Following its sluggish first-quarter earnings report, Nokia announced it scored a distribution deal with third-generation carrier Hutichson 3 and released a new camera phone for the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia markets.
Hutchison 3 in the United Kingdom said it will begin selling the Nokia 7600 throughout its retail outlets. The phone had previously been available only through Carphone Warehouse, but 3 expanded distribution due to increased demand. The move is notable as the Nokia 7600 does not offer video calling, a key feature of Hutchison 3’s services. However, Nokia said it would support video calling in future 3G phones.
“The Nokia 7600 and the future Nokia 3G products offer customers high-quality video mobile content and services. 3 has demonstrated the demand for 3G services and is one of our leading infrastructure customers,” said Mats Wolontis, managing director of Nokia Mobile Phones in the United Kingdom. “Nokia is committed to delivering the best-of-breed 3G consumer experience. In addition to streaming video and content download, Nokia sees person-to-person video as a key 3G application that will be featured in Nokia’s 3G offering in the future.”
Separately, Nokia said it will sell its new 6610i mobile phone with an integrated camera, complete multimedia messaging service functionality and an FM radio starting in the second quarter.
