As if a reminder was needed of the importance of emerging market growth at a time when developed markets are saturated, Nokia on Thursday launched seven new products that, it claims, “provide functions and features specifically designed for consumers in these markets”.

The launch was held in New Delhi, re-emphasising the importance of India to R & D and manufacturing and as a vast potential market in its own right.

The combination of prices ranging between Eur35 to Eur90 and regular reference not just to ease of use and relevance but to concepts like style, status and fashion appear to reinforce the argument from some analysts that developing world markets do not want just basic functionality but choice and attractive design as well.

This is a point that some commentators have claimed the early stages of the GSM Association’s Emerging Market Handset Programme overlooked, although Nokia was not part of this project.

Also interesting is the fact that two of the new products are aimed at entry CDMA markets in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, China and Latin America – a useful boost for the CDMA Development Group, which only a few days ago offered a robust assessment of the prospects of CDMA2000 in Africa and the Middle East.