Nokia’s intention to compete in the Smartphone market by launching an array of devices will lead to a substantial and prolonged “upside” for the mobile giant.
Gus Papageorgiou, an analyst at Scotia Bank, said he believes Nokia is undervalued after hearing its CEO outline future growth plans.
Among the reasons for his optimism is the company’s aggressive plan to compete in the high-end Smartphone market, so far largely dominated by the rivalry between Research in Motion’s Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone.
Nokia is launching a range of new Smartphones and repositioning its image away from the hardware/”mobile phone” tag, by integrating services with its handsets to deliver web-enabled customer solutions.
“Although Nokia’s primary objective with this strategy is to differentiate its device portfolio, its secondary strategy is to derive a new revenue stream,” Mr Papageorgiou wrote after attending last week’s investor reception.
Beyond web repositioning, the company also re-aligned recruitment recently, hiring many business and technology staff with specific Internet and e-commerce skillsets.
The Scotia Bank analyst also pointed to strong fundamentals such as low production price-points, and very high volumes that play in favour of the Finnish manufacturer, especially on the middle-market segment.
Nokia’s N-series multimedia devices shipped close to 10 million units in the first quarter of 2008 alone.
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