Designed for the emerging markets, Ovi Life Tools offers a wide range of information services covering healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment. The service addresses the needs of rural consumers with the vision to provide livelihood and life-impacting benefits to improve their economic prosperity and quality of life.
At launch, two affordable and easy to use mobile phones, the Nokia 1616 and the Nokia 1800, will support the new service.
"While China's urbanisation is growing rapidly, we believe there is a compelling need to provide mobile solutions in emerging markets bringing affordable, quality, and locally relevant information direct to the consumer," said Chris Leong, senior vice president, Greater China, Korea and Japan.
"As an innovative rural mobile solution addressing the information gaps of rural people in China, Ovi Life Tools was designed from the ground up through extensive research. It is a result of close cooperation between partners and we are sure it will continue to develop over time helping to enhance the lives of consumers," added Leong.
According to Sun Xiaoming, deputy director of China Rural Technology Development Centre of China's Ministry of Science and Technology: "Currently there are almost 732 million rural residents in China, which is roughly 55% of the total population. The Chinese Government has consistently placed rural issues as a top priority, and this includes the development, access and dissemination of information to people in rural areas. Fast and effective communication coupled with locally relevant information will help promote economic growth and productivity.
"Nokia's Ovi Life Tools is an example of how a private company can provide innovative solutions which are relevant, affordable and beneficial to the larger population, and this effectively complements the Government's effort to bridge the technology and information gap currently faced," Sun said.
"Mobile phones are widely used by people in rural areas; for many, it is their primary source of information. I would like to congratulate Nokia for developing a unique and innovative service that has tremendous potential to improve lives and the livelihood of farmers and sub-urban consumers," added Sun.
Nokia has been working with a number of partners in building Ovi Life Tools in order to develop a healthy ecosystem for all stakeholders in the value chain including mobile operators, content providers and service providers.
Li Yong, Chairman of Beijing Nongxintong Technology, the content provider for the agriculture service, said: "For many years we have been searching for ways to provide agriculture information that allows rural people to acquire personalized content on their mobile phones. The solution that Nokia brings allows us to do this today."
Ovi Life Tools will be available across China on the Nokia 1616 and the Nokia 1800, and will be available on more devices in the future. The SMS-based service will be in simplified Chinese, and features four categories: healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment.