20 January 2008

Interview
Anssi Vanjoki - EVP of multimedia, Nokia

Nokia is changing from a pure hardware company to one that’s converging entertainment, computing and mobile communications. Tim Green talked to the man driving the switch, Nokia’s Executive VP of Multimedia Anssi Vanjoki.

As Executive Vice President and General Manager of Multimedia, Nokia, Anssi Vanjoki heads a business group that is responsible for developing Nokia Nseries multimedia computers and associated experiences and services.

This fast growing segment of consumer electronics will shape our lives in a fundamental way.

A highly respected brand authority with over 25 years of marketing experience, Anssi has been a driving force in Nokia's efforts to address the mobile markets. His work has focused on developing Nokia's brand durability, loyalty and continuity, while, at the same time, advancing Nokia's vision of a mobile world.

You’ve been with Nokia since 1991. When did you first become aware of the potential of mobile to be more than simply a voice device?

Well, in 1994 we launched the 2110, which was the first phone to ship with the Nokia Tune on it. It’s fair to say we saw it as a gimmick at first, but three years later in 1997, we worked with Intel to introduce ‘Narrowband Sockets’, which enabled software developers to create SMS messaging applications as well as ringtone and menu item downloads. At that point we started to see the potential of the phone to be a programmable computer.

And when did the concept of the Nseries first take root?

In 2001, with the launch of the 7650. This was probably the first genuine smartphone, and it set us thinking about a separate brand for what we came to know as multimedia computers. That was, of course, the Nseries, which we launched in 2005.

Nseries has been very successful…

Yes, we’ve shipped 50 million in around two and a half years and every month we set a new record for sales. It’s tangible evidence that this is what the market wants.

Obviously, the Nseries range is closely bound up with Nokia’s new Ovi services. But Nokia made various attempts to enter the mobile services space before. What is your view of these launches now?

There were major issues around Nokia Entertainment Service, which we launched in 2001. It was too early in terms of the network – at that time GPRS wasn’t widespread – and the price point was just too high because of data charges.

The full review can be found at

.:[ Mobile-ent ]:.