Nokia has canceled the U.S. release of a new smartphone that was supposed to be exclusive to AT&T, CNET has confirmed.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news today, but a source close to the situation, who didn't want to be named, confirmed Nokia had pulled the plug on the launch of the new smartphone on AT&T's network.
The X7 smartphone hasn't been officially announced yet, but details of the device have been leaked online.
The X7, which is still expected to launch outside the U.S. on other carriers, is a touch-screen smartphone designed for mobile gaming that is expected to sport the Symbian 3 software. It's expected to sport an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash on the back of the device and come with four external speakers. Nokia was expected to announce the new phone with AT&T next month in conjunction with the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The X7 would have marked the first smartphone that Nokia launched exclusively on a U.S. carrier since the company's new CEO Stephen Elop took over in September. Elop, a veteran of Microsoft, replaced Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who had spent 30 years with Nokia.
An AT&T representative declined to comment on the situation. And Nokia issued this statement via a spokesman:
"We do not comment on market rumor and speculation, or ongoing discussions with our operator partners about what plans we may have together in this market. That said, it is well publicized that we are working hard to regain leadership in the U.S. market and we are in active discussions with our operator partners on that strategy. We look forward to bringing meaningful solutions to market together with our operator partners and when we have something to announce, we will do so."
It's not clear why Nokia decided to cancel the U.S. launch of the new smartphone. Nokia has struggled to gain market share in the U.S. market, especially in the fast growing smartphone market. And it has steadily been losing worldwide market share to competitors such as Apple, Research In Motion, and now a slew of competitors selling phones running the Google Android operating system.
Nokia still had about 32.7 percent of the worldwide smartphone market in the third quarter of 2010, according to market research firm IDC, but this is down from 38.3 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, competitors, such as Apple, Samsung and HTC have all gained market share worldwide.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news today, but a source close to the situation, who didn't want to be named, confirmed Nokia had pulled the plug on the launch of the new smartphone on AT&T's network.
A leaked image of the Nokia X7 from CNET U.K.
(Credit: CNET U.K.) The X7, which is still expected to launch outside the U.S. on other carriers, is a touch-screen smartphone designed for mobile gaming that is expected to sport the Symbian 3 software. It's expected to sport an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash on the back of the device and come with four external speakers. Nokia was expected to announce the new phone with AT&T next month in conjunction with the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The X7 would have marked the first smartphone that Nokia launched exclusively on a U.S. carrier since the company's new CEO Stephen Elop took over in September. Elop, a veteran of Microsoft, replaced Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who had spent 30 years with Nokia.
An AT&T representative declined to comment on the situation. And Nokia issued this statement via a spokesman:
"We do not comment on market rumor and speculation, or ongoing discussions with our operator partners about what plans we may have together in this market. That said, it is well publicized that we are working hard to regain leadership in the U.S. market and we are in active discussions with our operator partners on that strategy. We look forward to bringing meaningful solutions to market together with our operator partners and when we have something to announce, we will do so."
It's not clear why Nokia decided to cancel the U.S. launch of the new smartphone. Nokia has struggled to gain market share in the U.S. market, especially in the fast growing smartphone market. And it has steadily been losing worldwide market share to competitors such as Apple, Research In Motion, and now a slew of competitors selling phones running the Google Android operating system.
Nokia still had about 32.7 percent of the worldwide smartphone market in the third quarter of 2010, according to market research firm IDC, but this is down from 38.3 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, competitors, such as Apple, Samsung and HTC have all gained market share worldwide.
