TOKYO—One week after NTT DoCoMo announced that a Nokia Corp.-branded third-generation handset would be available Friday, the Tokyo-based carrier quickly reversed itself and held back the phone for adjustments to handset quality.
The original news, announced Feb. 17, had been something of a moment in the sun for the Finnish handset maker, which has been working to establish a relationship with DoCoMo. The abrupt delay is perhaps akin to a fresh forecast of partly cloudy weather for Nokia’s first 3G handset rollout with the Tokyo-based carrier. However, DoCoMo is known for its devotion to smooth rollouts, and a Nokia spokesperson downplayed the delay as “software tweaks” made in an effort to meet the carrier’s expectations rather than an “arbitrary deadline” for the phone’s release.
The handset is Nokia’s 6630 3G phone, and press release photos reflect that it is prominently branded as a Nokia phone—somewhat of a departure for the Tokyo carrier and something of a coup for the manufacturer. DoCoMo’s phones typically carry only DoCoMo’s brand. Thus, news of the phone’s delay—particularly in the form of the carrier’s terse announcement—may be viewed as a temporary setback for Nokia, at least in the publicity-fueled but critical area of global perceptions of the manufacturer’s fortunes.
Nokia currently holds the largest global market share among handset manufacturers.
DoCoMo intends to sell the Nokia handset as the 3G FOMA NM850iG. The Bluetooth-enabled camera phone has a 2.1-inch display; reportedly it represents a more sizeable handset than other Asian-manufactured handsets available to DoCoMo’s customers
