One of Nokia's less smooth launches saw it seemingly uncertain about how many phones it is launching today, and indeed what their names are. But when the smoke cleared, it seems the vendor had announced two new phones – the E55 and the E75.
Nokia also announced a new applications store, called the OviStore, and that it has opened up the store to content partners and developers already.
But attendees at the press conference were left wondering if Nokia was keeping its powder dry, as its host Doug Lawson invited us to visit the company's stand at MWC to see the "four phones we have launched today….er… the two phones Kai [Ostamo] has launched today.
All became clearer when Nokia separately released details of two GPS enabled phones, the Nokia 6710 Navigator and the Nokia 6720 classic. Why they didn't mention these at the press conference is something of a mystery, but they didn't.
Earlier, Ostamo himself somewhat took the gloss off his big moment by announcing the E75 in the following style.
"So in 2004 we introduced the 9300, the worlds first mini-Commnicator. Now, with our new arrival, we have done it again…with the new Nokia N97, N95, er sorry, the New Nokia E75."
Ostamo said that E75 includes Nokia Messaging at no extra cost, as well as a qwerty tap-board and full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. "It's going to be a winner, and introduce mobile email to a whole new generation," he said.
"120 operators and large retailers have already decided to range it. Tte E75 will be shipping next month [March 2009] and will be available at a RRP of €375."
Nokia's E55 is aimed at a slightly lower end of the market, at €265, and is "the first device with a compact QWERTY keyboard.
Introducing the extra elements to Ovi, Niklas Savander said that the company is betting on "social location playing a key part in all of our services going forward".
With this is mind, Nokia is going to add recommendations and location to the applications and content it offers to users.
"We believe this is the next wave of mobile services. We are catering to users' unanticipated needs based on where they are and their personal network. The consumption of digital services in a mobile context is different. Experiences on mobile need to be faster, easier, more intuitive and most importantly to anticipate needs by blending a variety of services and content, based on the context of who you are with and where you are. Tolerance for irrelevant content is approaching zero.
"This need for relevance is a great business opportunity. And we are introducing the OviStore, which adds the social location dimension to the experience. What is it OviStore has and others don't? It enables personalisation features, learning your habits and taste to anticipate what you will want to experience."
Nokia also announced publish.ovi.com, for developers, and said after the operators had taken their cut, Nokia will be offeringa "competitive" revenue share of 70% to the developer.
"For mobile operators, developers, and content providers this is a great business opportunity," he added.
But Nokia's own fanbase seemed a little under-whelmed by the flagship press conference. On Nokia's own chat discussion online, fans were disappointed that Nokia only announced two E series phones. Comments included: "Oh this sucks" "That's it?" "Disappointing" "No Nseries?" and many others.
But with the slip at the end hinting at more phones, there is perhaps more to look forward to for those who are not excited by app stores, operator business cases and content revenues share models.