BEIJING, China – Today sees the introduction of Ovi Life Tools in China with mobile content covering health care, agriculture, education and entertainment. The service, which uses SMS to deliver content to users daily, is available from today on the Nokia 1616 and Nokia 1800. The recently announced devices are designed to be affordable yet packed with features.

Ovi Life Tools brings good quality affordable and locally relevant information to rural users. Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools now boasts over 1.5 million subscribers across India and Indonesia, where it’s been available since its official launch last year. Expanding the service to China is sure to see a big uplift in users.

For many living in rural communities, experiencing the internet happens for the first time on a mobile phone. Whilst in the west we might squabble over screen size or the type of browser we have access to, for rural users in emerging markets, the internet is simply about having access to information. In many parts of the world where Ovi Life Tools exist, people don’t get access to newspapers, TV or radio. Accessing information such as the latest crop prices, or educational information to help kids learn is hugely valuable.

One of Ovi Life Tool’s key strengths is its delivery of locally relevant information. In both India and Indonesia, this has been a key driver of the rapidly increasing subscriber numbers. In China, users will be able to access the service on a subscription basis, or pay as they go, making the service easy and affordable to access for a wide range of potential users.

We’ve written before about innovation on Nokia Conversations. Whilst many of us might view innovation as being about creating the latest smart phone, for Nokia it means so much more. Expanding the internet to a wider group of people, with services that are tailored and relevant to them, delivered through devices that are affordable, is innovation that matters.

Read more about Ovi Life Tools in China on the Chinese edition of Nokia Conversations.