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Nokia's Ovi to focus on astrology, bollywood and cricket
By siliconindia
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Friday, 04 January 2008, 17:43 IST
Nokia is all set to foray into the internet services space in India under the Ovi brand. Nokia India plans to roll out Ovi in the first half of 2008, reported The Economic Times.
The Finnish mobile phone company intends to customize its offerings for the Indian market with a focus on Bollywood, cricket and astrology. There will also be a host of India specific services to complement the content.
For starters, Nokia has entered into multiple partnerships with Indian firms for such services. These include tie ups with Infomedia India (for yellow page services), the South India Music Companies Association (for music content) and with other popular music labels. It will also create a local search option.
"Internet has developed in a local way in India much like China. We have to offer both India specific content and services to generate revenues out of Ovi in India. The revenue model will be a combination of subscription and advertising and premium services such as music and games," said Vineet Taneja, Head (go-to-market), Nokia India.
Nokia is also planning to have a retail presence for the Ovi brand in India. It is eyeing both Nokia Priority stores as well as the multi brand outlets for a possible physical distribution of content. "We are yet to firm up the retail model, but we want to exploit our huge retail network," said Taneja. The company will bundle some of its services with its handsets. It's also planning sustained brand building activities for Ovi.
Nokia's R&D laboratory in Bangalore is developing a bulk of the services. This includes integration of entertainment and the internet which will allow any internet devices to access Ovi.
