Newkia’s Asia Phone in 2014

Newkia’s management team has over 50 years combined management experience solely in Asia. Newkia’s plans are to expand first in South East Asia and India. China is expected to be part of the plan later on. The company will primarily be focused on being an Asian company. The new Asia Phone will be released in second-half of 2014.

Google / The Nano Byte

China today has a cheap stock market, vibrant economy, a broadening industrial base and consistent political background. Expectations are that China will grow at a 10% rate this FY 2013. Shanghai Composite is up nearly 20 percent since last fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs is bullish that China’s outlook will be high. Expectations with domestic investors are still low. Local investors will play a critical role in determining market direction accounting for 80 percent turnover at China's two stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Overall, the Asian economy has been improving.

Android is a trusted leader in technologies. India is known for its IT professionals and talent pool. The market is driven by lower cost. According to IDC, the Indian smartphone market was taken over by Android from Apple by a significant margin of 90 percent first quarter of 2013. Samsung is a major competitor in the space with its affordable devices.

The Singapore-based company had capitalized from the sale of Nokia's devices business appointed its first CEO, Urpo Karjalainen, last month who is also a Nokia alumnae. In a statement released Wednesday, Newkia said Karjalainen also has been named the company's shareholder and founding partner as the "most accomplished mobile executive in Asia over the last 15 years", Newkia Chairman Thomas Zilliacus said: "Under Urpo's leadership, Asia became Nokia's largest and most profitable market... No other mobile executive in Asia has the contacts, reach, and credibility among Asia's mobile operators, distributors, and dealers that he has."

Nokia’s earliest product launches were developed in Helsinki, Finland, the remote Nordic region which is now called “Europe’s Silicon Valley”. Nokia mobile division was acquired by Microsoft last September for $7.2 billion. The acquisition ignited a slew of up and coming startups and new companies throughout the country of Finland.

Nokia’s product launches are impressive. The company recently announced it will be entering the phablet category with two new devices. Phablets are basically classified as smart devices with diagonal screen sizes between 5 and 7 inches. The company also announced its first tablet called the Lumia 2520. Three new devices were also launched which were Asha 500, 502 and 503 versions. Asha’s release date is still not known.

There were also concerns of potential market saturation in India. Newkia’s Target market are those buying the smartphones ages 15-45 years old. Newkia will face its challenges ahead such as time to getting to the market. The company will be actively looking for partnerships and acquisitions in order to speed the time to market.