To gadget-hungry Chinese, Nokia's smartphone may not be as "cool" as Apple's iPhone, but the Finland-based tech giant's creative marketing is no doubt turning heads.
In November, Nokia, in partnership with Chinese portal Sohu.com, posted eight videos on the web that show off the handset maker's ability to appeal to young consumers with often unique and startling uses of their latest smartphones.
So far videos of the N8 and C7 smartphones have generated over 60 million hits, Yang Weidong, Nokia's China marketing chief told reporters in Beijing Wednesday.
The videos show how university students and tech aficionados use Nokia phones to create super tech apps. One of the videos showed how two students from Tsinghua University tweaked their Nokia N8 to successfully lift a 60 kg refrigerator off the ground. The inventive pair used the phone's vibration mode to trigger a system of pulleys and a speed reducer - a gearbox used to limit mechanical energy while in-creasing torque - to lift the heavy appliance.
Creative videos like this help sell phones like the newly released N8 and C7, Yang believes.
November sales of the N8 hit 170,000 in the mainland, accounting for the best sales numbers of the handset globally, according to Yang. C7 sales figures won't be available until next month, he said.
But given the clout of other brands in the market, and Apple's iPhone 4 in particular, Yang said, "(Other brands) in the market really put pressure on us to make more improvements to our products."
Market watchers pointed out that Nokia's smartphones need to be more user-friendly.
"Nokia's Symbian mobile operating system is rather old compared to Google's Android and Apple's iOS, which does not ensure a good user experience," said Wang Yang, director of China research at iSuppli in Shanghai.
Currently Nokia is the top smartphone brand in the mainland in terms of sales vol-ume, however, its market share is slipping.
Nokia's market share continued to trend downwards in the third quarter, dropping 3.1 percent from the previous quarter to 23.5 percent, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.
China's smartphone market is expected to witness strong growth next year, which will spark fiercer competition for Nokia, Wang noted.
"Nokia needs a turning point for breakthrough in the high-end smartphone market."
Despite last week's departure of Nokia (China) Investment Co Vice Chairman Deng Yuanjun, iSuppli's Wang said the change in top management will not have a big impact on Nokia's China business.
