Simultaneously, Nokia’s unlimited music download service – Comes With Music – will become known locally as ‘Ovi Music Unlimited’. Ovi Music Unlimited will offer new and existing users great new features including ‘Inspire me’ track suggestions based on what other music fans using the service are downloading, and access to music specials including B-sides, remixes and compilation cuts. Users enjoy unlimited track downloads for the specified period from Ovi Music’s rich catalogue which features more than 6 million tracks from local and global artists. Tracks downloaded from Ovi Music Unlimited will not be DRM-free.

The name transition to Ovi Music and Ovi Music Unlimited in South Africa will see both services join Nokia’s Ovi family of services, which connect people to the things they love through their Nokia device. Whether it’s social networks, location and navigation, chat, messaging or endless entertainment, Ovi offers a personalized and intuitive experience on Nokia mobile devices

“Ovi is evolving as a branded and integrated service that is the “go-to-place” for discovering, sharing and enjoying the best and most exciting, location-based, lifestyle content and entertainment in every market around the world,” says Gerard Brandjes, general manager of Nokia South Africa. “It makes perfect sense that Ovi Music, fall under this umbrella too whilst delivering great experiences for music fans.” 

To visit Ovi Music go to http://music.ovi.com         

“Until now, the only way to purchase from the Ovi Store has been via credit card,” says Yusuf Patel, solutions sales manager at Nokia South Africa. “This has prevented some consumers from purchasing content as they did not have access to a credit card.  The new service allows consumers to purchase content more easily and quickly as it can be done via an SMS system, something that most people have access to.”

This service is available from three of South Africa’s network operators, MTN, Vodacom and Cell C. The SMS service will be billed according to the cost of the application or content being downloaded which ranges from R9-00 to R150-00.  The simple process requires the consumer to select the content they want to purchase on the Ovi Store via operator billing, the purchase is confirmed automatically via email and SMS, including the costs.  Download commences as soon as SMS confirmation has been received.  Purchase verification is done in the process by the service provider.

According to Patel being able to purchase content from the Ovi Store this way is not only an advantage for the consumer due to the ease of the process, but it also means that more applications and content will be downloaded creating an even bigger market for developers in South Africa.

“Nokia have clearly been listening to the needs of local developers,” says Ron Bach, product manager, News24 Mobile. “Through the introduction of operator billing more users will now visit the Ovi Store, further increasing the opportunity for local developers to earn revenue by producing and selling relevant, high-quality, useful apps and mobile content.”

Patrick Kuwana, co-founder and CEO of Livemobile who already have premium applications available on the Ovi Store says that Nokia’s move to make apps on the Ovi Store available through operator billing is a major move in the right direction as this now gives Livemobile access to the majority of the mobile consumer market that either doesn’t have credit cards or are uncomfortable making micro credit card payments on their phones. “We expect to see exponential growth in the download of our apps because of this and this strategic move by Nokia will certainly spur us on to further development on the Nokia platform as we see Nokia as a partner who is serious about creating revenue channels to market for app providers like us,” says Kuwana.

Follow the easy step by step process: http://www.nokiaconnect.co.za/cms/resource/process.pdf

The Ovi Store has a range of applications which have been developed specifically for Africa across platforms for S40 and S60 devices, for example AfriDoctor (http://store.ovi.com/content/21563?clickSource=search) as well as a range of other applications, games and content including Vuvuzela ring tones (http://store.ovi.com/content/43771) and Zakumi wallpapers (http://store.ovi.com/content/43147?clickSource=search) amongst other applications from around the world.

Visit Nokia’s Ovi Store at http://www.ovi.com/services/

Join the conversation at http://ringaz.nokia.co.za

“In South Africa, Nokia has come a long way since we first started testing the waters with social media and the rapidly progressing online world,” says Tania Steenkamp, Communications Manager at Nokia South Africa. “It has been an incredible learning process, and I am so excited to watch Ringaz grow into the online dialogue we are hoping for.”

Nokia began its social media initiatives in early 2009 with a social media audit to gain insight into what conversations were taking place online in South Africa. With the addition of online reputation management (ORM) service, BrandsEye, Nokia established an understanding of the landscape, and an appropriate entrance strategy. From the initial research, the progress has been swift with Nokia engaging with many of South Africa’s top bloggers through various launch activities, the “Search for N” competition, on-going story ideas, competitions and an extensive device review programme. In addition, with the launch of the Nokia Music Store in April 2009, a NMS_ZA Twitter feed was opened to update South African music fans on free tracks, new artists available on the store and Nokia music news. This community will now become a broader Nokia South Africa channel where all news including Music updates will be shared with all the members, building on the conversations already started.

“The next major step for Nokia was the launch of our social media press office in South Africa in November 2009,” continues Steenkamp. “At the time, we were constantly trying to find ways to offer our content to bloggers in a format that suited their blogs or websites, and that was available at any time, night or day. NokiaConnect is a critical tool in helping us to scale to the demands of dealing with bloggers and media alike.”

Nokia Ringaz, which is loosely based on the official Nokia international blog, Nokia Conversations, is live from today, the 22^nd of June 2010. To get the conversation started, Ringaz launches with a month-long promotion, searching for a South African mobile technology enthusiast who will join the Ringaz team as one of the 4 bloggers, contributing on a weekly basis to the blog. Motivations for the position should be sent to Ringaz@ovi.com before the end of July 2010.

Visit Nokia Ringaz on http://ringaz.nokia.co.za/

Connect with Nokia on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/NokiaRSA

In May this year, thirty students from schools in and around Pietermaritzburg attended a Digital Arts Residency, an intensive classroom based workshop, designed to deliver engaging, personalised learning.  During the workshop students were asked to write, shoot and edit films based on an established curriculum around social issues that matter to them for example, HIV/AIDS and race relations. “As part of the programme, the participants have to write the script, make use of Nokia devices to film the content and then edit the footage on a laptop computer,” says Kulsoom Ally, head of corporate social investment, Nokia Middle East and Africa. “The completed films are then used in classrooms across KwaZulu Natal to shed light on important issues that affect the youth of South Africa.”

Once the students have completed the workshop they will become student mentors at Caversham’s CreACTive Centres in KZN. “Working in groups of three, they will use the centre’s mobile lab to teach other students in under-served communities how to create films that are both personal and also tied to local curriculum,” says Malcolm Christian from Caversham CreACTive Centres.  “Additionally teachers from a wide spectrum of schools will learn how to incorporate digital arts into their existing lesson plans to bring 21^st century life skills to their students.”

Caversham CreACTive Centres began in South Africa in 2002 at Jabula Combined School in the rural community of Lidgetton and is the venue for art-based creative interaction where individual potential is nurtured through personal development and life-skill training.

“By sharing the latest mobile technologies in classrooms, these programmes help teachers and students to develop the necessary skills they need to design, develop and complete the collaborative digital arts projects that will shape their future,” says Malcolm Christian of the Caversham Centre..

“Our alliance with Nokia aims to bring the Office productivity experience to the millions of people using Nokia smartphones around the world,” says Kirt Debique, General Manager at Microsoft. “With the arrival of Communicator Mobile for Nokia today, we have a great start to fulfilling our joint vision.” 

Communicator Mobile enables people to see their colleagues’ availability, and click to communicate with them using the best method, from IM to email, text to phone call. The names and status of colleagues are embedded directly into the devices’ contacts application, enabling people to update their own presence, start and join instant messaging sessions, and begin calls directly from the contact card.

“This application really provides a much more efficient way to work with others as you can see if someone is busy or available, and the best way to start a conversation with them,” says Ukko Lappalainen, Vice President at Nokia. “It also meets all of the requirements for enterprise: cost effective to implement, secure, familiar and reliable.”

The launch is the first product from the alliance - announced last August – which was the first time either company had embarked on an agreement of this scope and nature. Since then, the two companies have been collaborating on the design and development of new solutions, as well as embarking on joint marketing efforts around others they already share.

"As part of our push to constantly enhance our unified communications proposition, we are keen to extend the collaborative benefits of Microsoft Communicator Mobile to Nokia devices,” says Scott Petty, Director at Vodafone Group Business Services. “Communicator Mobile offers great potential for our large corporate customer base who have already deployed Communicator for desktop and now are looking to extend that existing infrastructure to mobile.”

“We trial all potential offerings ourselves and have been very happy with the internal response and productivity increase we have experienced using Microsoft Communicator Mobile,” says Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Executive Vice President at Swisscom / Webcall. “Having these two companies work together is really helping us serve the needs of our customers.”

This new application, available initially for Nokia E72 and Nokia E52, adds to the work Nokia is already doing in optimizing direct access to email and other personal information with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. The companies plan to deliver Communicator Mobile for Nokia pre-installed on select Nokia smartphones in the future and plan to support additional devices, including the recently announced Nokia E5.

Sport is used globally as a vehicle to empower communities and individual’s lives as it is able to unite people around one common goal.  Nokia, in a drive to empower communities, has partnered with Freeway Football, an organisation telling stories of an informal football league through visuals and photography.

Just under a year ago, Colin Habberton, founder of Freeway Football, noticed a group of children playing soccer right next to the N2 highway in Cape Town.  ‘At first I thought it was a bunch of kids kicking a ball around,’ says Habberton. ‘However, after taking the time to watch the games they were playing, I realised that this was in fact a football league, with coaches, teams, equipment and training,’ he explains.  This casual observation led Habberton to develop stories through photography about these informal leagues.

The cornerstone of Freeway Football’s business concept is the development of community-based photographers and videographers, providing mentoring and training whilst they capture photography of similar stories in their own areas. The aim for all involved with the concept is to tell the true story of townships which is not one of misery but rather of hope and aspiration.

