Boy, what a year! The year 2012 was witness to some of the most important products in Nokia’s history. We expanded the family of Lumia phones, introduced PureView imaging, and launched the world’s most innovative smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8.

“I’m pleased and proud of our efforts,” says Chris Weber, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Nokia. “I think we’ve created great excitement and buzz with consumers and credibility with our customers and partners. In 2013, we need to build on that, both with current devices and as we broaden our portfolio.”

We sat down with the energetic executive at the CES 2013 expo to have a chat about where Nokia is today and the path we’re on.

It’s all about the experience

“Creating ‘Wow’ experiences for consumers is what matters—we’re off to a good start, but there’s more work to be done,” he says.

So, what are ‘Wow’ experiences? It can be the advanced PureView camera that delivers amazing low-light performance but also additive and ingenious additions such as Cinemagraph or Photobeamer or something as basic as being able to use your smartphone with your gloves on. We can’t forget hassle-free wireless charging or Nokia Music, which delivers free streaming without ads or the need to sign up. 

And then there are maps and location along with associated apps such as Nokia Transit, City Lens, and Nokia Drive.

“I am extremely proud of the work we are doing in this space; it speaks to our legacy strength,” says Weber. “In 2012, maps truly came to the forefront of people’s attention, and in 2013, I expect to see maps take a great leap forward.”

“We need to keep up the momentum, keep it going. When we talk to consumers and to retail professionals, we get very positive feedback,” says Weber. “If you deliver great experiences to the consumer, those things will win the day for you.”

Win hearts and minds

Where is the industry headed? According to Weber, “connected” is the keyword. It’s about taking those great experiences across all devices: computers, tablets, and televisions. That’s a clear technology trend.

That said, there are some fundamentals that remain the same, and it’s actually pretty simple: “If you win over the hearts and minds of the consumers, all other things will take care of themselves,” says Weber.

He makes it clear that Nokia is not going to focus solely on playing the spec game. “Hardware specifications have no value to the consumer,” says Weber. “We are looking at this differently. We want to create unique experiences—things that excite people—things they never imagined possible.”

As an example, Weber brings up the topic of the connected camera, which is currently receiving a great deal of attention here at the CES 2013 expo. “We’ve got the greatest connected camera on the planet. Guess what? It’s called the Nokia Lumia 920. In low light, it does more than any other smartphone out there.“

“It fits perfectly with the trends that consumers want to tap into,” he says.

We’ll continue to innovate

But that doesn’t mean that Nokia is content or is slowing down in any way. As Weber keeps pointing out, there’s still much work to be done.

“We’ve made great progress on the application front, especially with top apps. But if you ask where we would need to improve, we need to continue to focus on that and to grow the ecosystem.”

Nokia will continue to innovate while continuing to add value, new functionality, and capabilities to current users.

“We’ll continue to bring the Nokia secret sauce,” Weber concludes.

Don’t forget we’re giving away 10 Nokia PowerUps this week – just tweet with #NokiaPoweredMeUp to be one of our two daily winners!