Nokia to Ditch Low-End Phones, Goes All In on Windows

Finland-based phone maker Nokia NOK plans to stop selling low-end phones and Symbian-based smartphones in North America, as the company goes all-in on Microsoft's MSFT newest mobile Windows software. In interview with AllThingsD this week, the head of Nokia's U.S. subsidiary, Chris Weber, said that the company will also make a push to exclusively sell through traditional wireless carriers. Weber notes that “When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc. It will be Windows Phone and the accessories around that. The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn't matter what we do (elsewhere).” Nokia has struggled in recent years amid new cut-throat smartphone competition. With rivals including Apple AAPL, Google GOOG, and HTC, Nokia has rapidly lost market share to new technology innovators. Weber promised that Nokia's newest marketing push would be its biggest. “Without getting into numbers, it is significantly larger than anything we have done in the past and the most we will invest in any market worldwide,” Weber commented. “They are putting their money where their mouth is.” The mobile version of Windows is looking to penetrate an already saturated market. Research in Motion's RIMM BlackBerry, Google's Android, and Apple's iPhone have all developed formidable phones. Weber emphasized the company's new U.S.-based operations as proof of its goal of growth. “We'll develop for North America and make the phones globally available and applicable,” Weber said. “In fact, evidence of that is that the first Windows Phones that will ship are being done by our group in San Diego.”