Distributors unveil new range of Nokia mobile phones

Classic Cellular Limited (CCL), international distributors of Nokia mobile phones, on Thursday unveiled the latest range of its state-of-the-art telephones designed to enhance business while offering entertainment as well.

The products are Nokia '9210' and '8310', introduced onto the Ghanaian market by CCL, headed by Mr Herbert Mensah, a businessman and sports administrator. A third product - Nokia '5510'- that was also exhibited at the launch is not yet on the market worldwide.

All three kinds provide a myriad of existing and planned web-based services as well as tools for business communication just as a mini computer does. "Forgetting any of these brands at home is like losing your head," says Ari Valavaara, Area Manager in charge of export sales for Europe, Africa and the Gulf.

In addition to the shared features, the versatile 1,000 dollars (7 million cedis) '9210' range, known as "modern office" has added tools including high speed, super navigation, synchronisation of calendar and most importantly, carries a 16 megabyte memory "thereby eliminating suitcase."

The trendy '8310' offers variety of colour faces as desired by the user and comes with an in-built FM radio that mutes automatically when there is an incoming call. The telephone also offers a web-based information access without a dial-up and accommodates up to 20 preset radio channels.

It weighs 84 grams and has eight hours of operating power time with the radio on and also offers other standard services including Internet accessibility as well as voice recording and playback. Its cost ranges between 4.2 million cedis and 4.5 million cedis.

The 2.5 million cedis '5510' is uniquely shaped and has its keypad well spaced. It also has facilities for Internet, e-mail, voice calls, among other things.

Launching the products, Mr Felix Owusu-Agyepong, Minister of Communications and Technology, lauded the distributing firm for turning with the fast changing times, thereby facilitating Ghana's level of participation in the global cellular phone craze.

However, they must provide after sales support services to customers to enable them to reap the full potential of the products. Some 210,000 people in Ghana use mobile phones as against 230,000 fixed line customers.

At the launch were operators in the Ghanaian IT industry including Chief Executive Officers of Ghana Telecom, Scancom, operators of Spacefon, Millicom Ghana Limited and Network Computer Systems, Ghana's first Internet service provider.