The Hindu Business Line : Apple's i-Phone not a threat, says Nokia

As the i-Phone from the Apple stable gears up for its month-end launch, Nokia is rolling up its sleeves to launch a competing product in a few months from then.

Nokia's product would have some key `competitive' features — touch screen navigable menu for interaction, transparent handset body and provision to bend the handset in a way one would bend a sheet of metal, says a blueprint showcased.

"I knew we would be asked for comments on the i-Phone. For us, the i-Phone's input method (a touch screen navigable menu) is unimportant. We have phones that function on inputs from mobile pens, thumbs and fingers. But the key is to find an input mode that can provide effective communication,'' said Dr Tero Ojanpera, Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer, Nokia, at `Nokia Connections 2007', an event showcasing the company's latest offerings.

"We would like to have different technologies (medium of input and output) for different applications,'' he said, adding that Nokia was developing platforms to enable WiMax connectivity, despite the existence of its 3G network support. WiMax is considered a competitor to 3G technology.

When asked if Nokia saw Apple as a threat, Dr Henry Tirri, Head of System Research Centres, Nokia Research Centre, said Apple was a great design company.

"But the i-Phone does not even have GPRS. Where is the threat everybody is talking about?''

However, he said telecom companies and content providers had to have a "healthy paranoia'' about each other to sustain competition.