Nokia, the world’s leading mobile phone supplier, and Pearson, a giant global education company, have launched a joint company, Beijing Mobiledu Technologies, to accelerate the growth of Mobiledu, the premier mobile phone-delivered education service.
Launched in China in 2007 by Nokia, Mobiledu is a mobile service that provides English-language learning materials and other educational content, from a variety of content providers.
Subscribers can access the content through an application preloaded on new Nokia handsets, or by visiting the service’s mobile website and most other WAP portals in China.
Since its launch, Mobiledu has already attracted 20 million subscribers in China, with 1,5 million actively using the service each month.
Mobiledu will continue to be delivered to customers in China through a range of channels, including Nokia’s Ovi Store.
Beijing Mobiledu Technologies will combine the world-class expertise of Nokia in mobile devices and services, and Pearson’s industry- leading assets and expertise in education – to deliver a wide range of services to meet the high demand for education in China.
Headed by Angela Long, formerly head of Mobiledu at Nokia, the Beijing-based company will begin operations immediately.
“We believe that through this partnership with Pearson, a global industry leader in education, we can offer an exciting future for this service and its customers”, said Robert Andersson, senior vice president and head of Corporate Alliances and Business Development at Nokia.
John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson’s International Education business, commented that “China is the world’s largest mobile phone market and the country with the largest number of people learning English”.
“This is a great opportunity to combine Pearson’s English language learning and wider educational services with the mobile technology capabilities of Nokia to meet this demand and help a larger number of people achieve their aspirations”, added Fallon.
By Chris Uba
