Nokia got together with a select group of media people last January 15 in a combination launch and round-table discussion. It was centered on Ovi, Nokia’s consumer brand for Internet services that is meant to connect the PC, phone, the internet, and thus the user him/herself to an interconnected web wherein information is easy to access and manage.

                                             The Ovi launch was held at Makati Shangri-La.

That’s the official by-line anyway, but the event was conducted at a much higher level – still centered on Ovi, the round table discussion touched upon topics such as mobile internet’s relevance in a recession-prone economy, GPS-assisted Maps as the next “transition” application after the virtual wildfire that was SMS, co-existence of SMS and Email, and finally the role Ovi will play in the upcoming spread of internet on the cellphone brought about by the legions of customers that form Nokia’s vast user base.

                                            William Hamilton Whyte, Nokia Philippines General Manager in an interview prior to the round table discussion.

Expounding on Ovi itself, we can describe this Nokia product simply as a means to convenient connectivity – seeing as a huge majority of the Philippine population is already using cellphones, Nokia wants to bring to the table a way to expand these cellphone user’s flexibility, especially in terms of movement of data.The Ovi services include:

Contacts & Calendar – a pretty self-explanatory service and similar to your trusty pen-and-paper scheduler, but with the main difference being the availability of your data as long as you have your cellphone with you. Storing your data on Ovi’s servers also give you the advantage of easy access anywhere you can connect to the net.

Share on Ovi – sharing in fast-forward, Ovi makes it easy to upload, upload and archive your pictures and videos. Similar to Flickr and similar online sites, Share on Ovi can be accessed from anywhere through the ‘net.

Mail on Ovi – as the name says, Ovi also has a service that offers e-mail service in the same way yahoo or gmail does, with the same email address arrangement as other online-based email services.

Files on Ovi – a smart service that enables access to files on your home computer, even when said computer is turned off. Files on Ovi work by synchronizing folders and files that are made available by the user for replication on Ovi’s secure online storage.

Nokia is probing ahead in the local market after considering the unique combination of a large user base and a relatively thrifty attitude amongst the buyers borne out of years of only needing SMS and infrequent voice calls for their “essential cellphone experience”. And yes, that was meant somewhat sarcastically – most local cellphone users are frankly missing out on a lot. Nokia aims to change this manner of cellphone usage by positioning their cellphones, but more importantly the integrated connectivity services that is Ovi, into the hands of many, many customers by relying on sheer accessibility and convenience.

                                             Nokia 1680 Classic with email functionality at a low price.

A very valid point was made during the discussion, one pertaining to the fact that many local cellphone users are novices when it comes to taking advantage of internet connectivity. The most basic example of this is email, and it is at this basic point that Nokia wants to expand towards. To this effect, one of Nokia’s newest offerings, the 1680 Classic, will be offering email capability, a capability perfectly situated to take advantage of the concurrent push for Ovi availability. Nokia sees email as offering the same convenience as SMS does, but with the added benefits of online caching, instant access from any internet-connected platform, and international reach.

                                             Additional features such as Maps, above, plus games and music in one place define the Ovi experience.

The same level of acceptance reached by SMS may prove to be a somewhat daunting target for email as long as local service providers refuse to offer a more flexible data-service plan, instead of the currently available per - 15 minute or per- half hour data connection chunks.

                                            Mr Whyte showing off a 5800 Xpress Music phone.

When this breakthrough is reached, then email, as well as the other online services inherent to cheap and extensive connectivity can finally become a viable efficiency tool in the form of instant communication, connectivity and access – a situation where Nokia intends to position Ovi services, a perfectly placed tool just waiting for enough acceptance from one of the biggest installed user bases in the world, the Philippines. With the Ovi Launch, Nokia is putting into motion a grand plan to boot the Philippines into a near future where internet connectivity and all its advantages can become as taken-for-granted as SMS is.