Nokia and Idea Cellular have entered into a strategic partnership, wherein the operator will provide subscribers using a Nokia handset access to the Nokia Store and the Nokia Music service.

The Nokia Store currently offers over 120,000 pieces of content on Nokia handsets. This includes applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, amongst others. This service is priced at Rs 50, 99 and Rs 250 with a validity period of 7, 30 and 90 days respectively.

Commenting on the partnership, Viral Oza, director marketing, Nokia India, says, "This partnership democratises access to the best local and global content by making it available across both Nokia smartphone and feature phones with affordable pricing and a seamless payment experience. We believe integrated operator billing is very relevant for a market like India where penetration of alternate billing mechanisms is limited."

Sashi Shankar, chief marketing officer, Idea Cellular, adds, "Music and Entertainment is at the core of Idea's marketing strategy to promote value added services, brand communication, and building customer connect, which has resulted in rapid growth in data usage on our network. Idea has constantly innovated and explored new avenues to enrich consumer experience and focused at mobile broadband penetration in India. Our initiative with Nokia will enable affordable and easy access to music and entertainment based apps on the Nokia platform, in remote parts of the country where Internet is only accessible on mobile."