“As an innovative rural mobile solution addressing the information gaps of rural people in China, Ovi Life Tools was designed from the ground up through extensive research. It is a result of close cooperation between partners and we are sure it will continue to develop over time helping to enhance the lives of consumers,” said Chris Leong, Senior Vice President, Greater China, Korea & Japan.

Healthcare services:

The healthcare service features information on topics including Respiratory, Hepatitis B, Female Illnesses and Male Illnesses. It also includes Pregnancy Care which provides daily content that parallels the weekly development stages of pregnancy (e.g. fetal development), and Infant Care, which provides advice and tips to support child development for the first seven years. The subscription cost for each of the healthcare services is RMB 5 per month and RMB 1 for each on-demand request. The content will be aggregated and brought to Ovi Life Tools by 39.net.

Agriculture services:

Agriculture service is a package covering Agriculture News, Market Prices, and Agriculture Weather. The service provides daily market prices of more than 800 markets spanning across city and county levels. With over 100 commodities in the database, consumers will be shown a list of popular commodities in their county where they can select up to three for their daily use. The subscription cost for the agriculture service is RMB 8 per month and RMB 1 for each on-demand request. Nokia is working with Beijing Nongxintong Technology to provide the agriculture content.

Education services:

The education service features Learn English, General Knowledge and Exam Tips. These services will be made available in the third quarter of 2010. This service is only available by subscription, costing RMB 5 per month each. The content will be aggregated and brought to Ovi Life Tools by Beijing Etiantian Net Educational Technology and the British Council.

Entertainment services:

The entertainment service includes Weather, Jokes and Straw Draw, with more content to be added in the future. The subscription cost is RMB 5 per month and RMB 1 per on-demand request. The content is provided by Kongzhong Corporation and Sina.com.

The Nokia 1800 features a large color display, exchangeable color covers, FM radio, a flashlight, a calendar with reminders, MP3-grade ringtones, and an integrated hands-free speaker. The Nokia 1616 comes with a long-lasting anti-dust keypad, FM radio, a flashlight, and a display that makes viewing information on the small screen easier. The Nokia 1800 and Nokia 1616 with Ovi Life Tools will be available mid-May. The estimated retail price is around RMB 250-300.

Nokia 1800

Nokia 1616

Nokia 1280

Nokia 1800

Priced at EUR 20, EUR 24 and EUR 26 respectively (before taxes and subsidies), the Nokia 1280, Nokia 1616 and Nokia 1800 support FM radio, prepaid tracker, flashlight, anti-scratch cover and dust-resistant keymat, among other features. The long battery life, with up to 22 days of standby time, is vital for people in areas where access to electricity is limited.

Nokia 2220 Slide

Nokia 2690

The Nokia 2220 slide and the Nokia 2690, priced at EUR 45 and EUR 54 (before taxes and subsidies), also support email on the device through Ovi Mail. Other device features include FM radio, VGA camera, GPRS and MMS support, phone books for up to 1,000 contacts, and Bluetooth. Standby times for the Nokia 2220 slide and Nokia 2690 are about 20 days and 13 days respectively.

The first of the five new mobile phones will begin shipping before the end of 2009, with others expected to start shipping in the first half of 2010.

Nokia 1616

Nokia Life Tools will be available across Indonesia from early December 2009, with the Agriculture service available for Java and Sumatra at the first stage, and Education and Entertainment services available nation-wide.

Consumers will be able to subscribe to Agriculture, Education and Entertainment information and content. Nokia is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture (Departemen Pertanian Republik Indonesia), the Center of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), Synovate and other industry partners to bring valuable agriculture information, prices, news and tips directly to consumers.

The Agriculture service will be available for commodities beginning with crops, livestock, horticulture and fisheries. Consumers will be able to subscribe to three of the most commonly grown commodities in their region. Also included in the Agriculture component are weather services, price services, and frequent agriculture news and tips.

