Nokia drops Symbian, feature phones in North America

In a move to throw the bulk of its resources in front of Windows Phone 7 projects, Nokia is pulling back on some of its products in North America.

Specifically, the Finnish phone maker will no longer sell feature phones and Symbian-based smartphones in the United States and Canada.

Nokia Inc. president Chris Weber explained to AllThingsD that North America is a priority to Nokia as is its relationship with Microsoft:

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 will also shift towards working more closely with "traditional wireless carriers," rather than trying to sell unsubsidized cell phones to consumers.

Additionally, the Nokia N9 MeeGo smartphone, which debuted in June, will not be sold in the United States. Thus, if you want a Nokia smartphone, keep waiting for the WP7devices.

In all likelihood, this is a smart move for Nokia. Its sales figures and ranking amongst the top smartphone vendors and platforms is continuing to slip worldwide. Some would even argue that it's all but over for Nokia.

Focusing on a platform that has had decent success for only being less than a year old and producing a handful of better devices rather than a collection of cheap gadgets is probably Nokia's best shot at this point.

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