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Nokia broadened its cell phone line today, releasing seven new models that it hopes will solidify its No. 1 spot in the market.
The company has added a 2-megapixel camera phone and three CDMA (code division multiple access) phones. Nokia has faced increasing competition from Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Samsung in the United States, where mobile phone service providers Sprint (NYSE: S) and Verizon use CDMA, the second most popular technology. Nokia's earlier phones placed much greater emphasis on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).
Hitting Sweet Spots
Analysts said the expanded product line was a good move for Nokia. "Moving into the 2 megapixel camera category provides them with an opportunity to start taking the low end of the digital camera market," Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis, NPD Group, told TechNewsWorld. "For the next year or two, we'll probably see [the] biggest impact on the one-time-use camera market. In theory, most people have their cell phone with them just about all the time."
The high-end 2-megapixel 6280 is 3G-enabled and has a slide open design, as do several of the other models. The 6270 is also a slide open, 2-megapixel camera phone; the 6265 is the CDMA version of that phone.
The other two CDMA phones fall into the entry level. The 2255 has a clamshell design and the 2125, a candy bar shape.
Getting in at Ground Level
Rounding out the new offerings are the 6270 quadband with a 2-megapixel camera and the 6111, both slide phones; the 6060 is a basic GSM phone with a clamshell design.
"That they are showing their commitment to the CDMA market is good for business -- their percentage of the CDMA market is fairly low because they just haven't had offerings in the past," Julie Ask, research director, Jupiter Media, told TechNewsWorld in an email. "It's also good to see them with some phones at more entry level prices -- Nokia tends to have beautiful phones with wonderful features and technology, but in the past some of these handsets have had high price points. Good to see some of this design/elegance be at affordable prices."
Rubin said that despite the increase in phone features, the feature consumers want most is longer battery life. Ask agreed that while added features are nice, the device is first and foremost a voice communication method.
"It still will primarily be a voice device, with the younger audience the only exception. People choose service providers [in the U.S.] for coverage, service and cost of plan," she said. "We don't see it as an mp3 player substitute, camera substitute, etc., but if you are only going to have one device with you ... it's better than the camera sitting at home in your drawer."
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