Nokia Still Dominates Mobile Phone Market in Pakistan

Mobile phones, which were once considered a luxury good only indispensable for the rich have now become an essential part of our everyday lives. Mobile phones today represents modern infrastructure which is compulsory for the socio economic development of Pakistan.

According to statistics, more than 119 million mobile phone subscribers and a penetration rate passing 70% it is one of world’s fastest growing markets. Pakistan’s mobile phone industry is also following the same trend as mobile phone users are on the rise.

Nokia is the Finnish multinational corporation founded in 1871 and the largest vendor of mobile phones providing its services in more than 120 countries. It has a huge customer base around the world and has managed to dominate the mobile phone market in Pakistan for many years.

Nokia also holds the position of the world's largest digital camera manufacturer, as the sales of its camera-equipped mobile phones have exceeded those of any conventional camera manufacturer. In 2011, Nokia held 74% market share in Pakistan’s mobile market.

In 2012, Nokia faced a major setback and saw a huge decline in their market share from 74% to 40%. This can be attributed to the fact that Samsung, Apple, Q mobile have been giving Nokia extremely tough competition. With their innovative features, equitable prices and sleek designs competitors may have finally stolen Nokia’s spotlight and customer base permanently. The hype and demand for android technology which is incorporated in Samsung and HTC has also played an important role in changing the perception of people. Right now,in the mobile phone market Android technology is what represents what’s new in today’s world. This is what has made the customers more inclined to buy competitors’ cellphones.

Nokia is not taking this threat lightly, in 2011 Nokia struck a partnership with Microsoft. Now, their new range of smart phones are armed with windows phone operating system in order to fend off the ‘enemies’. A new range of latest Nokia mobiles in Pakistan is being expected to launch in the next coming few weeks. Nokia has also started catering to the needs of the have-nots with the introduction of eye catching designs which are powered by the latest technology at extremely reasonable prices. They have started taking segmentation of the mobile phone market extremely seriously and every loyal customer’s preference is the prime concern for Nokia. So, if people think that Nokia is going to go down without a fight, then everyone is in for a big surprise because Nokia is still considered the epitome of reliability in the cellphone market.

This is a guest post by Basit Rahman