How do you see the
prospects of GPS enabled
mobile handsets?
Nokia sees that location based
experiences, such as mapping and
navigation as a fundamental platform
in mobile devices going forward. With
mobile phones becoming an integral
part of their lives, consumers are
looking at more and more functionality
on a single device, hence the maps
and navigation services on a mobile
phone have a lot of potential. The main
advantage of GPS on mobile device is
having mapping, routing and navigation
functionality besides the regular handset
features like SMS, camera, email etc.
Would you like to indicate
some figure to highlight
the potential of navigation
market in India?
The maps and navigation market has
exploded in recent years, especially in
developed geographies like the USA,
Europe and some parts of Asia Pacific.
According to a report by Canalys, 7.4
million mobile navigation devices were
shipped globally in 2007 and this number
is expected to grow in the years to come.
As per a recent study conducted by us,
Navigation has already become one of the
top five mobile services globally - others
being imaging, music, SMS and gaming.
What is your opinion about
PND v/s mobile phone
based navigation?
Maps & Navigation on a cell phone are
poised to be the next big wave in mobility
since a cell phone is always with the
consumer and makes their lives simpler.
Realising the potential of these services,
We have made Maps and navigation a
standard feature in all Nokia Nseries
multimedia computers and in a wide range
of Nokia phones. We have introduced
the “Navigator” branded devices, which
are truly optimized for Navigation. We
will introduce a number of GPS enabled
mobile devices in 2008 that will offer an
enhanced maps and navigation experience.
Where do you position Nokia
vis-ŕ-vis other players in
the GPS phones segment?
The industry is converging towards
Internet driven experiences and
Navigation represents Nokia’s
vision in combining Internet and
mobility on a common platform.
We have taken a lead in this space with
bringing out a wide array of devices
like the Nokia 6110 Navigator, N95,
N95 8GB, N82 and E90 that offer
onboard GPS along with high-speed
connectivity. All current Nokia S60 and
many Series 40 devices also support
GPS via a Bluetooth wireless module.
Will LBS become one of
fastest growing mobile
based Value Added Services
market in India?
Yes, the interest is rising in India as
the use of location-based services not
only benefits the customers but also
offers benefits to the industry, including
network operators and the marketers /
advertisers. A-GPS increases the value
of services that operators can offer,
while also enabling a much wider range
of revenue-generating services. GPS
technology helps communicate advertisers’
messages to potential customers in
more and more creative ways.
What are the challenges
that need to be addressed
to accelerate the growth
of LBS in India?
Location based services is a new concept
in India, hence the main challenge is
the lack of awareness among users.
As a responsible market leader, one of
the things we would be focusing on is
educating the mobile users on the concept
of Navigation and showcasing live demos
at various touch points (Shopping malls,
Nokia Concept stores, Airports etc)
Secondly, most of the country has not
been digitally mapped. Mapping extends
only to the main cities and will take
some time to get to other locations.
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