Stockholm (Sweden): Nokia Corp, the world's top mobile phone maker, introduced five new mid-to-low-range handsets on Monday, including its cheapest third-generation phone to date.
The new phones - three models for the global market and two exclusively for Asia - are designed to appeal to a mass market audience and strengthen Nokia's appeal among everyday users, the company said.
The phones were launched at twin media events in Singapore and Stockholm - dubbed Nokia Connection and traditionally the company's largest annual global media event.
But Monday's launch was overshadowed by the announcement of the merger of Nokia's and Siemens AG's telecommunications network equipment units in a joint venture expected to have annual revenues of $20 billion.
Kent Tankersley, a spokesman for Nokia Networks, said in Stockholm that the joint venture is "a major milestone in Nokia's history."
"It immediately creates a company of global scale, with a stronger portfolio of products and a deeper consumer understanding," Tankersley said. "It brings the potential to create the leading company in mobile infrastructure."
In Stockholm, the company said Monday that the 6151 handset will be Nokia's cheapest phone with 3G technology, and will sell for about $300 when it is expected to hit the stores during the third quarter of 2006.
"With more than 100 operators offering 3G services in the world today, consumers around the globe are now realising the many benefits that 3G offers, ranging from faster browsing, streaming and e-mail to music downloads and multiplayer games," Nokia's executive vice president of mobile phones, Kai Oistamo, said.
The 6080 camera phone, featuring a Sudoku game only available for that model, is targeted mainly at Asian customers and will sell for around $227, Nokia said.
It will be on the market during the fourth quarter, in time for the Christmas shopping season, said Phil Brown, vice president of mobile phones in Europe, adding it represented a "major mass-market device."
The third item launched, the low-end 1110i, is an upgrade of an existing model and is aimed at first-time users. It comes with a low price tag - about $57 - but few features.
The Finnish company also introduced two new midrange phones with CDMA technology, aimed exclusively for the Asian market.
The 6275 handset will feature a 2-megapixel digital camera as well as a music player, while the 2875 phone will feature a 1.3-megapixel camera, Nokia said.
CDMA, which stands for "code division multiple access", is used in the United States by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp, as well as in Japan, India, China and South Korea.
Nokia also announced a new venture with TeliaSonera Corp, the Nordic region's largest telecommunications operator, to broadcast mobile TV to Nokia's N92 multimedia devices during a trial period.
TeliaSonera will use Nokia's Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld, or DVB-H, system to broadcast mobile TV in the Stockholm and Goteborg areas between August and December, the company said.
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