At launch, customers of Telkomsel, Indosat, XL and Hutch (3) will be able to subscribe to Nokia Life Tools services. Nokia Life Tools will first be available on the Nokia 2323 classic, Nokia 2330 classic and Nokia 2700 classic in Indonesia. Aside from the 11 handsets which will come pre-loaded with Nokia Life Tools, the service will become downloadable on more phones later.

More information about Nokia Life Tools in Indonesia can be found at www.nokia.co.id/nokialifetools.

Today, Nokia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the MSAMB. Under this MOU, MSAMB will provide expertise in the areas of commodity prices from their network of 291 local mandis (marketyards). MSAMB will also have the opportunity to deliver relevant news, alerts on schemes and other information directly to grassroots consumers.

Nokia Life Tools has a range of 3 primary services – Agriculture Services, Education Services and Entertainment Services. The complete Nokia Life Tools solution will be available on the newly launched Nokia 2323 classic and Nokia 2330 classic devices, and will be later expanded to other Nokia devices.

Nokia Life Tools Agriculture services:

The Nokia Life Tools Agriculture service offers consumers a choice of 2 plans. The basic plan, available across India at Rs 30/month, provides daily weather updates and relevant agriculture-related news, advice and tips. The premium plan, at Rs 60/month, will be available in 10 states, including Maharashtra, and provides the closest market prices for three crops chosen by the subscriber, as well as weather, news, advice and tips.

Nokia is collaborating with Reuters Market Light (RML), which was the exclusive provider for agriculture services in the successful pilot. Syngenta, Madison Research, Skymet and many others also form this ecosystem.

Nokia Life Tools Education services:

The Nokia Life Tools Education service, available throughout India, offers three components: Learn English, with basic, intermediate and advanced levels; Exam preparation, which offers students tips and advice for ICSE, CBSE and State Board-level exams mapped to the relevant curriculum; and General Knowledge, which gives subscribers useful information about the world around them. Each of the Education services will be offered at Rs 30/month. Information and content from multiple local and international companies will be aggregated and delivered to Nokia Life Tools by EnableM.

Nokia Life Tools Entertainment services:

The Nokia Life Tools Entertainment service at launch will include Astrology, News, Jokes, Cricket and ringtones, offered at existing market prices. The content is aggregated and brought to Life Tools by OnMobile.

Nokia Life Tools service will be expanded to select countries across Asia and Africa later in 2009 and beyond.

Users of the Agriculture Service described that they were better informed about market rates for their produce. Farmers found that getting prices daily on their mobile phones reduced their dependency on agents for basic information. Now with greater awareness on market conditions, there was newfound confidence in their negotiations with the agents. There was also resounding appreciation for the time and money saved from not having to make multiple trips to the market place to get the latest rates.

“I believe in working rigorously to enhance my livelihood and lifestyle and I expect that Nokia Life Tools services will help me in validating the desired information,” said a farmer and trader from Tuljapur, Amravati.

Benefitting from the Agriculture service also related to having advanced information about weather, news and crop advisory services like information about probable diseases, weather based disruptions and tips for more successful harvests. Farmers could plan labour, sowing, harvesting and selling better, and with more predictable results than they were able to before they started using Life Tools.

A 25-year-old second-year Master of Arts student in Hindi, who is also a trader and owns an electronics repair and CD shop, said: “Nokia Life Tools has given me many directions that I can take related to my education, agriculture business and my overall individual status. It has the potential to change my future.”

The pilot program of Nokia Life Tools in India was launched in December 2008, with services in Agriculture, Learn English, General Knowledge and Astrology. During the pilot period, buyers of the Nokia 2600 classic or the Nokia 1680 classic – which came enabled with the service – had the option to purchase subscriptions to the Nokia Life Tools services that were most relevant to them. Results showed that a significant number of subscribers had signed up for approximately two of the services on average, reflecting that the services were relevant to a wide cross-section of the society.