Nokia, Samsung planning out new strategies to counter effect the trend of Apple iPhone. This entails launching a portfolio of next-gen touch-screen phones at a much lower price than iPhone in India and building their online music services to compete against Apple’s popular ‘iTunes’. This expansion of iPhone has prompted the move by the two major cellphone makers to provide cheaper touch screen phones to India and well I hope the rest of the world.

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According to a study, 40% of all phones may incorporate touch-screen technology by 2012.

“iPhone is a device which is desired by the Indian mass market. But its prohibitive pricing will play a spoil sport, something which other vendors can capitalize by rolling out user-friendly touch phones at competitive prices,” said IDC Asia-Pacific research manager Aloysius Choong.

For starters, Nokia plans to roll out a portfolio of touch phones across the low-to-high end of Indian market. Sources said Nokia’s first touch phone, code-named Tube, will target the mid-segment and have features that compete against iPhone 3G at a much lower price. Nokia’s internet services platform Ovi will have a music store, which will be loaded with regional and Hindi music, sources reveal.

Nokia India director (marketing) Devinder Kishore said, “We will launch touch-screen phones in India by December. Ovi will also be launched by then and will have a host of entertainment services, among others.”

Samsung is also going to create an online music service in India. “We are aggregating content for music service which will be launched next year. The focus will be on evolved touch-screen phones with full functionality like drag and drop of menu, video streaming and high resolution camera,” Samsung Telecom India country head Sunil Dutt, media reports. Samsung is going to launch its flagship touch phone Omnia next month.

Even Motorola is soon going to be a part of this race with its new range of touch phones across price segments. Motorola India director (marketing) Lloyd Mathias said, “The phones will be competitively priced against iPhone”.

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