In its effort to maintain a toehold on the U.S. market, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) will sell its new C7 smartphone through T-Mobile USA, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, did not say how much the device will cost or when it will be released. However, the device has been widely rumored to be launching through T-Mobile. A Nokia spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nokia recently teased some fresh Symbian releases for the U.S. market that it will unveil at an event at the CTIA Wireless 2011 trade show, which starts tomorrow. Nokia sent out an invitation to media outlets last week for a press conference it will hold this evening, ahead of the official start of the trade show in Orlando, Fla. "We promised to sell millions more Symbian devices," the invitation states. "Join us as we spotlight our latest solutions for U.S. customers."
One of Nokia's consistent weak points in the U.S. market has been its inability to get a wide range of carriers to subsidize its devices. The company has often resorted to releasing its high-end smartphones unlocked in the U.S., retailing at hundreds of dollars more than subsidized devices.
The C7, which runs Symbian^3, was released worldwide in October and sports a 3.5-inch AMOLED display and an 8-megapixel camera. The device also reportedly has NFC capabilities.
Nokia CFO Timo Ihamuotila reiterated at an investor conference earlier this month that even as Nokia transitions to Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 as its primary smartphone platform, it is committed to "the long-tail of Symbian as long as it gives us profitable margin." Nokia has said it intends to sell 150 million more Symbian phones during the next few years of its transition to Windows Phone. Nokia has an installed user base of around 200 million Symbian phones worldwide. The company plans to update Symbian's user interface this year.
For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
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