Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Targets Emerging Markets: Kevin Nabipour

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s new Nokia 215 is aimed squarely at the emerging markets said Kevin Nabipour, senior vice president of content strategies at Allison & Partners in a discussion on CNBC.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has just launched the Nokia 215, now one of the world’s most affordable internet phone and the cheapest internet phone from the Nokia stable at $29. It comes with a 2.4-inch 240 x 320 pixels display, a 0.3 megapixel camera, 2GB of storage, Bluetooth and Stereo FM.

Interestingly, the phone does not have Wi-Fi so people are expected to use the GSM connectivity of the phone to access the internet. It does, however, have a 1,100 mAh battery which Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) says can last 29 days with the phone on standby.

The Nokia 215 also comes pre-installed with Facebook, Twitter, Messenger and Bing search.

According to Nabipour, the new Nokia phone is expected to come with the bare minimum viable features for a phone. However, it will be very game-changing in emerging markets such as in Africa and in some parts of Asia and Europe where more and more people are starting to access the internet.

The device, Nabipour notes, is decidedly not for the technology savvy but for people who are just beginning to be technology savvy.

Furthermore, he said that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is aiming for this phone to be the gateway phone for these first-time phone buyers into the Nokia ecosystem.

Microsoft closed its deal to buy Nokia in April last year, about 8 months after it announced that it will be acquiring the once-mighty Finnish phones manufacturer.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shareholders includes Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management which owned about 56.46 million shares in the company by the end of the third quarter.