Nokia plans laptop market entry

The rumors of Nokia’s entry into the world of PCs have been around for sometime now.

But the first official comment on this matter comes from the Chief Executive of Nokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

“We are looking very actively also at this opportunity,” Kallasvuo said, when asked whether Nokia plans to make laptops.

“We don’t have to look even for 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,” Kallasvuo said.

“Today we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first Internet experience on the phone. This is a good indication,” he added.

The announcement from Nokia come three weeks after the No. 3 PC brand Acer launched eight new cell phone models cruising its way in the mobile business world and now joining the leader HP and No.4 Lenovo.

“Nokia maybe nervous about entering a market segment that is already heavily commoditized, but it would be in a position to exploit its enormous scale in manufacturing, supply chain and distribution,” said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight.

“All leading mobile network operators and retailers are adding connected notebooks and netbooks to their portfolios alongside mobile phones. On this basis it comes as no surprise that Nokia is evaluating this segment,” he concluded.

This could well confirm an ongoing trend for major companies to expand their product portfolio with the addition of some different products.

In September 2008, an impressive concept OLED laptop from Nokia, featured a laptop designed like a scroll with a flexible OLED screen.

The OLED screen allows for a wide viewing angle, low power usage, and a high contrast ratio. The Nokia concept OLED laptop is voice activated.

The global PC industry was resilient for most of 2008 when other technology sectors were ailing, but it too has now been caught up in the deepening economic downturn that has hit demand from consumers and corporate buyers.