Nokia, China Mobile partner on TD-SCDMA Lumia 920T

Nokia is partnering China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator, to launch a version of its Lumia smartphone tailored specifically for the country, as part of efforts to regain market share from Apple's iPhone in China.

According to a media statement by the Finnish phone maker released Wednesday, China Mobile, will begin selling the Lumia 920T, the first smartphone running Microsoft's new Windows Phone 8 platform. 

The Lumia 920T also will be the first Windows phone running on China Mobile's Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) nework, and is expected to be available for order in the Chinese market by end-2012 at a retail price of 4599 yuan (US$740).

The deal is important as it enables the company to leverage China Mobile's more than 700 million subscribers, the largest base in the world, and regain a foothold in the country's smartphone market. Nokia had faced fierce competition in China's smartphone market from local rivals after it started selling its Lumia series in the first half of this year.

"People around the world are responding positively to the new Lumia devices, and we are confident that the enthusiasm will extend to China," Stephen Elop, president and chief executive of Nokia, said in the statement.

The Finnish phonemaker on Wednesday also unveiled the Lumia 620, its cheapest Windows 8 smartphone, priced at US$249, which will go on sale January 2013 in Asia.

Nokia in July slashed jobs in its China's research and development team as part of a restructuring plan to lay off 10,000 employees globally. Elop in May 2011 the company was losing market share in China to growing Android adoption.