Nokia’s vision based on constant connectivity

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands-Nokia Corp. blew the lid off what it sees as the future of mobile connectivity this morning at Nokia World.
President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and Executive VP and GM of Multimedia Anssi Vanjoki took the stage to deliver a one-two punch on overall strategy and how Nokia is integrating user’s “digital lives” with their mobile devices.
“This is the dawn of a new era in mobile communications,” Kallasvuo told the audience of nearly 3,000. “Our industry is pushing the boundaries of creativity, technology and innovations.”
With more than 3.2 billion mobile subscriptions expected by the end of the year-and an increasing number of those users expecting “Internet access to be as natural as talking or texting on their phones”-Nokia’s goal is to have a base of more than 3,000 Internet-capable devices by 2010, Kallasvuo said.
Leaving no room for uncertainty, Kallasvuo reiterated that “the device itself remains the core of our business.” This despite the significant push Nokia has made in the realm of converged services and multimedia.
The foundation for that push is Nokia’s all-in-one world where users can manage all of their digital content, browse new content and gain access to their plethora of online communities with one login and password.
Vanjoki aired a video clip as a prelude to his keynote address aimed at defining what Nokia envisions for the future. The video went through the motions of more than 100 years of history, highlighting the various introductions of screens along the way and the changes each has brought to the cultural landscape of humanity. Eventually, “everything came to us in a device that could fit in our pocket,” the narrator said. “We shared what inspired us with everyone that we cared about . our sense of purpose kept growing,” he continued. “It was the beginning of everything. Welcome to the fourth screen.”
Vanjoki talked about the “200 million people on this planet who actually try and define the solutions of technology that the rest of us will be using.” The key to understanding what’s going to happen, he said, is knowing what these 200 million people are doing. Needless to say, Nokia focuses heavily on these people.
“These people are showing us the way, we don’t have to wander in the dark,” he said. “It’s about behavior and it’s about technology.”
Nokia is “not for closed worlds,” Vanjoki said.
Ovi is the perfect example of that mindset, he said.
Vanjoki admitted that Ovi is not the world’s most exciting experience right now, but promises that internal beta testing and eventual expansion to the public throughout 2008 will deliver on the true potential Nokia envisions with the venture.
“This is what context means in practice,” he said. Ovi has categorized services and applications into seven suites: games, music, video and TV, contacts, maps, photos and Internet.
Once it’s rolled out next summer, the service will feature a unified user interface that will play on mobile devices, personal computers and the Web. Deemed the “personal dashboard to your life,” a single sign-in will give users access to all of their address books, calendars, entertainment and social communities from multiple services providers, Vanjoki said.
“We are aware that we exist, we are aware about our environment, we are aware about the relationships that we have with other people. Therefore, context becomes the core.”