New product marks Siemens aggressive strategy to consolidate regional position
January 22, 2003
In line with its strategy of consolidating its position as the second largest brand in the mobile phone market in the Middle East, Siemens has launched the A50, a compact and lightweight mobile phone that packs essential advanced features into a stylish product.
Weighing just 95 gms, the A50 targets the entry level market, combining basic features with hi-tech value additions such as extra long Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), extended standby time and talk-time as well as several fun features.
The launch of A50 forms part of our aggressive strategy to expand our base in the Middle East by unveiling a diverse range of mobile phones that cater to all tastes and budgets, said Asim Sukhera, head of Siemens Mobile Phones for the Middle East. As one of the leading players in the Middle East market, Siemens has the market knowledge, customer loyalty and leading edge technology to produce phones that make a real difference to consumers professional and personal life. Siemens is committed to providing the customers in the region mobile phones incorporating highly advanced and innovative features, based on their preferences. The A50 is a perfect example of how Siemens packs hi-tech features even into its basic models.
The launch of Siemens A50 comes at a time when the mobile phone market is headed for an unprecedented boom in the Middle East, with mobile phone subscribers outnumbering fixed land lines. According to recent market research figures, mobile phone subscribers, who crossed the 24 million mark at the end of 2002, have already overtaken fixed line subscribers of 23.35 million. The unprecedented growth is still continuing at a rapid pace, fuelled by liberalized telecom markets, more innovative services offered by service providers and the healthy competition among mobile phone manufacturers that have led to attractive pricing.
Siemens has gained a remarkable reputation for quality and innovation in the regions market, having provided the consumers with hi-tech products at affordable prices for several years, said Sukhera. The A50 builds on that tradition, by offering a phone that is compact, easy to handle and outstanding in looks, with all the essential features todays phone user will look for, in addition to the luxury of personalizing the phone through external additions or software downloads.
The new A50 offers extended standby time of 300 hours and talk time of five hours. It also comes with the facility of composing extra long SMS and EMS messages, complete with images and sounds, with the additional option to format and extend each message.
The advanced features include a WAP1.2.1 browser and access to the online community at www.my-siemens.com/city through which consumers can access a wide range of distinctive material, including bitmaps, screen savers and ringer melodies which can be downloaded.
The phone also incorporates the Calling Faces feature which allows the user to assign a face to each phone book entry, enabling him to identify the caller just by looking at the image. The A50 comes with six front and back exchangeable covers in fashionable colours from Siemens Original Accessories, enabling the user to give it his own distinctive look.
"The A50 is just one of Siemens new products designed to give us a competitive edge in a market that is becoming increasingly discerning when it comes to choosing mobile phones," added Sukhera. "By packing just the relevant type of technology, Siemens is providing a product that addresses itself to the requirements of a modern generation who wants great technology blended with external elegance."
"The Middle East market is due to witness a major spurt in demand for mobile phones in the next three years, going by the trends of the past few years. The regional market provides a huge growth potential as mobile phone subscribers constitute just about 8 per cent of the Arab population, compared to the world average of 17 per cent," said Sukhera "Siemens is aiming to grab a sizable share of this expanding market through our innovative new phones, including the A50, which offers unique features in its class."
The A50 comes with an exciting range of accessories, such as an MP3 Player, travel charger, headset, car charger, belt clip, leather case and a car kit portable device. It is available in two standard colours and is priced competitively within its class.
-Ends-
About Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (IC Mobile) Editors Note:
The Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (IC Mobile) offers the complete range of mobile solutions including mobile devices, infrastructure and applications. Devices include mobile phones, wireless modules, mobile organizers and cordless phones as well as products for wireless home networks. The infrastructure portfolio includes GSM, GPRS and 3G mobile network technologies from base stations and switching systems to intelligent networks, e.g. for prepaid services. Mobile Applications cover end-to-end solutions for Messaging, Location Based Services or Mobile Payment. For the fiscal year 2001 (September 30), IC Mobile recorded sales of EUR 11.3 billion (preliminary figures) and employed 30,730 people worldwide.
You can access further information about Siemens IC Mobile on the Internet at
http://www.siemens-mobile.com
Disclaimer
Any statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties; actual results may differ from the forward-looking statements. Siemens AG undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
For further information, please contact:
Fergi Varghese
Director - Corporate Communications
Siemens L.L.C. UAE
Sheikh Zayed Road
Al Moosa Tower 2, 21st Floor
Dubai - U.A.E
P.O Box 2154
Telephone: +971 4 331 9578
Fax: +971 4 331 9547
Mobile: +971 50 552 6186
Email: fergi.varghese@siemens.co.ae
© Press Release 2003
