Nokia will soon sell its 500 millionth phone in India and the C3-00 phone will be signed by Shahrukh Khan. The phone is up for bidding and the latest price is Rs. 232,000!
The phone will be presented to the highest bidder by the star himself. What’s more, this highest bidder also gets to watch the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in Kolkata on May 22, 2011. The highest bidder will be contacted by Nokia to pay the winning bid, and Nokia will match this amount and donate to charity.
Last year (2010), Nokia completed its 15 years in India and even India’s first cellular call was made on a Nokia phone.
The Nokia India Story
- 1995 – First mobile phone call made in India on a Nokia phone on a Nokia network
- 1998 – Saare Jahaan Se Acchha, first Indian ringtone in a Nokia 5110
- 2000 – First phone with Hindi menu (Nokia 3210)
- 2002 – First Camera phone (Nokia 7650)
- 2003 – First Made for India phone, Nokia 1100
- 2004 – Saral Mobile Sandesh, Hindi SMS on a wide range of Nokia phones
- 2004 – First Wi-fi Phone- Nokia Communicator (N9500)
- 2005 – Local UI in additional local language
- 2006 – Nokia manufacturing plant in Chennai
- 2007 – First vernacular news portal
Here is a quick snapshot of Nokia’s India story.
As far as bidding process is concerned, it’s quite a simple process. All you need to do is register on the site and submit your bids (there is hardly any verification regarding the authenticity of the bidder).
Nevertheless, its important to note that Nokia has sold ~500 million phones in India (and at the same time, we have 500 million authentic telecom subscribers in India, as per latest TRAI report). Having said that, Nokia is steadily losing market share in India and we hope that the company realizes that it needs to go nimble and creative in India (plus product team needs to move out of their A/C offices and face the dust).
What’s your take on Nokia’s India story? Is this sustainable? What about the next 500 million? Can Nokia do it before Micromax(s) of the Indian mobile world?
