Nokia has launched a new tri-band, general packet radio service (GPRS) phone in Asia aimed at the growing youth market in the region. The mid-range Nokia 3610 was unveiled yesterday at the ELE/Expo Comm in Shanghai. Nokia Asia-Pacific senior vice-president Robert Andersson said: 'Consumer trends show a significant growth of the youth market in Asia over the next two years, indicating also a demand for shorter product cycles for youths who are more trend-conscious and keen to have the latest and newest devices.' Colin Giles, Nokia's general manager for marketing in China, said the stylish design, games and 3D screen savers on the phone were geared towards a younger user. The phone features removable covers, colour display, polyphonic ring tones and a back-lit keypad. 'The trend that we wanted to catch is the retro, pop-art look that is coming back, along with the transparency that is popular,' said Nokia designer Todd Wood, who spearheaded the team that developed the 3610. Users can also send short text messages and create graphics with a picture editor application. Nokia also hopes the new phone will cash in on the exposure the company gets by providing devices for the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report. The 3610 handset supports WAP 1.2.1, with 96x65 display resolution. It has enhanced features for Chinese users, including a lunar calendar that notes Chinese festival days, an improved Chinese phone book and Pinyin predictive input. The handset was developed at Nokia's Product Creation Centre in Beijing and will be available for sale during the third quarter of this year. It is expected to sell on the mainland for 1,700 yuan (about HK$1,593), placing it at the lower end of the mid-range of Nokia phones. Mr Andersson said Asia was the fastest growing region for Nokia, accounting for 26 per cent of the company's 31.2 billion euros (about HK$236.21 billion) in mobile revenues, and China was the second-largest market after the US.
