Nokia opens design centre in India

Mumbai: Mobile phone leader Nokia has opened its first satellite design studio in Bangalore, signalling the growing importance of the Indian market.

The studio will be run by a team of Nokia designers working with students at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology and established designers across India.

Finland-based Nokia, the world''s biggest mobile handset maker, said the studio, the company''s first anywhere in the world, will explore a range of design trends and themes, including detailed research into colour and material trends in India.

It will also study use of mobiles for internet in India and its implications for design, and examine innovative new features and uses for mobiles.

The satellite studio will work on new design ideas for India as well as the global markets. It will also be a key destination for Nokia''s global team to visit to share ideas and be inspired, company officials told a press conference.

Nokia has more than 300 designers globally. It did not disclose financial details of the Indian design facility.

Nokia said it expects India, the world''s fastest-growing mobile market, to jump up one place and become its second-largest market by volume by 2010, or even sooner.

Nokia had shipped 25 million handsets as of December 2006 from its factory near Chennai in southern India, with 80 per cent of production sold in the domestic market.