25 September 2007
Addis Ababa — Mobile phone giant Nokia on Thursday launched the first handsets to feature Amharic.
The mobile phones were launched at a workshop Nokia organized for Ethiopian media professionals to educate and inform them about the company.
A Nokia team on a business visit here conducted the workshop which focused on the history of Nokia, the Telecommunication services and the company's vision for the East African region.
The event also marked also marked Nokia's first official product introduction in Ethiopia with the announcement of its authorized Nokia distributor, Glorious PLC.
The new products announced at the event are the Nokia 1200, 1208, 1650, 2630 and 2760, which all have industry-leading features and applications specifically designed for markets such as Ethiopia.
"I think that 'localization' is the key word at this event," says Labuszewski, area manger for Nokia in East Africa.
"Nokia is world renowned for being the global leader in mobile phones, but it is only through understanding and tailoring products for local consumers that we have managed to achieve this.
Labuszewski noted that Nokia was not only launching five new devices, but all five are equipped with an industry first in the Amharic keypad, as well.
Nokia is also gearing its local operations with a new distributor and customer care center, Labuszewski indicated.
All handsets purchased from the authorized distributor and retailers in Ethiopia carry a 12 month warranty.
Nokia is the first handset manufacturer to launch local languages in countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique.
The launch of the Amharic-based devices will further enhance the convenience for the Ethiopian market.
"We have seen the benefits of adding local languages across the continent and we expect similar results here in Ethiopia," the manager said.
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