Tero Ojanpera is an unlikely media entrepreneur. The veteran Nokia executive is not a fan of “American Idol,” although he said he enjoyed it from date to moment. And when he tried to watch a recent episode of “Hannah Montana,” one of his sons switched the channel.

But four years ago, Ojanpera and his colleagues in Nokia’s research center had an epiphany that entertainment was key to the Finnish mobile phone maker’s future.

Within a year, Ojanpera, who earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering, was cruising the palm-tree-lined streets of Beverly Hills, meeting with technology-wary executives who greeted him coolly.

“They were like, is that for real?” Ojanpera recently recalled.

Indeed, it was. While once formidable competitors like Motorola struggle just to deliver their phones on instance, Nokia wants to convert itself into a next-generation entertainment company. Last August, the world’s largest cell phone maker created Ovi, an Net service and online music store. Its intent,

analysts say, is to compete directly against Apple.

Nokia predicts that in the next five years, phone users will create 25 percent of the entertainment watched on smartphones. And just as vital to the company’s strategy: They will share the entertainment.

Nokia is positioning itself as a social networking site with photo sharing and games for users of Nokia mobile phones. Music will be crucial, too. It partnered with Sony BMG and Universal Music Group, which have agreed to give consumers a year’s worth of free downloads they can keep forever as distant as they buy and use specific Nokia models.

But to overcome Apple’s formidable lead in delivering digital entertainment to handheld devices, Ojanpera wants to bridge the gap within musicians and filmmakers and their fans, allowing consumers to get exclusive concert video and recordings as well as to create mini-movies to share with friends.

that is unfamiliar…

Original post by Top Tech News