Tarmo Virki, Reuters
Sun
The Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic is seen in a handout photo. Photograph by : Reuters
Nokia unveiled on Thursday its first touch-screen phone, priced well below Apple’s iPhone model, as the world’s top mobile phone maker hopes to tap consumers for whom the iPhone has been too expensive.
Nokia said it would begin selling its 5800 Xpressmusic model shortly, and will price it at 279 euros ($395), excluding subsidies and taxes.
The price tag means consumers in many large markets will get the phone for free from operators when signing up for a contract.
Prepaid prices for iPhone at Britain‘s largest retailer Carphone Warehouse start from 350 pounds ($624), including 17.5 percent value-added-tax.
So far Nokia has stuck with traditional screens while LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and several smaller handset vendors have rolled out their own touch-screen phones over the last two years.
© Reuters 2008