AMMAN, Jordan – Experts predict global mobile phone sales to hit 4 billion by 2010, up from 3 billion today. With a quarter of those new connections coming from the Middle East, it’s no surprise to hear about Nokia’s new office in Amman Jordan.
That said, opening a new office isn’t about selling more phones, it’s about doing more for local users.
I have no idea what it takes to make phones that are as applicable to someone in the middle east as they are to someone in Alaska, but it’s something Nokia seems to be a bit good at. Increasingly though, it seems the secret to this success means having a solid presence in local markets, ensuring they’re properly catered for and innovation is enabled and encouraged.
We wrote recently about how Nokia’s approach in the US is changing in order to better serve customers over there. Now we’re seeing the same thing in the Middle East and ultimately it’s the users there who are going to benefit, by having devices that work just as they want them to, with services that are genuinely useful.
AMEinfo.com says the move “reinforces Nokia’s commitment to the Levant region”. And we couldn’t agree more. Nokia’s man on the ground in Jordan, Haisam Jamal, General Manager for Nokia Levant, says the move
“marks an important step forward for Nokia’s operations in Jordan”.
Local offices aren’t just a one way street either. We’re excited to see what kind of innovation we might see coming out of the Middle East that’ll feed back to the rest of the world. The open nature of Nokia development, where ideas are fostered with the best ones being rolled out for the masses to benefit, makes it relatively easy for this to happen. And we reckon that’s a good thing.
Do you live in the Levant? What would you like to see from Nokia there?
Photo of Amman, Jordan by josholalia