One is Mobizines, developed by Refresh Mobile, which enables subscribers to wirelessly browse content such as favourite magazines or TV shows with just one click.

The application clinched the Developer of the Year award for Refresh Mobile at the 2006 Forum Nokia PRO Awards, which recognise leading mobile applications, content and services successfully deployed in markets around the world and developed by members of Nokia.

The awards are part of the annual Nokia World 2006 event, which was held from November 29-30 to showcase new applications and the visions of Nokia executives.

Another application displayed was the diet application, which will calculate the diet of users from information the users feed in to the phone. This will allow the users to learn if it is time to go on a diet.

Nokia's chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo predicted that the Internet, music and mobile TV would become the driving forces in the mobile-phone market, which it expects to reach the milestone of 3 billion mobile subscriptions globally in 2007 before rising to 4 billion during 2010.

The world's largest mobile-phone maker also unveiled a range of new models, including the Nokia 2626, its first entry-level fashion phone, aimed at fashion-conscious consumers in the Asia-Pacific region. Its price is about Bt3,570.

Nokia expects more than half of the growth in mobile subscribers in the coming years to come from emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific, including China and India.

It estimates those markets will account for about 65 per cent of the global market this year, rising to over 80 per cent by 2010.

Alex Lambeek, Nokia's vice president for sales and marketing operation, Asia Pacific, said the Nokia 2626 had high potential sales in the region, including Thailand, one of the fashion-conscious countries.

There are over 30 million mobile-phone users in Thailand, where telecom operators predict there will be sales of 8 million new handsets this year.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation

AMSTERDAM