Saudi Gazette

DUBAI — Nokia is attempting to re-invent the way millennials take selfies by introducing front and rear-facing cameras to take both shots simultaneously in a split screen, calling it the "Bothie".

Innovating the way content creators use their smartphones will allow them to have a strong comeback in the market, according to Nokia officials.

"Nokia's goal is to become one of the top three smartphones in the world in the upcoming years," HMD Global’s regional head of marketing Devasish Auddy told reporters during the Nokia 8 launch here.

The Nokia 8’s retail price is cheaper that the world’s competitive smartphones and is mainly targeting millennials and bloggers to make their experience in sharing and producing content more innovative.

Its features combine high performance and a boost in video and audio, such as its Dual-Sight video, OZO immersive audio technology, a high-resolution 5.3-inch screen and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform.

The company aims to focus on solving consumer’s problems and deliver a high-quality experience for creative content, its product manager told Saudi Gazette.

The “bothie” is the latest flagship’s signature feature, enabling users to shoot video and photos front and back for an optimum all-round experience. In addition, the OZO spatial 360° audio brings a fully immersive audio experience to 4K video.

Asked about why Nokia declined from the smartphone market in the past decade, Nokia doesn't want to repeat the same mistake again and one factor it is taking in consideration is Android, HMD Global officials said.

“One factor was not adopting Android in the past. Now, Nokia delivers the strongest and safest Android experience,” said Per Ekman, vice president of HMD Middle East and North Africa. The device has monthly security updates and biometric fingerprint authentication.

“Its business model of partnerships is what promises to deliver this goal,” he added.

HMD Global aims to bring back Nokia as a leader in the smartphone market again. In the last 8 months, the company has launched 8 devices.

The Saudi market is extremely important for Nokia, executives said, but declined to comment on market share in Saudi Arabia.

“Visual-led social media platforms are growing rapidly in the region and it is no secret that many of these social media experiences are coming to life through mobile,” said Ekman. “With the Nokia 8, we are delighted to introduce technologies that go hand in hand with the MENA consumer’s insatiable appetite for content creation and sharing, to bring genuine value to this new digital era.”

The Nokia 8 will be available in Saudi Arabia starting Sept. 24.