Nokia continues to struggle to get its fightback in the smartphone market on-track, cancelling the launch of its latest device in the US.
The touch screen X7 was scheduled to launch next month in an exclusive deal with US carrier AT&T, however the vendor has now ditched the plan due to fears it wouldn’t receive sufficient subsidies and rebates to grab consumer’s attention.
While company sources told WSJ.com the decision won’t affect planned launches in other markets, the loss of AT&T is a serious blow to Nokia’s ambitions in the US – a market where it has always struggled to grab meaningful market share.
The vendor’s woes in the country have been exacerbated by the success of Apple’s iPhone and a host of smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system.
Those rival devices have also eroded Nokia’s global market share, which has sparked a series of management changes – the most notable of which was the appointment of former Microsoft man Stephen Elop as CEO in September.
The embattled vendor struggled to get its flagship N8 smartphone – the device that was meant to spearhead its fightback in the smartphone space – on shelves, eventually launching the unit late September.
In one bright spot for the firm, its business-focused E7 smartphone is available for pre-order in Finland and Sweden, and will launch in other markets in the coming weeks, the firm announced on Twitter.