As Nokia Conversations explains, Nokia Connection is a regional event:
Nokia Connection is our exclusive mobile industry showcase for the South-East Asia Pacific market, and the perfect way to share Nokia’s latest mobile technologies, innovation and products with our customers, partners, developers, operators and media across the region.
However, Nokia Connection is also sometimes the venue for the global launch of new products and services. For example, last year the Nokia X5-01 was announced at the event. This year, given the speaker line up, it seems likely that Nokia will announce new Mobile Phone (Series 40) products. Nokia is expected to give more details on its future strategy for Mobile Phones, which it has previously said will result in an increased investment in this category.
On top of this it is also looking increasingly likely that Nokia's promised MeeGo/Hartmattan device may also be announced. The @WeAreMeeGo Twitter account recently returned to life ('rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated') and various sites are reporting that Nokia has sent out invitations about a market disrupting device, a term previously applied to Nokia's MeeGo strategy. In the context of Nokia's Windows Phone strategy, such a device will have a secondary role and may be a one-off. As such, it will be interesting to see how Nokia presents and positions the device.
While Nokia is not expected to launch a Windows Phone device (that will happen Q4 at the earliest), Stephen Elop, Nokia's CEO, is expected to give more details on Nokia's partnership with Microsoft and the ecosystem they are aiming to build together.
Nokia Connection keynote schedule
The Nokia Connection keynotes start at 10am Singapore time (3am UK time, 4am CEST, 5am EEST, Monday 10pm EDT, Monday 7pm PDT). The event will be streamed live, but for those that miss it or are asleep, a recorded version will be available for later playback.
The schedule of speakers includes:
- Neil Gordon, Vice President, Sales SEAP, will introduce Nokia Connection
- Stephen Elop, CEO, will give an overview of Nokia's new strategy, the resulting ecosystem and the importance of the South East Asia Pacific market in the new strategy. He will also set the stage for a number of product and service launches.
- Mary McDowell, Executive Vice President Mobile Phone, will cover Nokia's strategy around Mobile Phone, including the global launch of a number of services and devices.
- Marco Argenti, Senior Vice President Developer and Marketplace, will discuss what the new ecosystem means for Nokia and what are the global plans for developers and apps.
- Marki Ahtisaari, Senior Vice President Design, will discuss Nokia's design strategy and the principles behind innovative new smartphones.