In order to ensure the sustainability of the project, Habberton approached a few like-minded people and within a few months a team of professional photographers, footballers and business mentors sharing the same vision was established.  ‘The vision of Freeway Football is to create a project based on enterprise principles where technical, business and life skills can be transferred to budding photographers and footballers.  At the same time we are providing an agency through which these talents can be promoted and ultimately assist these individuals in generating an income stream through the use of their talent,” says Habberton. “This is about more than simply donating money.  The individuals we are working with will be able to run viable businesses within their communities and ultimately branch out into other communities to build themselves a sustainable future.”

Nokia has been involved with both elements of the project.  On the photographic side, Nokia hired Freeway Football photographers and videographers to document the Nokia All Stars Cape Minstrel Band and the Nokia Tulips, a choir from the Cape Flats.  In terms of football, Nokia has sponsored the All Stars U-15 team.  The Nokia All-Stars is a team made up of the top young players from all the teams that participated in the Khayelitsha Cup tournament which was held on the 16^th and 17^th January 2010.  These 15 players form the base of the Freeway Football Academy and the players will receive football and life skills training as well as stand the chance of being drafted into the premier youth team in Khayelistha.

For information on Freeway Football please visit http://www.freewayfootball.org/

“The Nokia CK-200 is easy to install and is designed to make communicating whilst driving easy,” says Stuart Bruce, Head of Global Sales, Nokia Car Business Area. “One of the main benefits of the CK-200 car kit is that consumers are able to connect simultaneously to both their personal and business phones in the car. The switch between the two phones is easy and safe with the click of a single button, and the detachable 2.5” display is clear and easy to read,” says Bruce.

The CK-200 can be installed via direct input, ISO cable or external speaker and offers consumers an adjustable RGB display backlight colour with can be set to match the colour of the car in which it is mounted. A wireless remote, which allows consumers to take calls and keep their hands on the wheel, can be mounted either to the steering wheel, the dashboard or on the gear shift.

“One of Nokia’s priorities is to give consumers the best phone experience possible and original accessories form a part of this,” says Bruce. “With the new Traffic Control Act now in effect, and safety concerns around the use of mobile phones while driving, it is vital that consumers use a reliable hands-free talking device.  Nokia has a variety of different accessories offering clear voice transmission and reception while driving,” says Bruce.

A list of the latest Nokia Original Accessories:

Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-505

Nokia Bluetooth Stereo headset BH-214

Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-216

Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-607 with My own key

Nokia Speakerphone HF-310

Nokia Speakerphone HF-510

Nokia Extra Power DC-11 Mobile device charger

For more information on Nokia Original Accessories please go http://mea.nokia.com/find-products-en/accessories/latest-accessories

The Nokia N8 introduces a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash and a large sensor that rivals those found in compact digital cameras. Additionally, the Nokia N8 offers the ability to make HD-quality videos and edit them with an intuitive built-in editing suite. Doubling as a portable entertainment center, people can enjoy HD-quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound by plugging into their home theatre system. The Nokia N8 enables access to Web TV services that deliver programs, news and entertainment from channels like CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic. Additional local Web TV content is also available from the Ovi Store.

Social networking is second nature to the Nokia N8. People can update their status, share location and photos, and view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen. Calendar events from social networks can also be transferred to the device calendar.

The Nokia N8 comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation, guiding people to places and points of interest in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Symbian^3 in action
Powering the Nokia N8 is Symbian ^3, the latest edition of the world's most used smartphone software, which introduces several major advances, including support for gestures such as multi touch, flick scrolling and pinch-zoom. The Nokia N8 also offers multiple, personalizable homescreens which can be loaded with apps and widgets. The new 2D and 3D graphics architecture in the platform takes full advantage of the Nokia N8's hardware acceleration to deliver a faster and more responsive user interface.  Symbian^3 also raises the bar in performance by delivering greater memory management allowing more applications to run in parallel for a faster multi-tasking experience.

Getting Qt for Developers
The Nokia N8 is Nokia's first device to be integrated with Qt, a software development environment that simplifies the development and makes it possible to build applications once and deploy across Symbian and other software platforms.  Nokia has also made the powerful and simple to use Nokia Qt SDK available, in its initial beta, to enable developers to start realizing the potential of Qt.

More press materials are available at www.nokia.com/press
Broadcast materials are available at http://digitalnewsroom.nokia.com

Launching today, Nokia's Ovi Store football channel is the ultimate football fan destination featuring highly popular apps, games, and the ability to quickly personalize and refresh your Nokia.

As part of Ovi's football offering, Pepsi's charity football anthem 'Oh Africa' will be featured for sale on Ovi Music Store. The charity single performed by six-time Grammy nominee, Akon, featuring Keri Hilson, the Soweto Gospel choir and sixteen youth from around the world is the soundtrack to Pepsi's 2010 football campaign. In addition, Pepsi's football athlete themes and wallpapers will be available for free on the Pepsi home page at www.ovi.com

"Pepsi's unique content combined with Nokia's unparalleled global reach offers football fans around the world the chance to get involved with this year's great Football summer no matter where they are," said Marco Argenti, VP and Global Head of Media, Nokia. "The Ovi Store football promotion offers passionate football fans instant access to news, apps, games and a growing selection of personalization content from some of the world's top teams."

Claudia Lagunas, Digital and New Media Director at PepsiCo International commented: "Working with Nokia allows us to connect and communicate with the worldwide mobile community. Nokia's Ovi Store offers an exciting new channel through which to share our football content with millions of football fans around the globe."

Also launching today is the Nokia Skill Dribbler competition giving mobile gamers the opportunity to win a Football trip of a lifetime for two to see 'El Clasico' in Barcelona. To win, skill dribblers have to show off their silky football game skills, avoiding tackles and keeping control of the ball for as long as they can to accumulate points. The highest weekly scorers will receive a shirt signed by a one of the worlds' top footballers and Nokia N97 mini. The top scorer of the competition will be on their way to Barcelona. To enter and play Skill Dribbler visit www.ovi.com.

In addition to PepsiCo's content Nokia's Ovi Store football channel will also host a long list of further content dedicated to 2010's summer of football. From competitions and tournament updates to personalizing your device, football is a lot more fun when you are part of the action. Some of the key content and features to get you involved include:

Great goals
If you are supporting Brazil, England, or just great football, Great Goals will whet your appetite for what's to come with a series of free audio and video downloads dedicated to great goals scored by great players.

Football updates and news
No matter where you are in the world, you can't catch every game of the tournament but you can still get live updates. 2010's summer of football news and update applications are available from the largest football websites in the world. Livemobile Football, ESPN Soccernet, and Goal.com are all available as free applications to keep you up to date with breaking news from around the world, previews and recaps of games for all major leagues in the world and more. 

Games
Experience the latest in mobile football gaming and battle to win the cup for your country. Games available include Gameloft's Real Football 2010 and Real Football Manager 2010, and beat the rest in the next generation of sports radar built for speed shooting, Speedhero Multisport, and the latest football games from EA SPORTS.

Touchnote
A picture is worth a thousand words, but reminding everyone your country beat their country with a postcard is priceless. This app takes digital pictures and makes them into physical postcards in a matter of clicks.

Social networking
Whether heading to South Africa or just down the street to your local bar, stay in touch with your friends and family to let them know where you are watching the game. Share your football experience with fans back home, comment on games, post media, and find out where the nearby parties are.  Social networks like Nimbuzz and Buddycloud make sharing easy from your Nokia device.

Ovi Maps
Don't miss the Game because you got lost, Use new Ovi Maps with free walk and drive navigation available on Nokia smartphones to find your way to stadium, bar, park, or wherever you choose to watch the game. After the game, find the best sights, restaurants, hotels and events wherever you are through the Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides that come free with the new Ovi Maps. To download Ovi Maps, visit www.store.ovi.com.

Nokia Messaging is an easy to set-up and easy to use push e-mail service which allows Nokia users to mobilise up to ten personal e-mail accounts on one device.  Nokia Messaging supports all leading consumer e-mail solutions including Gmail, Windows Live, Hotmail and Yahoo! mail as well as local e-mail service providers such as M-Web, MTN Play and Webmail.  This incorporates an estimated 90% of current consumer e-mail accounts locally and users are able to read, send, forward and reply to e-mails, as well as download and attach files directly on their mobile phone.

“The Nokia Messaging Service is the consumer pillar in Nokia’s overall messaging strategy,” explains Sarah Crowe, head of marketing at Nokia South Africa. “The strategy also includes Ovi Mail for free emerging e-mail services and Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Traveler for corporate e-mail mobilisation. This three-pronged approach positions Nokia well to provide quality messaging solutions to all of our consumers”.

“During its Beta testing phase over the last year, the Nokia Messaging Service has had enormous uptake in South Africa, largely through self discovery,” continues Crowe. “This shows a clear demand for the service locally and brings us to today’s exciting announcement on our first local operator deal”.

As part of an agreement with MTN, Nokia Messaging Service will be available as a bundle on the Nokia E63 combined with 10MB data plan as a complete consumer offering.

"In today’s busy world, email has become a standard means of business communication and is fast becoming an extension of our personal lives. So to meet this growing customer need, MTN is making consumer email messaging as easy and affordable to use as SMS," says Serame Taukobong, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN South Africa.  “To this end, MTN has partnered with Nokia to offer our customers cost-effective mobile email through the Nokia Messaging service. On top of this, there has been a high demand for smartphones with business communication and social networking applications and we believe that the powerful Nokia E63 is an ideal device to bundle with the Nokia Messaging service.”

The Nokia E63 Messaging bundle will be available at participating MTN stores from the end of April 2010 at an approximate retail price of R119 per month on MTN AnyTime 100.

“The Nokia N97 Mini carries substantial developments in smart phone functionality as well as enhanced sharing capabilities, all in a sleek package,” says Patrick Henchie, product manager for Nokia South Africa.  “It’s important to note too that the device works seamlessly with Nokia’s Ovi Store allowing users to personalise their device with ringtones, applications, widgets and other content,” he says.

