Nokia PH Welcomes New General Manager; Launches Premium Apps & Carrier Billing

January 23 14:57 2012 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

Mr. Dharmesh Goshalia – General Manager, Nokia Philippines

Nokia sure has been busy lately haven’t they? They’ve recently introduced a well-accepted Nokia Lumia 900 (4.3” Windows Phone 7) at CES last week, and they brought out the Lumia 800 / 710 and N9 late last year as well. Their local counterpart has also been blazing their own trails: at a recent Nokia media event, it was announced that a Mr. Dharmesh Goshalia will be taking the General Manager reigns of Nokia Philippines, as well as formally introducing the first manufacturer-based carrier billing in the Philippines – which would finally introduce premium (paid) apps to the Nokia (Ovi) Philippine App Marketplaces.

Mr. Goshalia, or Gosh to his colleagues, will be taking on the General Manager position here in the Philippines, having been a 6 year veteran with Nokia and bringing with him a total of 16 years experience in the telecom industry. Hopefully with Mr. Goshalia at the helm, we’ll be seeing Nokia’s Philippine chapter advance even more in our local landscapes. And with what better way to start than by finally bringing in a pioneering feature when it comes to local mobile app purchasing systems – carrier billing. Otherwise known as the capability to buy premium apps and games through your carrier’s credits and/or bills.

Another satisfied Nokia N9 user! =)

With the aforementioned carrier billing capability, the already huge amount of Nokia’s Symbian / S40 / Maemo / Meego users in the Philippines will finally be able to experience premium (paid) apps – a luxury that has been exclusive to iOS and Androids thus far – albeit requiring a form of online payment like credit cards. Nokia’s version of the payment system will effectively let anyone pay for their apps through either their bills on postpaid, or through their prepaid credits. This, we think, is a unique advantage for Nokia users since there’s still a vast majority of us who as of yet do not have any forms of electronic payment. The service is currently available for Globe subscribers, with Smart slated to be following soon after.

Finally, we asked around for some extra information about their Nokia Windows Phone devices, which are already out in some parts of the world. It turns out that the arrival of Nokia’s Lumia line is targeted to happen around the second quarter of this year. (Apr-June) Specific handsets are not yet decided, but we’re pretty sure the Lumia 800 & 710 will be brought in, with a slight chance for us to see the Lumia 900 as well. (If you’re interested, you can check out our unboxing of the Nokia Lumia 800 here.)

So if you’re a current Nokia owner, check out the Ovi/Nokia store right now. You should finally be able to see premium apps for sale in Philippine Pesos and actually start buying the apps you’ve been eyeing since you got your phone. Just make sure to save some of the load so you can still be able to call & text. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

For more pictures of the event, check out the gallery below.