Nokia turns 'desi' with Hindi SMS

NEW DELHI: In its effort to attract a wider Hindi driven Indian market segment - Nokia, a mobile handset provider, has launched its localization initiative - Saral Mobile Sandesh (SMS in Hindi).

"Hindi is the mother tongue for 43 percent of India's population and is first Indian language to be supported on Nokia's phones. Nokia's saral mobile sandesh brings the benefits of almost instant and affordable messaging to this large potential user base," explained Nokia Mobile Phones, India marketing head Sanjay Behl.

In its bid to enrich the lives of consumers by connecting them to a world of content and services in Hindi, the company has also launched a Hindi portal 'mera nokia'. The portal would provide news, thought of the day, astrology, jokes, wall papers and jokes. Nokia is partnering with service providers to make the content available through SMS and GPRS.

"Nokia is committed to bringing the ease of use to the Indian audience. This initiative combines product innovation with wide array of applications and services to deliver unmatched mobile experience to large sections of Indian consumers," Behl added.