The Nokia N97 Mini is powered by a new Ovi Maps experience which makes searching and navigating even easier. In addition to global pedestrian navigation, users can access premium content from Lonely Planet, Michelin and Wcities, turning the Nokia N97 Mini into the world's smallest travel companion.

Nokia is constantly updating and enhancing its devices with new features and functionality so users can get even more out of their Nokia even years after purchase. Nokia announced earlier this year that its navigation service, Ovi Maps is now available for free for use on Nokia smartphones, including the Nokia N97 Mini.

“We want to make using your mobile for navigation as familiar as using it to send a text message or take a picture,” continues Henchie. “With the advancements in Ovi Maps, you no longer have to carry multiple devices when you travel. We have packaged the device with a powerful mapping and navigation solution to make users lives easier while on the go by car or on foot.”

 Over 1 million downloads of Ovi Maps have already taken place in 2010 proving the success of the free Nokia Ovi Maps and exposing Nokia’s strategy to lead the market in mobile maps, navigation and location-based services.  By leveraging the investment in NAVTEQ, Nokia has been able to remove the costs associated with navigation for drivers and pedestrians.

Through this relationship, over 77 3D South African landmarks and historical sites appear on Ovi Maps, with a further 40 more to appear in April, when NAVTEQ will offer an updated version. The updated landmarks will include all World Cup Soccer Stadiums such as Greenpoint and The Moses Mabhida Stadium. These new features will also enable worldwide users of Ovi Maps to have access to 3D city models of South Africa and real-time updates through advanced routing and intuitive guidance.

Ovi Maps covers more than 180 countries with car and pedestrian navigation for 74 countries, in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries. There are more than 6000 3D landmarks for 200 cities around the world. 

For more information and related materials visit www.nokiaconnect.co.za

Visit Nokia’s Ovi Store at http://www.ovi.com/services/

Nokia announced today the opening of its new flagship Nokia Care Centre in Woodmead Retail Park, in northern Johannesburg. The new Care Centre offers a holistic solution to consumers providing not only repair assistance, but also support for Nokia services including the Nokia Ovi Store, Nokia Music Store and, Nokia Mail for Exchange as well as Nokia Messaging. The Care Centre joins a growing list of 21 Nokia Care branded touch points around South Africa.

In addition to the repair facilities for mobile devices, Nokia will also offer onsite support and guidance for synchronisation of Nokia devices pertaining to laptop computers or notebooks, backups and other technical support that may be required.

Nokia currently operates the world’s largest voluntary mobile device recycling scheme with drop-off points in over 5000 Nokia Care Points around the world. The Woodmead store is the most recent addition to this list, with a fixed recycle bin. Any brand of mobile device can be dropped in this bin for safe recycling. Up to 80% of any Nokia device can be recycled and the plastics are used to fuel the recycling process, thus minimising e-waste.

Nokia has partnered with Reconnect Mobile to launch the new Care Centre in Woodmead, drawing on the expertise and guidance of an experienced partner to ensure best practice in customer care. The store will open on Wednesday 24^th March and operate 7 days a week from 9am until 6pm Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm on Saturdays and 9am-2pm on Sundays.

The Care Center is situated at Woodmead Retail Centre, Shop 2, Waterval Crescent Dr, Woodmead.

For more information and related materials visit www.nokiaconnect.co.za

For a complete list of all Nokia Care Points, please visit: http://www.nokiaconnect.co.za/cms/resource/nokia_care_centre_directory_sa.xls

About Nokia

At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more.  Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Grier started this epic journey in Mozambique and paddled some 500km on his kayak to Madagascar. There, he swopped his paddle for running shoes and set out on an estimated 2500 km run of the island from south to north. In order to assist Grier in navigating the rough terrain, Nokia sponsored two Nokia 6710 Navigator phones for his gruelling journey to provide him with not only a reliable ‘second’ but his tool to navigate, document and communicate throughout the extreme expedition.

During his journey, Grier has been streaming his adventure across a number of social media.  The Nokia 6710 Navigator has enabled him to share his journey with people across the world through social media which in turn has kept him motivated. Grier has been using the phone as a map, a camera and more importantly as a way of staying connected with the world and people at home. This is the first time an event of this nature is being streamed on a number of social media platforms where Grier’s progress can be monitored by followers globally. Grier currently has over 10 000 people following his journey via YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

This is not the first challenge David Grier has undertaken in an aim to help raise funds for Operation Smile. In 2006, Grier and fellow athlete Braam Malherbe (52) became the first people in history to run the length of the Great Wall of China in one attempt, a journey covering 4,200km. In 2008 the pair ran the length of the Southern African coastline from Namibia to Mozambique a distance spanning over 3,000km. In the process, they’ve raised R3 million for Operation Smile.

Once this journey is complete, Grier will once again have made history as he will be the first person to have completed this particular distance across the Indian Ocean and through the Madagascan Island. To date, Grier has completed over 2,000km and the journey has been extremely tough.  According to the most recent reports, Grier has already lost about 15 kilograms, has battled recurrent bouts of swamp fever, food poisoning, infected leech bites and now bilharzias, and he still has another 500km to go before completing the challenge this weekend.

From sweltering rugged savannahs to humid leech infested swamps and forests and uninhabited wild lands Grier has been challenged both physically and mentally over the past 3 months. In completing this challenge it will not only be a personal achievement comprising two world firsts but a fulfilling journey as the money he raises will go towards providing free treatment to children and adults suffering from cleft lips and cleft palates and thanks to his Nokia 6710 Navigator phone he is able to share this journey with the world.  Visit www.milesforsmiles.co.za to view just what David has experienced and achieved, and uploaded through these remarkable phones.

About Operation Smile South Africa

Operation Smile South Africa medical volunteers repair childhood facial deformities while building public and private partnerships that advocate sustainable healthcare systems for children and families in South Africa, Southern Africa and around the world. Operation Smile South Africa is part of a global alliance of Operation Smile foundations and chapters dedicated to providing free treatment to children and adults suffering from cleft lips and cleft palates. Together, they create smiles, change lives, and heal humanity. Operation Smile mobilizes a world of generous hearts to heal children's smiles and transform lives across the globe.

Nokia today announced its sponsorship of the 16^th MTN South African Music Awards to be held at Sun City on the 16th & 17th April 2010. This is the second year that Nokia is one of the sponsors of these prestigious awards.

“The SAMA’s recognise the top South African artists and we are proud to be a sponsor of this event for the second year,” says Jake Larsen, Nokia’s head of music for Middle East and Africa. “Through our sponsorship of the SAMA’s we are demonstrating how important local South African talent is to Nokia.  In fact, supporting local talent is not only one of our objectives, but also the key to our success since launching in 2009,” Larsen says.

Nokia’s recent move into digital music led by the launch of the Nokia Music Store last year as well as their Comes with Music offering has provided a channel for South Africans to digitally access a variety of South African, African and International artists ranging from Zebra & Giraffe to Kurt Darren and many others.

The sponsorship of the prestigious music awards includes the ‘all-you-can-eat’ music powerhouse Nokia X6 32GB Comes with Music phones for all 2010 nominees.   Nokia will also have a presence at related events to be held at Sun City during the SAMA weekend, which will include product demonstrations and interactive zones.

“There is a wealth of talent in South Africa and we are committed to supporting local acts by continuing to make their tracks available legally and at affordable rates for all fans via the Nokia Music Store and services such as Comes with Music,” Larsen concludes. 

Congratulations to all the 2010 nominees! http://www.samusicawards.co.za/#/press

About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks. www.nokia.com  

About Nokia Music Store

Nokia Music Store is a service where you can browse and buy music in order to download on your PC and compatible Nokia mobile device. Music downloaded from Nokia Music Store can be conveniently moved between your PC and compatible Nokia device, as well as copied to CD and moved on to compatible digital music players. http://music.nokia.co.za

For further local releases, images and videos please visit www.nokiaconnect.co.za

Nokia contact:

Tania Steenkamp

Nokia Communications

E-mail: tania.steenkamp@nokia.com

Media queries:

Sarah Dowding

Fleishman-Hillard

011 548 2000

Sarah.dowding@fleishman.co.za

Twilight didn’t receive a single nomination for last year’s Oscars ceremony, yet appears three times on the list of the world’s most downloaded movie soundtracks for the last 12 months. Recent release AVATAR, up for nine Oscars in 2010, is in second place.

Slumdog Millionaire swept up a staggering eight golden statuettes at last year’s ceremony – including best original song, original score and sound mixing. If listeners’ current favourites could predict this year’s winners, Avatar, Transformers and Inglorious Basterds look set for a night of victory.

Twilight’s global popularity highlights Comes With Music’s international presence, bringing movie lovers in touch with music across the world.

From James Horner’s mysterious AVATAR score to the thrilling melodies of Sherlock Holmes or the eclectic mix of Nine, check out Nokia’s movie soundtrack selection: http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=genre&id=7

If you’re a fan of the music behind the latest movie releases Nokia Comes With Music is the place to download all the music you’ve ever wanted, for free, and to keep forever.

TOP 10 GLOBALLY DOWNLOADED MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS (2009-10*)

1. Twilight (Original motion picture soundtrack: International Version)

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6828420

2.   AVATAR

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6883825

3. Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6758629

4. Mamma Mia!

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6384975

5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Mexican version)**

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6828420

6. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6708593

7. Alvin And The Chipmunks 2

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6870932

8. Slumdog Millionaire

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6550550

9. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Original motion picture soundtrack)

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6828420

10. Watchmen

http://music.nokia.co.za/?redirect=product&id=OD2DI6614010

Notes to Editors

* The research was conducted by Nokia Comes With Music based on the number of downloaded songs across 15 countries from December 2008 - January 2010

** Nokia Comes With Music provides a separate Mexican edition in line with distribution rights

More than 200 million smartphone users worldwide now have Skype at their fingertips

Skype and Nokia today jointly announced the release of Skype for Symbian, a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform, the world’s most popular smartphone platform. Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G). It is now downloadable for free from the Ovi Store, Nokia’s one-stop shop for mobile content. http://www.ovi.com/services/

 Skype for Symbian enables Nokia smartphone users to:

• Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world*
• Save money on calls and texts (SMS) to phones abroad.
• Send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups
• Share pictures, videos and other files.
• Receive calls to their existing online number
• See when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM
• Easily import names and numbers from the phone’s address book

Skype for Symbian will run on any Nokia smartphone using Symbian ^1, the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype will soon introduce this client to Symbian mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.

