Nokia will start to sell smartphones using Microsoft
software in China from April, seeking to claw back market
share gobbled up by Apple and Samsung.
China Telecom and Nokia just unveiled the Nokia 800C, the
first CDMA Windows Phone in China and the first Windows
Phone on a major carrier there. Wang Xiaochu, Chairman of
China Telecom, and Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, announced
the first CDMA Windows Phone in China at an event in
Beijing today. The phone hits stores next month.
The phone'a China-tuned version of Nokia's popular Lumia
800 hits stores in April and comes in black and cyan. A
CDMA version of the Lumia 610 is also headed to China
Telecom sometime in the second quarter of 2012.
China Telecom, meanwhile, operates the world?s largest
CDMA cell network.
Nokia 800C owners will have access to popular Chinese
media and social networking services including Sina,
SOHU, Tencent and Renren. The phone also comes with
Lumia-exclusive apps. Nokia Maps provides 3D maps of
China and 190 more countries, plus content from popular
Chinese travel, food, and real estate sites. Nokia Drive
is a voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation app. And Nokia
Music offers unlimited free music for 12 months in
mainland China.
To celebrate the first Lumia in the country, Nokia plans
to offer 100,000 free downloads of the hit games Fruit
Ninja and Plants vs Zombies via the new Chinese-language
Windows Phone Marketplace.
China has become one of the hottest markets for
smartphone makers, with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in
Beijing this week for talks with government officials
amid problems ranging from labor issues to a contested
iPad trademark.
Windows Phone has so far had limited success in Europe
and the United States.
The Lumia 800C will be sold without a carrier contract
for 3,599 yuan ($573) from April. Pricing for the cheaper
610C model, to launch in China in the second quarter,
will be announced later.