Nokia Sets Sights on N.A.

Finnish handset maker Nokia said it plans to launch six to 12 new operator-specific phones in North America in 2008, with an eye to capturing a bigger market share than its current 11 percent.

Nokia, which is by far the No. 1 manufacturer worldwide, only ranks No. 4 Stateside, behind Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

Nokia has been planning to mount an offensive on North America since last year when it appointed a president of North America — Mark Louison. Nokia also announced that it expects to improve its performance on this side of the world in the early part of this year, with a snowballing performance into 2009.

Nokia, which only launched three new North American phones in 2007, counts AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc. as customers already — two carriers that run on the GSM technology that makes up most of Nokia’s business. The cell phone manufacturer however said it would soon roll out Verizon Wireless devices this year — those will be CDMA-based.

Nokia www.nokia.com

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