Nokia says N-series sales top 10 mln so far this year

The world’s largest cellphone maker Nokia unveiled a new all-in-one multimedia phone and a new slimmer model targeting U.S. consumers, at an event to showcase its multimedia devices on Tuesday.

Nokia said multimedia is the fastest growing mobile sector, adding that this year it has already sold more than 10 million handsets in its upscale N-series.

The new N95 model, the first Nokia phone with integrated GPS receiver, is expected to retail in volumes in the first quarter of 2007 for the price of about 550 euros ($700), excluding subsidies and taxes, Nokia said in a statement.

The N95 will be the Finnish firm’s first with a 5 megapixel camera, and it will also be sold with maps and location data for consumers in more than 100 countries.

Nokia also unveiled its new N75, a model slimmer than most of the more bulky N-series phones, which it will start selling from the fourth quarter in the United States and Latin America.

Nokia’s N-series phones have been intended to be a move towards more stylish and lighter models, but reviewers and critics say it is still some way from rival Samsung’s and Motorola’s thin models.

The N75 and N73 are 19 mm (about 3/4 inch) thick, compared with the RAZR from Motorola at 14 mm (about 1/2 inch).

Nokia, which sells more than one in three of all mobiles around the world, has increased its market share this year, but arch rival Motorola has reported even faster sales growth.

Nokia also unveiled music versions of its N70, N73 and N91 phones, with the N91 8GB music edition fitting 6,000 songs.

The Finnish mobile maker said it was working with 40 music industry players, such as David Bowie, to form a Web community

– Music Recommenders (http://www.musicrecommenders.com) — through which music fans can keep on top of the latest trends.

Nokia aims to sell 80 million music phones this year, outpacing sales of devices such as iPods from Apple.

Source- http://in.today.reuters.com

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