Nokia plans to rampage into PC business


26 Feb 2009

The world’s biggest mobile manufacturer Nokia is considering entering the laptop business. Comments made by CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo on Finnish TV indicate a middle ground between the PC and the mobile phone.

While Nokia is reeling from the international recession and, in recent weeks, announced a restructuring plan, the company is still enjoying considerable success with new devices such as the 5800 XpressMusic device (pictured), one million of which have been sold worldwide.

However, the stunning success of ultra-mobile notebooks, or netbooks, has caught the attention of Kallasvuo, who confirmed the company is actively looking at the opportunity.

Explosive demand for mini-notebooks, or netbooks, fuelled by the back-to-school season and aggressive channel sales by telecoms operators, resulted in 3.6 million units being shipped in the run-up to Christmas across the EMEA region.

Netbooks now account for 20pc of total portable PC sales and 30pc of consumer portables in EMEA in the fourth quarter, according to industry analyst IDC.

While there have been rumours of Nokia potentially entering the PC business, Kallasvuo’s recent comments are the first official line on the matter.

“We don’t have to look even at five years from now to see that what we know as a cell phone and what we know as a PC are in many ways converging.

“Today, we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first internet experience on the phone, and this is a good indication,” Kallasvuo said on Finnish national broadcaster YLE.

By John Kennedy

Pictured: the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone