From Nokia to Micromax: How Phones Changed Us

From T9 to autocorrect, 2G to 4G, Xpressmusic to Spotify... It's not just our phones that changed; we did as well! We explore the evolution of phones and the way we use them, from the lens of two companies that once ruled the Indian market. Timestamps:  (00:58) Today’s topic - Nokia, Micromax and Phones (02:03) Nokia’s humble beginnings (03:10) How did Nokia get so popular in India? (06:15) Parijat’s first Nokia phone, Some iconic games: Snake, Space Impact (07:40) Iconic branding elements - Nokia ringtone, intro music (08:15) SMS Lingo, T9 Keyboard (09:59) The CDMA experiment by Reliance (11:18) GPRS and WAP (no, not that WAP) (12:55) Nokia’s Symbian OS and App Store - Revolutionary for its time (14:09) Beginnings of Micromax - A new era of phones (15:00) The smartphone revolution - Apple & Google / Android (16:00) Micromax’s strategy - Rebranding Chinese phones, and expensive marketing (18:10) The sudden fall of Micromax - JioSaavn 4G and the Chinese takeover (Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Oneplus) (21:34) Phones aren’t just phones anymore (22:24) Buying stocks on the toilet! (23:15) The rise of mobile gaming and e-sports: Call of Duty, PUBG / BGMI (24:44) Selfies and the rise of the front camera (26:08) Do Nokia and Micromax still have a chance? (27:05) Is it possible to make an entire phone in India? (28:00) The new Nokia (28:40) Manufacturing might move away from China (30:00) The crazy future: Foldable phones, AR & VR, Metaverse References: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-did-nokia-succeed-in-the-indian-mobile-market-while-its-rivals-got-hung-up/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZGS2ibCoRg https://tradebrains.in/micromax-story/ Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popkulchapodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pop_kulcha Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popkulchapodcast/ Youtube (bonus video-only content!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRzXhxzUTaupD0P_mCuIGQ ___________ This podcast was created as a part of Podcast Lab by India Film Project, in association with Anchor by Spotify.