“Symbian enables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensures scale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype. We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users," said Patrick Henchie, product manager, Nokia South Africa.

“Skype, the king of Internet communications, running on Symbian, the world’s dominant smartphone platform, makes for an explosive combination,” said Larry Berkin, Head of Global Alliances and GM USA, Symbian Foundation. “With Symbian’s global reach, Skype is that much closer to becoming the ubiquitous real-time communications platform for hundreds of millions of Symbian-based mobile users.”

Russ Shaw, General Manager, Mobile at Skype said, “With Skype for Nokia smartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide** will be able to take the Skype features they love with them on the move. Alongside Skype’s relationships with operators and handset manufacturers worldwide, making Skype available direct to consumers will help millions of users keep in contact with the people that are important to them without worrying about the cost, distance or whether they are away from a computer.”

The initial Skype for Symbian application is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen models: Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530 and the following non-touch devices: Nokia E72, Nokia E71, Nokia E90, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E51, Nokia N96, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8Gb, Nokia N85, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8 Gb, Nokia N79, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 5320.  

For more information on Skype for Symbian, including the latest supported handset list, at http://www.skype.com/go/symbian.

* Skype recommends use of an unlimited data plan to avoid incurring additional charges from operators. Users should also be aware that extra charges may apply if they use Skype over a mobile data connection when abroad.

** According to Informa Telecoms and Media

Nokia and the product names referenced in the release are trademarks of the Nokia Corporation. 

About Skype

Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users.  Everyday, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles. Download Skype to your computer or mobile phone at www.skype.com.

About Nokia

Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world's leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks. www.nokia.com

“Some of the biggest names in UK and American music have joined forces to record an emotive cover of the REM classic ‘Everybody Hurts’,” says Jake Larsen, head of music for Nokia South Africa. “The track has been priority listed in all of Nokia’s online music stores, including South Africa.”

With a presence in 33 markets, including South Africa, which now has 6 million tracks available for download, Russia, Brazil, UAE, India, Mexico, South America and the UK, Nokia is encouraging music lovers to raise money by downloading the single.  A newsletter is being sent to all Nokia Music customers and banner advertising across Nokia’s owned online will drive customers to their local Nokia Music Store.

“The track costs R10 to download and all proceeds will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti,” says Larsen.  “The track features some of the music industry’s most popular artists including

Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, Kylie, Rod Stewart, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Miley Cyrus, Take That, Joe McElderry, Cheryl Cole, JLS, Mika, Michael Bublé, James Blunt, James Morrison, Susan Boyle, and Westlife,” he says.

To download the single, head to

http://music.nokia.co.za/IE/Product.aspx?id=OD2DI6947904 or http://music.nokia.co.za

Notes to Editors:

‘Everybody Hurts’ is a priority single in the following Nokia Music Stores:

Austria, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, India, UAE, Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Russia

Intel and Nokia Merge Software Platforms for Future Computing Devices: MeeGo* enables an open ecosystem for rapid development of exciting new user experiences

In a significant development in the convergence of communications and computing, Intel Corporation and Nokia are merging their popular Moblin and Maemo software platforms. This will create a unified Linux-based platform that will run on multiple hardware platforms across a wide range of computing devices, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems. Called MeeGo, the open software platform will accelerate industry innovation and time-to-market for a wealth of new Internet-based applications and services and exciting user experiences. MeeGo-based devices from Nokia and other manufacturers are expected to be launched later this year.

To read the full article go to /cms/resource/150210_2_intel_nokia_merge_moblin_maemo.pdf

Nokia passes key milestones as services business continues strong momentum

 With a great user experience, an aggressive global rollout plan and a focus on local relevance, Nokia truly put its services on the map – and the strong momentum continues.

"Our recipe for success has some pretty simple ingredients: delighting consumers. Yes, we are in more places, serving more people, with more great content and services. True, more than a million apps are being downloaded a day from our store; Comes with Music is now available in over 25 markets; and every second of the day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, another person downloads our new Ovi Maps app. These are great achievements, but our goal is to delight hundreds of millions of consumers around the world – and we are well on our way," says Niklas Savander, head of Nokia’s services business.

To read the full article go to /cms/resource/150210_nokia_passes_key_milestones_as_services_business_continues_strong_momentum.pdf

Other information from Mobile World Congress 2010

Nokia Software Strategy White Paper /cms/resource/nokia_software_strategy_white_paper.pdf

Ovi Maps Datasheet /cms/resource/ovi_maps_data_sheet.pdf

Lifecasting Datasheet /cms/resource/lifecasting_with_ovi_data_sheet.pdf

MeeGo Logo /cms/resource/meego_logo_gm.png

According to Patrick Henchie, product manager at Nokia South Africa, recent research has shown that people are spending an average of five full days per year, equivalent to a full work week, responding to emails.  “Half of us (46 percent) choose email over voice or text to send and receive important information,” says Henchie, “The Nokia E72 was designed exactly with this kind of person in mind as it allows the owner to be more responsive and communicate how they want, whenever they want and wherever they are.”

The Nokia E72 builds on the formula from Nokia’s most successful full QWERTY keyboard device, the Nokia E71, and adds important new functionality such as desktop-like email and chat experiences. Morevoer, the latest version of Ovi Maps with A-GPS navigation and compass, an optical navi key and 5 megapixel camera are all packed into the sleek, beautifully-designed handset.

The Nokia E72 also comes with Nokia’s push consumer email service, Nokia Messaging, and now for the first time people can set up instant messaging (IM) directly from the homescreen, accessing communities such as Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi Chat. Just like chatting via the desktop, people can respond to friends and colleagues across multiple communities in real-time.

The Nokia E72 can also accommodate multiple work and personal email accounts and with separate profiles for work and play, allows people to be flexible when it comes to choosing how, when, where and who to respond to. While work emails rank as the most important messages to receive, they are not necessarily the most urgent messages to respond to. According to Nokia’s research, half of respondents (49 percent) prioritise their partners ahead of their bosses or managers (29 percent), colleagues (23 percent) and even customers (31 percent).

The Nokia responsiveness research was commissioned to examine the various factors that influence how people respond to various issues and situations. In addition to the research, an online campaign at http://www.nokia.com/responsiveness invites people around the world to respond to various issues and comments from TED fellows.

See the results of the Nokia responsiveness research in the Nokia E72 press kit http://www.nokia.com/A4664066?kit=112  

 Notes to editors:

A full list of Nokia E72 features is available at http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/devices/nokia-e72

 Compatibility with the aforementioned services may be limited to certain countries.

 * Research conducted by ICM among 7,826 people in seven countries in July 2009. Countries where research was conducted: UK, Russia, Spain, South Africa, UAE, Singapore and Italy.

“We’re averaging a download a second, 24 hours a day,” said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia. “When we announced free walk & drive navigation we knew it would be a game-changer. The number of people now using their Nokia for navigation, and as a result looking for more location-aware software, is growing faster than even we predicted.”

The success of the new version Ovi Maps is a key part of Nokia’s strategy to lead the market in mobile maps, navigation and location-based services.  By leveraging its investment in NAVTEQ, Nokia has been able to remove the costs associated with navigation for drivers and pedestrians and is quickly activating a massive user base to which it can offer new location features, content and services.

“This is great news for our 3^rd party application developers.  Within a matter of days there is an installed base of more than 1 million active users all potentially hungry for new and innovative location-aware apps,” continued Anssi Vanjoki.  “For the operators too there is a growing opportunity to sell more data-plans and a complete navigation package to existing and new customers.”

As of 31 January 2010 the top five countries downloading the new version of Ovi Maps were: China, Italy, UK, Germany and Spain. The top five most popular Nokia devices installing the download were: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia N97, Nokia 5230 and Nokia E72.

“There is a huge appetite for GPS navigation on mobile phones. We estimate there were already 25.9 million people actively using GPS navigation on their mobile phones at the end of 2009,” said Chris Jones, VP & Principal Analyst at research firm Canalys.  

From next month, all new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps, pre-loaded with local country map data, with high-end walk and drive navigation and access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides at no extra cost. 

Ovi Maps covers more than 180 countries with car and pedestrian navigation for 74 countries, in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries. There are more than 6000 3D landmarks for 200 cities around the world.  Lonely Planet and Michelin guides have information on more than 1,000 destinations globally.

Notes to editors:

Current list of compatible Nokia devices: Nokia 97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition, Nokia E52, Nokia E55, Nokia E72, Nokia 5230, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6730 classic and Nokia X6. For the latest device list, please go to http://www.nokia.com/maps.

Data transmission charges may apply. Please contact network operator for information about the data transmission charges.

 “We want to make using your mobile for navigation as familiar as using it to send a text or take a picture. We believe that making the best maps with voice guided navigation available for free will be the catalyst to do this,” explained Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia. “Why have multiple devices that work in only one country or region?  Put it all together, make it free, make it global and you have something that is truly useful and can help you get round almost any city in the world whether you’re on foot or driving.”

 Five key features that sets Ovi Maps apart: 

No hidden costs
The new version of Ovi Maps comes with all the maps and high-end, car grade navigation features you need for free and is yours to keep for the life of the smartphone. No additional licenses needed for extra countries, regions or services like traffic information or city guides.  Data charges from network operators may apply.

