Post date: Jun 07, 2012 1:6:30 PM
Struggling mobile phone maker Nokia has unveiled its first full touchscreen phones which are aimed at the budget end of the market, looking to fill a gap in its product range and catch up with rivals.
FINLAND-NOKIA NEW PHONE - Once the market leaders in mobile phones Nokia have struggled to compete in the growing smartphone business.
Now the Finnish phone maker has unveiled their first range range of full touchscreen phones aimed at budget buyers.
The new mobiles combine a swiping screen interface but will still use Nokia's existing S40 software.
By aiming at the budget market Nokia hopes to appeal to customers in emerging economies.
Nokia has teamed up with Microsoft but sales of phones using its Windows operating system have been sluggish.
Nokia's basic phone sales fell 16 percent in the first three months of the year partly due to its lack of touch screen models and they've continued falling in four out of the last five quarters.
And the Finnish company is no longer the world's largest cellphone maker by volume.
That title has been taken by South Korea's Samsung which has also overtaken Nokia and Apple in smartphone sales.
Shares in Nokia have lost half their value in last year.
Hayley Platt, Reuters