Nokia, facing fierce competition to remain the world's top mobile phone maker, has launched its much anticipated first smartphones using the Windows platform.
The Finnish company launched the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 smartphones, to be rolled out starting next month on selected markets.
The success of the new phones is seen as do-or-die for Nokia, with its market share plunging as smartphone users flock to the hugely popular iPhone by Apple, RIM's Blackberry and handsets running Google's Android platform.
Chief executive Stephen Elop in February announced a radical restructuring and the phasing out of Symbian as Nokia's smartphone software in favour of a partnership with Microsoft.
"Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action. We're driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones," Elop said at a Nokia event in London that was webcast live.
"We are very proud of Lumia and everything it represents. Lumia means light; this is a new dawn for Nokia," he added.
The Lumia 800 will feature Internet Explorer 9, free voice-guided navigation services and free music and image storage.
It will go on sale in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain in November, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan by the end of the year. It will reach the US early next year and mainland China in mid-2012.
A simpler version, the Lumia 710, will go on sale by year-end in most of the same markets.
Nokia last week reported a third-quarter loss of €68, far better than the €321m loss forecast by analysts. But the company also reported a 25% annual drop in sales and a 39% slump in sales of smartphones.
The Lumia 800 will retail for €420 and the Lumia 710 for €270, excluding taxes.