Best global coverage
You take your mobile with you wherever you go in the world so, as standard, voice guided navigation for both pedestrians and drivers is available for 74 countries in 46 different languages and there are maps for over 180 countries. This gives you the best maps with the largest global coverage for free.

No network connection required when navigating
Avoid expensive, battery-draining network connections with Nokia’s unique hybrid technology. Maps can be pre-loaded on to your Nokia smartphone so you can set Ovi Maps to offline mode, saving battery power, and the navigation system will still work. This is particularly useful for those worried about data connection costs when travelling abroad or when you are travelling through areas with little or no network coverage.   

Unique hybrid technology
Ovi Maps is built on an advanced technology called hybrid vector maps. Vector maps are high quality but less data intensive and allow you to continue to navigate even if you lose your network connection. This means that maps downloaded or updated across a network connection are about half the size of bulky bitmaps used by other mobile map providers. The hybrid technology ensures that, unlike other providers, any downloaded map data is stored on the device for future use. 

Voice guidance & traffic information
Turn-by-turn, voice guided navigation comes free for both drivers and pedestrians. For drivers this includes lane assistance, traffic information, safety camera and speed warnings. For pedestrians this includes shortcuts through parks and pedestrian-only zones for over 100 cities around the world as well as 6000 3D landmarks in over 200 cities to help you find exactly where you are.

Ovi Maps is immediately available for download for 10 Nokia handsets, including the popular Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia E72, with more Nokia smartphones expected to be added in the coming weeks. In the meantime, current owners of Nokia smartphones that are compatible with the new Ovi Maps can download it free of charge from www.nokia.com/maps.

From March 2010, new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps, pre-loaded with local country map data, with high-end walk and drive navigation and access to Lonely Planet and Michelin travel guides at no extra cost.

More press materials are available at www.nokia.com/press as well as at http://events.nokia.com.

Broadcast materials are available at http://digitalnewsroom.nokia.com.

 Notes to editors:

Current list of compatible Nokia devices: Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition, Nokia E52, Nokia E55, Nokia E72, Nokia 5230, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6730 classic and Nokia X6. For the latest device list, please go to http://www.nokia.com/maps.

Data transmission charges may apply. Please contact network operator for information about the data transmission charges.

Calling All Innovators 2010 features four categories for submissions that enhance the use of Nokia mobile devices in real-world scenarios:

- Eco/Being Green:  applications that help to save the planet with innovative, eco-friendly uses.

- Productivity:  applications that make your life easier, and help you to be more efficient, such as utilities, business, or personal finance applications.

- Life Improvement:  applications that positively affect the daily lives of people living in developing countries by using the prevalence of mobile devices to teach children and illiterate adults critical skills, and agriculture health.

- Entertainment:  applications that bring out your inner rock star, and show off the coolest multimedia features, including music, multimedia and games - because mobile also has to be about having fun!

Forum Nokia has therefore teamed up with Sesame Workshop, the producers behind Sesame Street, for the education subcategory of the life improvement category to encourage developers to create and offer applications to teach early literacy on Nokia devices to communities around the world.  Sesame Workshop will offer guidance during the judging process and work with select developers to further enhance relevant projects.

"With Forum Nokia's community - over four and a half million developers strong - we're challenging those particularly in emerging markets to create educational tools that make a positive impact," said Jeffrey Fleishman, assistant vice president for Media Distribution Business Development, Sesame Workshop. "Our goal is to find some partners with which we can work to extend the power of Sesame Street to new platforms and places."

The collaboration will encourage developers to create educational applications, and possibly utilise the Sesame Street characters, for consumers around the world.  As Sesame Street celebrates its 40th anniversary, this partnership helps to extend its "longest street in the world" into the digital one.  With an expertise in using media to reach children, the non-profit is looking to mobile as the newest distribution channel of literacy-based content through accessible mass media.

One example was the regional Calling All Innovators Africa contest which took place from July 2009 and the winners were announced in early December 2009. The Calling All Innovators Africa competition called for South African and African developers  to create locally relevant applications and solutions for the Ovi Store https://store.ovi.com. For more information on the Calling All Innovators Africa contest winner’s announcement please visit this link http://www.nokiaconnect.co.za/news-release/11/nokia-calling-all-innovators-winners-announced

More details about all the categories for Calling All Innovators, special prizes and judges can be found on the contest web site at www.callingallinnovators.com.

Submissions from developers for the 2010 Calling All Innovators contest will be accepted starting on the 1^st of February 2010. The submission deadline is the 18^th of May 2010.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the non-profit educational organization that revolutionized children's television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 140 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company and Pinky Dinky Doo. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org

About Forum Nokia

Nokia's global developer program, Forum Nokia connects developers to tools, technical information, support, and distribution channels they can use to build and market applications around the globe. From offices in the U.S., Europe, India, Japan, China, and Singapore, Forum Nokia provides technical and business development support to developers and operators to assist them in achieving their goal of successfully launching applications and services to consumers and enterprises. More information is available at www.forum.nokia.com

The Nokia X6 is a powerful entertainment device capable of playing up to 35 hours of music, offering 32GB of on-board memory and supporting all main digital music formats, with a slick 3.2" finger touch interface and a 5 megapixel camera equipped with a Carl Zeiss lens.

The Nokia X6 is the ultimate device for social butterflies, bringing friends and virtual communities, like Facebook, to the homescreen thus making it easy to socialise with friends and follow all the favourite blogs and celeb gossip. The device has a 16,9 widescreen which is optimised for photo and imaging display, web browsing, video recording and gaming.

The entertainment experience is completed by three embedded games, Spore by EA, Asphalt4 and DJ Mix Tour by Gameloft, as well as direct access from the homescreen to download more games and applications through the Ovi Store at http://store.ovi.com.

The Nokia X6 music powerhouse is expected to retail for approximately R6999.99 and will be available from early January 2010.

Photos and a detailed datasheet of the Nokia X6 are available at

www.nokiaconnect.co.za 

http://www.nokia.com/press/media_resources/photos/devices/showphotos?category=x6

http://www.nokia.com/NOKIA_COM_1/Press/Materials/White_Papers/pdf_files/data_sheets_2009/Nokia_X6_data_sheet.pdf

Background into the Comes With Music package

Comes with Music, is a round-breaking digital entertainment service, which offers consumers unlimited downloads to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue, which currently has over 6-million digital tracks, this offering is valid for a one year period. Fans will have access to bonus tracks, remixes and other additional content, free of charge as part of the Comes With Music subscription. In addition, the consumer is able to keep all their downloaded music from the diverse catalogue of international superstars and favourite local artists - even when the service period of one year is over – on both their Comes With Music device and dedicated PC.

Comes with Music is currently available across a range of Nokia devices through MTN, Cell C, Nashua Mobile and Autopage cellular. Devices include the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Comes with Music edition – exclusive to MTN, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic and the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic available across all four channels and now the Nokia X6 available at MTN, AutoPage and Nashua Mobile outlets. The Nokia X6 and 5530 Comes with Music phones will be available soon at Vodacom.

Find out more on Comes With Music visit http://music.nokia.co.za/comeswithmusic

Press photos of devices are available at http://www.nokia.com/A4632380?category=nokia_comes_with_music

Follow Nokia Music Store South Africa on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NMS_ZA

The Nokia Comes with Music Party bus, which will be making stops at beaches and shopping malls throughout the season, will showcase live performances from some of South Africa’s top bands which include Ashtray Electric, Taxi Violence, Mix n Blend, Straatligkinders, aKing and Loyiso.

Sarah Crowe, head of marketing for Nokia South Africa says that the bus is just another way in which Nokia is showing its support of local talent.   “Nokia has exercised support for the local industry throughout 2009 with the launch of the Nokia Music Store and then the Comes with Music service. The Comes with Music party bus is a great way to end off the year and we look forward to giving fans a chance to see their favourite artists perform live over the festive season.”

As part of the tour, Nokia will be handing out free Nokia Music Store vouchers giving fans access to tracks from their favourite performers. Tracks to be included are ‘The Dance’ by aKing, ‘Quite Overstared’ by Ashtray Electric and ‘Shall We Swing (feat, Fletcher)’ by Mix n Blend. The tracks will be given away at each performance of specific bands per day. You can hear previews of these tracks from Nokia Music Store’s latest Podcast Episode at http://www.zoopy.com/audio/2fiy/nokia-music-store-podcast-episode-3?browse=3ur7

The Nokia Comes with Music Party Bus starts its tour in Durban following which it will travel to Margate, Port Elizabeth, Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town. To follow the bus during the tour, visit http://moralfibre.co.za/nokia/  

Tour route:

9^th December – Umdloti, Durban: 11h00 Ashtray Electric and 15h00 Taxi Violence

10^th December – Westbrook Beach, Durban: 11h00 Taxi Violence and 15h00 Ashtray Electric

11^th December – Anstey Beach, Durban: 11h00 Ashtray Electric and 15h00 Taxi Violence

12^th December – Amanzimtoti, Durban: 11h00 Mix n Blend:DJ and 15h00 Straatligkinders

13^th December – Amanzimtoti, Durban: 11h00 Straatligkinders and 15h00 Mix n Blend:DJ

14^th December – Margate Beach, Margate: 11h00 Ashtray Electric and 15h00 Taxi Violence

15^th December – Margate Beach, Margate: 11h00 Mix n Blend:DJ and 15h00 Straatligkinders

17^th December – Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth: 11h00 Mix n Blend:DJ and 15h00 Straatligkinders

18^th December – Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth: 11h00 Straatligkinders and 15h00 Mix n Blend:DJ

19^th December – King’s Beach, Port Elizabeth: 11h00 Mix n Blend:DJ and 15h00 Straatligkinders

21^st December – Beacon Isle Beach, Plettenberg Bay: 11h00 Mix n Blend:DJ and 15h00 AKing

23^rd December – Ratanga Junction, Cape Town: 11h00 Mix n Blend:DJ and 15h00 Straatligkinders

24^th December – Cape Gate Centre, Cape Town: 11h00 Taxi Violence and 15h00 Mix n Blend:Band

26^th December – Ratanga Junction, Cape Town: 11h00 Mix n Blend:Band and  15h00 Taxi Violence

27^th December – Somerset Mall, Cape Town: 11h00 Taxi Violence and 15h00 Mix n Blend:Band

28^th December – Blue Route Mall, Cape Town: 11h00 Ashtray Electric and 15h00 Mix n Blend: Band

29^th December – V&A Waterfront, Cape Town: 11h00 Mix n Blend: Band and 15h00 Ashtray Electric

30^th December – V&A Waterfront, Cape Town: 11h00 Ashtray Electric and 15h00 Mix n Blend: Band

31^st December – V&A Waterfront, Cape Town: 11h00 Mix n Blend: Band and Loyiso

 All category winners were recognised at the Calling All Innovators Awards reception and the total cash and prize value of over R1million was awarded to the top ten application developers. In addition, winning application, Afridoctor, is already available on Nokia’s Ovi Store and the response has been very positive so far.  

