Nokia has launched a flagship phone to update how old it is
But analysts say the phone itself is not enough to help the world's largest handset maker regain lost market share.
Nokia continues to lead the global smartphone market-
Mobile phone with computer
Features like email--
But Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry have lost a large share, which worries investors and analysts, as it is expected to drag down the Finnish company's profit margins.
All manufacturers are pursuing a bigger share of the smartphone market, which will continue to grow next year despite the bleak prospects for the broader handset market.
"There is no doubt that Nokia needs a high
Terminal touch screen phones, "said Martti Larjo, an analyst at Nordea.
The new Nokia N97 phone comes with an oversized touch screen and retails for 550 euros ($1083)
Pre-tax and subsidies and will eventually reach the marketJune next year.
Indevice is scheduled to launch in Australia in 2009, but pricing has not yet been confirmed.
Nokia has promised to launch touch screen models in its portfolio.
After Apple's iPhone was a huge success, it was the last major handset maker to launch a touch screen phone, which began selling its first touch screen phone last month.
The new N97 is a direct competitor to Sony Ericsson X1 and HTC Touch Pro-
Both software uses Microsoft's Windows software and is already in the store ---
By the time it goes public, analysts say, there may be more direct competitors.
"This may give Nokia a bit of an advantage, but there are still six months to go to the market," said Gartner analyst Nicholas Lina Milanesi . ".
Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, said Nokia faces tough choices on the n97.
"It tried a lot of different technologies like touch screen, full qwerty keyboard and lots of memory, but it had to trade --
"It's big in size and functionality," he said . ".
"It ended up with a relatively thick device that lacked some of the benchmark features expected in the flagship product2009," he said.
The retail price of the new phone will be similar to the previous flagship models N95 and N96 when it went public. Nokia said it is expected that high prices will not affect sales during the economic downturn.
"Our target group, 200 to 0. 3 billion technology leaders, has been buying devices they are interested in," Nokia sales director Anssi Vanjoki told reporters . ", He also expects operators to subsidize mobile phones.
"In any case, operators must compete for these customers (the market)," he said.
Nokia launched its last major N-
The N95 series went public in 2006 and began selling at the beginning of last year.
So far, it has sold more than 15 million n95 units, generating billions of dollars in revenue. The vice-
Jonas Geust, president of Nokia devices, told Reuters N97: "It's really new N-series . . .
The next wave really started.
Mr. Geust said that the touch screen and
The Qwerty keyboard will be a key feature of the next generation of products. "It's clear no-
We can get rid of the current economic situation . "
Pekka Kallasvuo said at a press conference, but declined to elaborate further as the company will introduce its market prospects to analysts in December 4.
Meanwhile, the company said it closed its acquisition of mobile software maker Symbian on Tuesday.