Nokia music is expanding. The service is launching in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, following the recent release in Indonesia. That's not all as Nokia is also taking its music service to new hardware. We're not talking about phones or handheld devices, but vehicles. The company is pushing hard for market penetration, as well as setting out on new ventures.
Nokia Entertainments VP, Jyrki Rosenburg explained that the above countries are important markets, "and with Indonesia it’s quite a significant expansion in the south-east Asia Pacific region for us. We definitely feel that we have a strong time-to-market advantage here: an out-of-the-box click-to-play music service that’s free with no ads or registration." The launches include the premium Nokia Music+ service.
The reason for the expansion into Asia is to grab the market and establish itself in markets where rivals, including Pandora and iTunes, have yet to launch.
"We have recognised the importance of music for consumers in these markets. South Africa is another example where we’ve been there for several years already, and some of the major players are not there. Places like China and India are very important for us, and we’ve made great progress there. And now we have the music service for our Asha range of devices in Russia too."
Drop the beat... in your car
Nokia already has an interest in vehicles with HERE Auto, working with car manufacturers to provide improved services and navigation experiences to drivers. Music is also a fairly important part of driving for many (especially on those long, tedious journeys) and so Nokia will be looking to add its mixes with the radio-like experience. Who wants to dig through playlists anyway?
"You want to click play and hope to get a mix that fits your personality, taste, profile and possibly your mood and the context you’re in, like the Monday-morning rush hour. We have made our service even more simple for cars – the tiles are bigger and there’s less choices to make – but when you give less choices, that’s when the requirement for personalisation increases. 90% of people just want to just click ‘play’ and get a great mix of music that they love."
If you're a fan of what Nokia is doing with automobiles, be sure to keep an eye out for more progress on its music service.
Source: Musically
