In a bid to find out more about HMD Global which took over the manufacturing of Nokia phones, we had a sit down with Gopher Ogembo who is the Senior Business Manager East Africa in HMD Global. This is what he had to say;
1. Tell us about yourself?
My name is Gopher Ogembo, The Senior Business Manager – East Africa – HMD Global. I have been working for HMD Global for almost 5 years. In my position, I oversee the entry of innovative phones by Nokia – HMD Global in the market. Mobile phones have become a basic part of our daily living. At HMD, we are delighted to avail phones that are smart, durable and at the best price point to assist our consumers in their daily living.
2. Nokia has a long and illustrious history of innovation in their mobile devices. Under HMD Global do we expect to see a continuation of this?
Nokia phones continue to evolve time and time again and include unique innovations. For example, we would like our consumers to have a great user experience on our devices without a worry of low battery. As such, even our most affordable phones like the Nokia C30 have big screens and a great battery life. We are continuously developing more products
that fit the evolving customer needs. Our focus remains to offer affordability at price point, reliability, durability, and security features to enable our consumers love, trust and want to keep devices for longer.
3. Back in the day, Nokia had a reputation of building durable/indestructible phones like the 3310. Is this still the case?
Yes. Since time immemorial, the Nokia phones have been synonymous with durability. The phones are made from high-quality materials that have a better resistance to drop and impact, fatigue, wear and scratch, thermal stress, moisture, and liquids.
According to Counterpoint Research, a global industry analysis firm headquartered in Asia and which specializes in product reviews especially technological gadgets confirms that Nokia phones undergo tougher tests than the industry average.
4. If so, what measures/tests does Nokia employ to ensure that the phones are durable?
The reliability testing mechanism conducted by Nokia on their phones include:
- A drop test – This is where a phone is dropped to test its capability to withstand outside pressure.
- A bend test – This is by applying pressure on the middle part to confirm whether the phone can be able to fold.
- A twist test – This is to confirm if the phone can be able to spiral.
- A tumble test – To check if the phone can survive when rotated continuously and abruptly.
- USB connector and power connector test – To confirm if they can withstand any pressure put forward by the user. In addition, confirms whether the ports are fully functional.
- IPX2 test – A test to confirm its waterproof system and the moisture content the phone can withstand. This is a dripping test to confirm if the phone can be able to withstand liquid droplets.
- Thermal shake test – This is to confirm the phone can be able to withstand varying temperatures.
5. How is the Nokia Brand mitigating the issues of hacking?
The Nokia Brand has improved security features, as well as security updates for two years. This ensures that your phone can be able to bypass these issues. We offer our consumers 2 years of security updates, ensuring that not only is their phone safe from malware attacks but that their data is safe.
6. What would you say is HMD Global’s competitive advantage?
Our competitive advantage is on our device’s durability, the security measures in place to protect our consumers as well as the software updates. Nokia devices are fashioned in a way that our consumers love them for the user experience they provide, trust them for the security they guarantee and want to keep them as they are durable phones for the long haul.
7. What are the future plans for the Nokia brand?
With our consumers in mind, we are continuously innovating and developing more products that fit the evolving customer needs. Our focus remains to offer affordability at price point, reliability, durability, and security features to enable our consumers to love trust and keep their devices for longer. Be on the look-out for more innovative products from HMD in the coming months.