iPhone effect: Nokia now looking for revenue sharing deals

Apple's "game-changer" appears to have done just that...

11 December 2007 15:57 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

In a turn of events predicted by industry experts, it seems that Apple's iPhone has had just the kind of significant effect on the mobile phone market that was expected.

It has been revealed that Nokia is looking to emulate the iPhone-style business model where handset manufacturers get a "kick back" share of revenue from the mobile phone operators who offer their handsets and services.

In what will send murmurs of discomfort through the operator side of the business, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo stated in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung:

"As far as mobile phones are concerned we are sticking with our old business model - that is, we get paid for our devices. But for providing new services we are seriously considering a shared turnover model."

The iPhone changed the way handset manufacturers and mobile phone operators do deals, as it saw Apple get given an uncomfirmed percentage of revenue from each iPhone customers signed up to first AT&T, then T-Mobile and O2 in the UK.

This fear of handset manufacturers beginning to demand these kind of business terms was said to be the real reason Vodafone took T-Mobile to court in Germany over the exclusive deal for the iPhone, something that the German courts over-ruled within 2 weeks.