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| Nokia's Smartphones for Windows |
LONDON (Reuters) - Nokia on Wednesday unveiled its first smartphone using the operating system from Microsoft, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones hoping to get back into the race with Apple and Google. The two new smartphones, one analyst said they did nothing special, on sale in major European markets for the period of Christmas and are a first step in the Finnish giant's strategy to renew with success.
The top model Lumia 800, including easy access to social networks like Facebook and video playback in high definition, will be offered at a price of 420 euros excluding promotional premiums, down to the Apple iPhone but above the prices of many devices with Google's Android system. It also includes the full version and free navigation system highly anticipated Windows users.
The basic version, the Lumia 710, 270 euros will be sold. "These handsets are a good start, but in reality they are only fairly basic products using Windows Mobile," said Ben Wood, research director of CCS Insight, a British firm of consultants specializing in telecommunications. "This is a positive development but the recovery of this lucrative market in which Apple and Android are securely installed is a Herculean task," he warns
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Nokia, Apple and Google have overtaken the growing market for smartphones, has decided to abandon its platform in favor of the aging Symbian operating system from Microsoft, a risky initiative that had frightened investors in February.
