Nokia Messaging Gets a Boost in South Africa

21 April 2010

Nokia today unveiled plans for the evolution of its consumer messaging service, Nokia Messaging, in South Africa. Previously available as a global Beta, today marked a key milestone in the commercial readiness of the Service, with the announcement of the first local operator deal.

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.

• Category: Services
• Tags: e63, messaging, e-mail