 Over 125 submissions were received during the competition period, mainly from Africa, signalling a strong response to Nokia's challenge to think big and create mobile applications and services to enhance mobile device usage. Although the competition called for applications relevant to the South African environment a large number of entries were received from developers in other countries including Pakistan, Germany, US, India and Bahrain. The second highest number of entries overall, after those received from South African developers,  came for Kenya, showing that Africa is definitely on the map and has a role to play in the future of technology.  

 "We received a number of top quality entries and the winners have invested a significant amount of time and thought into their applications,” says Helen Jarvis, services marketing manager at Nokia South Africa. "We look forward to working with the South African and African developer community going forward to continue providing the best mobile applications to consumers on the continent and worldwide."

 Over and above the prize money, the owners of the top 10 submissions each received the Judge’s Choice Award, which provides a one-year membership to Forum Nokia Launchpad, valued at 300 Euros.  Each of the winners will receive access to exclusive resources and support designed to accelerate mobile application development and elevate developer’s business visibility in the mobile world.

 “The developers are the future of technology advancement and Nokia understands this,” says Jarvis. “It is for this reason that we recently hosted the Nokia Developer Days where over 62 companies were represented by 100 delegates, from eight African countries, US, United Arab Emirates and Finland to talk about the future of mobile technology.”

 As part of its drive to encourage developers to continue to build more applications, Nokia is focused on collaborating with operators to ensure that consumers have access to the best applications across multiple platforms. Sharoda Rapeti, MTN general manager for products and services says that the Calling All Innovators competition has highlighted the importance of developing local applications for both manufacturers and for operators. “MTN is committed to working with Nokia to make it easier for developers to drive and build applications,” she says. “Great applications need to be developed not only for manufacturers but for the operators too.”

 The competition, has also generated interest from various news organisations including MoneyWeb and News24, which have both created widgets specifically for use on Nokia devices. These widgets are currently hosted on Nokia’s application outlet, Ovi Store at http://store.ovi.com.

 The 2009 Calling All Innovators winners are:

First place and winner of USD85,000: Afridoctor by 20fourlabs

Second place and winner of USD 10,000: That Roach Game – South Africa by Breakdesign

Third place and winner for USD 10,000: Sasol e.Birds by Coolideas

Fourth place and winner of USD 10,000: MrSNAKE by Simon Botes

Fifth place and winner of USD 10,000: Thumbtribe widget by Thumbtribe

 Top ten winners and recipients of the Judge’s Choice Award:

 (12 months membership to Forum Nokia Launchpad):

1^st – Afridoctor by 20fourlabs http://store.ovi.com/content/7909E190D23946A9E040050A8532277E?clickSource=search

2^nd – That Roach Game by Breakdesign

3^rd – Sasol e.Birds by Coolideas

4^th – MrSNAKE by Simon Botes

5^th – Thumbtribe widget by Thumbtribe http://store.ovi.com/content/73C585E40899FF9FE040050A85320AAE?clickSource=search

6^th – LiveMobile by LiveMobile

7^th – Countdown 2010 by Christian Reeve

8^th – Surfing Safari by Aqua Online

9^th – Turn Left at the Barrel by Turn Left at the Giraffe http://store.ovi.com/content/22694

10^th – Mall-Buddy by Paul Hinrichsen

For more information on the Top 10 applications visit http://www.nokiaconnect.co.za/cms/resource/cai_za_winners_top10_nokiaconnect.pdf

"Qt 4.6 marks an exciting time for developers, regardless of their target form factor or platform," said Sebastian Nyström, Vice President, Application Services and Frameworks at Nokia.

"Developers can basily create visually appealing and web-connected applications for desktops or devices, including targeting the hundreds of millions of Symbian and Maemo-based devices,"

"The community will enjoy using Qt's intuitive programming interface to quickly create powerful, appealing applications." Nyström added.

More platforms

Qt 4.6 includes support for the Symbian platform for the first time, and also adds Windows 7, Apple Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and the upcoming Maemo 6 to the list of Qt supported platforms. Also available is community support for real-time operating systems QNX and VxWorks. Support for Maemo 5 is also currently in development, with the second technology preview being released today.

Qt support for Symbian and Maemo creates the first opportunity for developers to target both of these platforms from the same codebase. Being able to share code across platforms means that the applications they create will reach the market faster and reach a broader audience of device users.

Also released today is a technology preview of new Qt APIs from the Qt Mobility project. These cross-platform APIs provide developers with functionality such as location for navigation-type devices, as well as messaging, contacts, and bearer management.

More eye candy

Qt 4.6 builds upon the graphical improvements of 4.5 and enhances them with the addition of new Animation Framework - including intuitive state machine functionality - plus new advanced graphics effects like opacity, drop shadows, glow, and filtering.

More fingers

One of the most exciting new features in Qt 4.6 is the ability to create multi-touch applications. New multi-touch and gesture based input methods such as flicking and kinetic scrolling make Qt 4.6 a powerful framework for creating dynamic, tactile ways for users to interact with applications and devices.

More horsepower

Qt 4.6 challenges the conventional development notion that advanced UI capabilities normally come with a significant performance cost. Extensive work has been done to deliver the best possible performance while enabling developers to deliver the "wow" effect that is demanded by users.

Key performance improvements come in the form of a highly optimized, re-written Qt GraphicsView rendering algorithm, a new OpenGL paint engine, WebKit, 2D vector graphic support using OpenVG, and new DirectFB support.

Updated tools

Complimenting the release of Qt 4.6 is an updated release of Qt Creator, a cross-platform IDE for Qt development. Qt Creator 1.3 and Qt 4.6 form the Qt SDK which contains everything developers need to create cross-platform applications.

To learn more about Qt 4.6, Qt Creator 1.3 and to download the packages, please visit http://qt.nokia.com/whatsnew.

According to Tania Steenkamp, communications manager at Nokia South Africa, the world of technology is changing and the biggest changes can be seen in the mobile technology space. As a result, people no longer need different devices to do different things.  For example digital cameras, alarm clocks, diaries, laptops and even torches no longer need to be carried around as separate items as they have all been incorporated into the mobile device.  However, although the advancement of hardware is extraordinary, the future lies in mobile device applications and focus needs to be placed on how technology is used to best meet a consumers needs through the collaborative power of people.

One of the highlights of the session was guest speaker, Richard Mulholland from Missing Link and Thunk! who shared his views on why manufacturers should start to put the developer at the centre of their business.  According to Mulholland, the customer centric model is outdated and companies that truly want to get ahead in the mobile space need to put more focus on the developers.  Mulholland also explained that because developers are users, often their applications are as a result of their own personal user experience.  More organisations need to provide the tools and forums to unleash the creative and collaborative power of developers, as there is a potential developer in all of us waiting to invent the next revolutionary application to change the way we live.

Nokia also showcased the Nokia N900 which has been earmarked as one of the device of the future as it combines all the elements of basic communications functionality with the ability to run world class applications on the Meamo operating system.  However the most interest has been shown in Nokia's 3G Booklet, which although not yet available in South Africa, will definitely be a strong challenger to other similar products.

During a routine quality control process, Nokia identified a potential product quality issue with certain chargers manufactured by one of its third-party suppliers. The plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger's internal components and potentially posing an electrical shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket. Nokia is not aware of any incidents or injuries related to these chargers.

Only a limited number of chargers of certain model types manufactured by a single third-party supplier during a specific time period are within the scope of the exchange program. They are the AC-3E and AC-3U models, manufactured between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009; and the AC-4U model, manufactured between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009.

For more information, including how consumers can check to see if their chargers are part of this exchange program, Nokia has established a website. Consumers are asked to visit http://chargerexchange.nokia.com.

Nokia recommends consumers with chargers within the scope of this exchange program to stop using the charger and exchange it for a free replacement.

From her breakthrough multi-platinum album A Girl Like Me to her ubiquitous global smash Good Girl Gone Bad, in just a few short years, Rihanna has helped redefine the path of popular music for a new generation.  She continues that musical and stylistic journey on one of the most hotly anticipated new albums in recent history, her fourth original studio album, Rated R. Rated R features the sultry, provocative first single "Russian Roulette," which is rocketing up the charts at radio stations across the globe.

This event places Rihanna at the forefront of cutting-edge technology to deliver music and exclusive content to fans, whilst enabling fans to get closer to the live action from wherever they are in the world.

 Rihanna fans can:

- Sign up to watch the live stream

- Invite their friends to watch the performance simultaneously with them through Facebook and Twitter

- Download a web widget counting down to the live performance.

