Nokia has introduced a range of new products, services and partnerships at the Mobile World Congress, setting the pace for 2012 and demonstrating rapid execution of its new strategic direction.

One of the largest technology trade shows in the world, the Mobile World Congress kicked off on Monday in Barcelona, Spain.

The new strategy already has resulted in the adoption of Windows Phone as Nokia’s primary smartphone platform, major changes to its feature phones, and additional emphasis on location-based services with launch of its Location & Commerce business.

'One year ago, we shared that Nokia was embarking on a new journey to build great mobile devices,' said Stephen Elop, president and CEO of Nokia.

“Today, with our fourth Lumia device, smarter mobile phones and an array of new services, we are demonstrating that we can change the clock speed of Nokia,” he remarked.

The announcements cap a year in which Nokia introduced the Lumia 710, 800 and 900 to critical acclaim and ahead of schedule.

The mobile giant on Monday launched three new Asha devices for people 'who want to work, learn and play' further blurring the line between feature phones and smartphones.

Developed for urban consumers and entrepreneurs, the Nokia Asha 302 is a premium Qwerty device. It delivers a mobile office experience with push email and calendar, and contacts synchronization under the Mail for Exchange support – a first for Nokia Series 40 devices.
 
Designed for easy access to social networks, the Nokia Asha 202 and 203 bring touchscreens to volume-priced products and a pack of 40 free Electronic Arts games.

The Asha 202 also features Nokia’s Easy Swap Dual SIM technology, allowing people to simply swap between tariffs and get the best value from carriers.

According to Elop, Nokia has ushered in a new era in high end smartphone imaging.

he Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature exclusive Nokia PureView imaging technologies that will enable a range of high-end imaging experiences into Nokia products over the coming years.

The Nokia 808 PureView combines a large, high-resolution 41-megapixel sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed pixel over-sampling technology.

This means incredibly sharp, detailed images, superior low light performance and the capability to save images in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS and on social networks.

Nokia is also differentiating itself by updating its popular Life Tools service, now called Nokia Life, that provides life-enhancing information across the range of Nokia Series 30 and Series 40 products, including the new Asha 202 and Asha 203.

People in India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria will benefit from life skills, parenting, education, agriculture and entertainment services, delivered via SMS.

The new Asha devices complement the Nokia Asha range that is available now in more than 100 markets globally.

In location-based services, Nokia and Groupon plan to offer market-leading location-sensitive discounts and deals, said Elop.

'Nokia is also announcing a new version of Nokia Drive for Windows Phone that will come with full offline support for turn-by-turn navigation. Moving forward, Nokia Drive will also remember a personal commute, give advance traffic notice and automatically re-route to avoid jams,'he noted.

'Additionally, we plan to release the Windows Phone version of Nokia Transport for door-to-door, underground, tram, suburban train, and bus directions in more than 500 cities and 45 countries,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service