Nokia E62 Gets Warner Bros. Content
In an era that was supposed to have been defined by high-definition content -- at least, according to plan -- it is low-definition deals that are at the center of attention this day.
Not to be outdone by Apple and Disney agreeing to make Disney studios' movies available through iTunes, Warner Bros. today announced an agreement with mobile phone producer Nokia to make Warner and affiliated studios' content available through Nokia handsets' built-in portal, called Content Discoverer.
Introduced last June, the Discoverer feature was developed to hard-wire Nokia's revenue stream from content providers that want prominent position on customer equipment. At the time of introduction, Nokia announced its platform would include prominent placement for such providers as Jamster, whose corporate parent, VeriSign, just today announced it would be sold to Fox parent News Corp.
Today, Nokia sweetened the pot for Warner by announcing the release of the E62, a low-cost, color-screen, wireless e-mail, EDGE handset. The device features the S60 interface, a Symbian-based product that Nokia says reaches over 20 million customers worldwide. The E62's suggested US sales price will be $149.99 USD, and will for now only be sold through Cingular Wireless.
As the US version of the existing E61 already popular in Europe, the E62 features a 320 x 200 screen and a full, backlit QWERTY keyboard.
It could become the lowest priced alternative yet to the popular BlackBerry. Unlike the Research in Motion design, the E62 will make use of Cingular's EDGE network for high-speed wireless services. Good Technology -- the company that gambled on Research in Motion losing its patent case, and which lost that bet -- will be using Nokia's E62 as a means for re-stating its value proposition.
Today, Good announced it will be Nokia's and Cingular's e-mail service carrier, with Mobile Messaging software that promises to remain compatible with information shared from Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.
And when e-mail gets you down, soon you'll be able to watch a classic Looney Tunes or Hanna-Barbera cartoon, as both are examples of the type of Warner content perhaps best suited for this device.
The E62's low price suggests Nokia's revenues from cell phones can now come from more sources than just carriers such as Cingular. For the time being, Warner content will premiere on Nokia systems in Europe and Asia, making their way soon to E62 users and others in the United States.
The fact that the recently released Superman Returns was listed among the content items customers may see, gives us the clearest clues Nokia has to offer about timing: Asia and Europe customers will probably see this service in November, based on the usual cinematic product cycle, with U.S. service likely following shortly thereafter.