- Download an exclusive Rihanna mobile application from Nokia's Ovi Store.

- Download the album with an exclusive track either to their PC or over the air to mobile from Nokia Music Store or Comes With Music.

 In addition, Nokia will offer of an exclusive version of the new Rated R album via Nokia Music Store, as well as a companion Rihanna application with exclusive footage and other links on Ovi Store. 

 Rihanna stated, "I am so excited to partner up with Nokia. They are doing some really revolutionary things with this album, enabling me to reach more fans than ever before."

 To secure your place in the making of music history, register at www.nokia.com/rihanna.

The local initiative forms part of Nokia’s global take-back scheme which currently covers 85 countries. The campaign calls not only for the return of old Nokia devices, but rather any manufacturer device can be dropped in the bins.

“Since the start of the campaign we have had a very positive response from our trade customer as well as our end users,” comments Matthew Channing, Nokia’s head of customer care in Sub Saharan Africa. “We are seeing more and more customers returning their old and broken devices for recycling at our Care points and we are ramping up awareness through a radio campaign to ensure people know about this environmentally friendly solution.”

This year we again held a recycling collection drive at two of the county’s busiest shopping malls, one in Durban and one in Pretoria.  Over 447 devices were collected in Durban alone, more than four times the amount that was collected in the first drive in 2008.  As part of this year’s campaign, which coincided with Arbor Week in South Africa, Nokia established a sustainable Food Garden at a school in Orange Farm, working closely with NPO The Food Gardens Foundation in Johannesburg  http://www.foodgardensfoundation.org.za/

Energy saving chargers

Two thirds of the energy consumed by a mobile phone charger during its usage is lost when the phone is fully charged and unplugged but the charger is left connected to the mains, this is termed “no-load” mode. In an effort to reduce this energy loss, Nokia became the first mobile manufacturer to put alerts into phones encouraging people to unplug their chargers when not in use.

Nokia started this campaign with the introduction of three mass market phones, a move that alone could save enough energy a year to power 100 000 average sized homes. The alerts have now been included across Nokia’s product range.

Energy use in Nokia facilities

“Twenty-five percent of the electricity used in Nokia facilities is from renewable sources and we have a global target to increase this to 50% in 2010”, continues Channing. “From 2003 to 2006, Nokia increased energy saving in our facilities around the world to 3,5 percent. We are targeting further progress in this area, aiming to achieve a cumulative saving of 6 percent before 2012 in our annual facilities energy consumption,” concludes Channing.

Environmental friendly packaging

In a move to reduce Nokia’s footprint, smaller device packaging was created in February 2006 using less than half of the normal materials. Accessories packaging was also redesigned to reduce the amount of plastic used by 60 percent. The cardboard used in Nokia packaging has been made significantly thinner.

 By the end of 2007 Nokia  shipped 250 million phones using the compact packaging resulting in 5000 fewer trucks needed to distribute products around the world and creating financial saving of over R700 million.

For more information on Nokia’s recycling activities visit www.nokia.com/werecycle

Comes With Music devices enable the consumer to download an unlimited number of the over 5-million digital tracks available on the South African Nokia Music Store http://music.nokia.co.za for a one year period. In addition, the consumer is able to keep all their downloaded music from the diverse catalogue of international and local artists - even when the service period of one year is over - on both their Comes With Music device and dedicated PC.

Jake Larsen, Nokia's head of music for Middle East and Africa says that Comes with Music will further transform the way people enjoy digital music. "With unlimited music access for one year, consumers can enjoy their favourite artists or delve into new genres without having to worry about individual track or album purchases. This service will widen the range of music consumed as people aren't restricted by the cost of an album or track."

Comes with Music will be available exclusively across a range of Nokia devices through MTN, Cell C, Nashua Mobile and Autopage cellular. Devices include the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Comes with Music edition - exclusive to MTN, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic and the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic available across all four channels.

"This is the most compelling digital music offer ever introduced in South Africa and around the world. The freedom and simplicity of this service is unparalleled," concluded Larsen.

The Comes with Music service is available on three devices, namely the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic and the 5130 XpressMusic – The 5130 Comes with Music offering is exclusively available through MTN, the other two units are available though MTN, Cell C, Nashua Mobile and AutoPage. – to learn more about Nokia’s Comes with Music service, visit http://music.nokia.co.za/comeswithmusic 

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, is a compact XpressMusic device that uses a touch interface for accessing people and content on the brilliantly clear homescreen.  The 'scrolling' Contacts Bar provides direct access to 20 people and their latest conversations and media updates. The homescreen also features one touch shortcuts to content and popular social networks, like Facebook and MySpace. The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic follows in the footsteps of the top-rated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, expanding the touch XpressMusic phone range with a youthful device that has a solid stainless steel frame finish and comes in five vivid colors.

At the core of the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is the music and entertainment experience. It is an ideal device for those who wish to quickly and easily access, share and mix a huge selection of media. In true XpressMusic form, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a great music player with 27 hours of playback time, excellent audio quality and a 4 GB memory card for storing music and other media. Videos, either self made or from social media sites such as Youtube and Facebook can be enjoyed on the brilliantly clear 2.9 inch widescreen display. New music can be purchased through the Nokia Music Store, either directly on the phone or through a PC http://music.nokia.co.za.  The music collection is easily managed and can be synchronized with the PC using the Nokia Music for PC application. Calls and music can be conveniently managed and listened to with the Nokia Stereo Headset WH-205 with tangle-free cable.

The innovative 'people carousel' features thumbnail images of up to 20 close friends and provides easy access to them and their communications history including emails, phone calls, photos or other social media updates.  The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic also features the pop-up Media Bar so music, photos, videos, Internet and on-line sharing applications such as Ovi Share, Flickr and VOX are just a touch away.

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic supports GSM/EDGE networks and also offers fast and affordable access to internet services via the integrated wireless LAN over the ubiquitous wireless networks. Nokia is collaborating with Boingo and offers three months of free Internet access in select markets. Boingo works with hundreds of hotspot operators around the world in familiar locations such as airports, hotels, coffee shops and restaurants.

Nokia 5630 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, is an ultra-slim S60 device that offers a complete entertainment experience, letting individuals quickly and easily play music, videos and games, as well as share content.   

Building on the XpressMusic range tradition of delivering superior entertainment experiences, the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic features a world class music player for excellent audio quality, music and videos on-the-go through dedicated keys, and music essentials including a 4GB memory card for storing up to 3000 tracks, with option to upgrade up to 16GB microSD memory card, support for all main digital music formats and a 3.5 mm AV jack.  Featuring Nokia’s innovative voice-controlled ‘Say and Play’ feature, consumers can merely say the name of a favourite artist or song to automatically play it. 

Offering a seamless music experience, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is compatible with Nokia Music Store, allowing consumers to browse and purchase tracks from the Nokia Music Store, where applicable, while the Nokia Music for PC software allows for easy drag-and-drop transfer of songs and management of any music collection. http://music.nokia.co.za

Putting people first, the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic homescreen gets individuals closer to the people and media that are most important to them. The Contacts Bar allows direct access to up to 20 closest friends or business contacts straight from the homescreen and provides a full communication history with these contacts including recent emails, messages, phone logs and photos shared.  A shortcuts bar at the bottom of the homescreen gives quick access to the most frequently used applications including music, radio, Web, N-Gage and photos. 

The 5630 XpressMusic comes with a complete N-Gage experience with an N-Gage shortcut on the homescreen.  N-Gage offers an entire catalogue of games from leading publishers, a multiplayer feature, and the ability to track progress, as well as add friends to play against. 

In addition, with the full focus 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, images or videos can be captured and shared via a favourite online community, such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook.   

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is ideal for music lovers looking for a combination of style and functionality.

The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is just one device that helps brings the universal connection and desire that consumers have for music into reality.  The Nokia 5130 XpressMusic is the perfect companion for customers who consider themselves music buffs and who also want a colourful device.

Continuing the tradition of the XpressMusic portfolio, the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic delivers an intuitive music experience with a built-in music player, dedicated external music keys, 3.5 mm headphone jack, stereo Bluetooth and FM radio. The phone is also equipped with a 2 megapixel camera with video capture, WAP browser, instant messaging and e-mail and the Series 40 operating system.  

Featuring a thin candybar phone design, the Nokia 5130 XpressMusic Comes with Music offering is available exclusively through MTN and requires a PC to enjoy the Comes with Music experience.

The Nokia 5130 is compatible with the Nokia Music Store http://music.nokia.co.za

"Ovi Store is now open for business in South Africa and we've stocked the shelves with content for a broad range of Nokia devices," continued Jarvis. "We are working with local outlets to provide a variety of local applications, and once we have viable entries from our 'Calling All Innovators' competition, we will be in a strong position to offer local South African content on the store."

Ovi Store is an evolving media service that consolidates Nokia's existing content services into a one-stop-shop for free and paid content. Thousands of the content industry's biggest names along with independent application developers are distributing their media, applications and games through Ovi Store. The content will range from applications, games and videos to widgets, podcasts, location-based applications and personalisation content for Nokia Series 40 and Series 60 devices.

Customers can update their devices with the Ovi Store mobile application by selecting the Ovi Store icon in the Download! folder on their device. The Nokia N97 will be the first device to include the simple and easy-to-use storefront.

“Nokia’s Nseries brand is associated with a certain expectation and given the performance of the new flagship device, we are extremely proud to introduce the Nokia N97 in South Africa,” says Mathia Nalappan, General Manager of Nokia South Africa.  “Users of the Nokia N97 will quickly see that it embodies the full Nseries experience as well as many incredible additions. With the introduction of widgets to our devices, users can now experience an ‘always open’ window to favourite social networking sites and Internet destinations.”

