market, too. And British custom-phone manufacturer Amosu has thrown its hat in the ring with a diamond-encrusted version of the iPhone that retails for $40,000.

"As Vertu makes more and more money, other vendors will start to look at this market more seriously," says Strategy Analytic's Mawston. For now, however, the combination of Nokia technology and strong customer demand gives Vertu a clear edge in this fast-growing luxury business.

Via Business Week