The Nokia N97: Your ultimate personal Internet computer 

Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5" touch display that can be fully personalised with frequently updated widgets, and a full QWERTY keyboard.  With both a physical and visual touch input, the Nokia N97 is easily used for blogging, chatting, posting, sending texts or emailing.

The Nokia N97 introduces the concept of 'social location'. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 intuitively understands where it is. The Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their 'status' and share their 'social location' as well as related pictures or videos.

The Nokia N86 8MP: Capture your life in more detail

When Nokia set out to make the best mobile imaging device, it combined wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics and an 8 megapixel sensor, resulting in performance comparable to a stand-alone digital camera. The Nokia N86 8MP is designed to excel in both bright and low light conditions and is optimized for both video and still imaging. Its high-speed connectivity ensures easy and convenient sharing.

"People demand mobile cameras that take excellent pictures in all light conditions," continues Nalappan. "That's why the aperture of the Nokia N86 8MP is comparable to that of a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera. Whether it's running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunset over Signal Hill in Cape Town, the Nokia N86 8MP will take brilliantly clear, wide-angle images that are instantly geotagged to be uploaded onto sites like Ovi Share or Flickr."

The Nokia N97 and Nokia N86 8MP both offer full integration with Nokia’s services outlet, Ovi.com. Users are able back up and edit contacts and calendars through Ovi Sync, access files from any location using Ovi Files, share content through Ovi Share, download Nokia Maps, stay in touch using Ovi Mail and browse the newly launched application store, Ovi Store. In addition, both devices offer quick access to the Nokia Music Store and Ngage platforms ensuring 24 hour entertainment.

The Nokia N97 and Nokia N86 8MP will be available in South Africa from July 2009 at an estimated retail price of R7,999.00 and R6,999.00 respectively.

Johannesburg, 16 July 2009 - Nokia today unveiled the latest from its coveted Nseries range, the Nokia N97 and the Nokia N86 8MP.  Both devices incorporate leading Nseries technology including high-speed connectivity, the latest version of Nokia Maps and a large onboard memory for storing of music and photographs. The highly anticipated Nokia N97, known as the world's most advanced mobile computer, is set to transform the way people connect to the Internet and to each other. 

“Nokia’s Nseries brand is associated with a certain expectation and given the performance of the new flagship device, we are extremely proud to introduce the Nokia N97 in South Africa,” says Mathia Nalappan, General Manager of Nokia South Africa.  “Users of the Nokia N97 will quickly see that it embodies the full Nseries experience as well as many incredible additions. With the introduction of widgets to our devices, users can now experience an ‘always open’ window to favourite social networking sites and Internet destinations.”

The Nokia N97: Your ultimate personal Internet computer 

Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5" touch display that can be fully personalised with frequently updated widgets, and a full QWERTY keyboard.  With both a physical and visual touch input, the Nokia N97 is easily used for blogging, chatting, posting, sending texts or emailing.

The Nokia N97 introduces the concept of 'social location'. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 intuitively understands where it is. The Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their 'status' and share their 'social location' as well as related pictures or videos.

The Nokia N86 8MP: Capture your life in more detail

When Nokia set out to make the best mobile imaging device, it combined wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics and an 8 megapixel sensor, resulting in performance comparable to a stand-alone digital camera. The Nokia N86 8MP is designed to excel in both bright and low light conditions and is optimized for both video and still imaging. Its high-speed connectivity ensures easy and convenient sharing.

"People demand mobile cameras that take excellent pictures in all light conditions," continues Nalappan. "That's why the aperture of the Nokia N86 8MP is comparable to that of a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera. Whether it's running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunset over Signal Hill in Cape Town, the Nokia N86 8MP will take brilliantly clear, wide-angle images that are instantly geotagged to be uploaded onto sites like Ovi Share or Flickr."

The Nokia N97 and Nokia N86 8MP both offer full integration with Nokia’s services outlet, Ovi.com. Users are able back up and edit contacts and calendars through Ovi Sync, access files from any location using Ovi Files, share content through Ovi Share, download Nokia Maps, stay in touch using Ovi Mail and browse the newly launched application store, Ovi Store. In addition, both devices offer quick access to the Nokia Music Store and Ngage platforms ensuring 24 hour entertainment.

The Nokia N97 and Nokia N86 8MP will be available in South Africa from July 2009 at an estimated retail price of R7,999.00 and R6,999.00 respectively.

"The first round of the global Calling All Innovators competition saw more than 12,000 developers from around the world registered with Forum Nokia, the world's largest mobile developer community," says Helen Jarvis, Nokia's Services Marketing Manager "We are hoping that the South African developer community will rise to the challenge and impress us with their application submissions and enthusiasm for such a competition."

The Calling All Innovators competition is open to anyone, including mobile and web application developers worldwide, to submit their entries. All applications developed for South Africans and running on Series 40 or Series 60 devices will be considered.

The contest opens on July 16, 2009 and all entries are due by 31 October, 2009. Finalists will be selected and notified in December 2009. All competition entries should be submitted at http://callingallinnovators.com/southafrica/.

The 'Search for N' hunt will take place in advance of the Nokia N97 going on sale in South Africa, with the clues being released on the same date and time in each of the 13 participating counties. Nokia and partners http://www.simon.co.za/ , http://pauljacobson.org, http://www.imod.co.za and http://www.nafisa.co.za/ each have Nokia N97's to be discovered, and the only way to find them is to crack five cryptic clues placed on the partner's blogs.

The first clue for the worldwide search will be posted at 13:00 on the 26^th of May, this hunt will run over a period of eight days with the last clue posted at 13:00 on the 2^nd of June 2009. The 'Search for N' clues posted on the partner sites could relate to news that week, feature aspects of the new Nokia N97, or clever cryptic clues that encourage consumers to explore content online.

The first correct contestants on each blog who successfully submit their answers to all five clues will win the 'hidden' Nokia N97 devices. Simon, Paul, Christopher and Nafisa will email the first successful entrants who have revealed the secret location of the new Nokia N97 in South Africa. Only 96 other people around the globe will have the chance to test drive Nokia's most advanced multi-media, multi-sensory mobile device and be able to join the 'Search for N' winners club which will span three continents.

Should you wish to participate in the challenge please visit one of the following blogs: www.simon.co.za ; http://pauljacobson.org; http://www.imod.co.za; www.nafisa.co.za

Competitors may enter on all four blogs but are only eligible to win one of the Nokia N97 devices in the 'Search for N' hunt.' Winners will have to provide scanned identity documents.

In today’s climate the cost and benefits of technology are under scrutiny and email is an essential driver of efficiency and productivity. “Business people are looking for a mobile email application that is efficient, cost effective, easy to use and easy to integrate with existing infrastructure” says Mathia Nalappan, General Manager for Nokia South Africa.  “With direct access to Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes, companies can potentially save up to a third of their operating costs as there’s no need for middleware or additional servers.”

The Nokia E75 brings up to 10 third party email accounts into one simple to access user interface supporting expandable views, one click reply and sub-folder and HTML email support. Added to this is the enhanced email functionality, upgraded personal information management features such as the ability to create and respond to meeting requests, contacts lookup and auto-complete.

The security features on the Nokia E75 allows users to handle security at different levels. Users can protect data on both the phone's internal memory and any microSD card by encryption. Users can also choose device lock and if the situation demands it, remote lock. 

“Today, mobile professionals need to be able to manage their business and personal life at any time” adds Nalappan “With the Nokia E75, users can choose between two home screens with stand-by views that can be easily customised. This feature enables users to switch between configurable homescreens i.e business and personal mode.

The device features a side slider qwerty keyboard for optimal email experience. Enjoy videos, music, and graphics on the 2.4” QVGA display and orientation sensor. Added to the Nokia Messaging service, the device comes with full Nokia Maps and assisted GPS with integrated 12-month license for turn-by-turn navigation, and a great gaming experience with N-Gage on board. With Ovi Files, also included on the Nokia E75, important files stored on a PC can be remotely managed and shared, even when your PC is switched off. Take photos with a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera. Additional features include USB charging with simultaneous data transfer, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, and USB 2.0 High-Speed.

The Nokia Music Store will also boast exclusive download rights for the Mnet Idols Season 5 winner track from Monday 4th May for 7 days.

"South Africans have waited a long time for a local store offering both international hits and local favourites," said Jake Larsen, Nokia's Head of Music for Middle East and Africa. "The Nokia Music Store caters for a variety of tastes and with just one account music lovers can access the store via any desktop computer or directly from optimised Nokia devices such as the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N96 and Nokia N95 8GB."

The store's intuitive user-interface makes downloading full-length tracks easy and offers options to create customised playlists and to add tracks on a wishlist that you can decide to buy later. Tracks purchased can also be transferred via your PC to compatible Nokia devices. The music collection can then simply be synchronised between the PC and a mobile using the Nokia music PC client available for download on the Nokia Music Store or from the product software CD available in the latest devices' sales packs.

Purchasing music made easy

Music on the Nokia Music Store can be purchased through a variety of payment options, including credit cards and pre-paid vouchers. Individual tracks cost R10 and an entire album can be purchased for R100. Customers to the store will also have the option to listen to a 30 second clip from any track on the store prior to purchasing.

Alignment with record labels and local artists

Ensuring the Nokia Music Store is kept up to date with the latest tracks Nokia has aligned globally and locally with major record labels such as Sony Music, Universal, EMI, Warner and local independents including African Cream, Coolspot, Sheer and Next Music. The store boasts a variety South African artists including rock bands The Narrow, Snotkop and Springbok Nude Girls, electronic acts Kalahari Surfers, Goldfish and Felix Laband, a full Afrikaans genre including the likes of Kurt Darren, Piet Botha and Karen Zoid, hip hoppers Prophets of da City, Judith Sephuma, kwaito guys Tzozo and Professor, MCs like Teba, and even traditional artists like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. South Africa is the 16th country to see a local launch of the Nokia Music Store. Most recently the store was launched in Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.