Nokia’s CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo leaves the stage after his speech during Capital Markets Day at Dipoli Conference Centre in Espoo in this December 2, 2009 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Lehtikuva/ Pekka Sakki

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker by volume, will introduce new smartphone models next week at its annual media and industry event, aiming to assure investors the company is on track to recovery.

Nokia, whose profits and share price have dived in the last few years, is now betting on the renewal of its line of smartphones, which could save the career of embattled CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

The cellphone maker will unveil its new flagship model E7, which comes with a large touchscreen and full keyboard, at the show in London, two sources with direct knowledge of Nokia’s plans told Reuters.

Nokia will also introduce to the public its new N8 model, which is the first phone to use the new Symbian 3 software, along with other new smartphones, the sources said.

The N8 — unveiled in April and due to go on sale later this month — stands out among its rivals for its 12 megapixel camera but has a slower processor than Samsung’s top model Galaxy S and the latest iPhone.

"As the N8 starts shipping and other devices are unveiled, Nokia will be hoping that it can lay the foundation stones for its recovery given the onslaught of competitive products currently hitting the market," said Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight.

"It has made some big commitments on fixing Symbian and its first flagship product using the refreshed Symbian operating system. Failure is not an option," Wood said.

Nokia’s Symbian operating system has yet to attract a large number of software developers interested in creating compatible applications, a key selling point for high-end cellphones.

HAVE THEY FIXED IT?

Nokia controls 40 percent of the smartphone market with its Symbian software but has lost its leading position among the most expensive models to easier-to-use phones from Apple and Research in Motion.

Nokia’s failure to roll-out successful high-end cellphones, which have fatter margins, has hit the company’s profits and share price hard over the last few years. Its stock has dropped to roughly a third from mid-2007 when the iPhone went on sale.

Last year, Apple surpassed Nokia as the handset maker generating the largest total profit, despite selling only one iPhone for every 13 phones Nokia sells.

CEO Kallasvuo, whom industry sources say Nokia is looking to replace, has promised the usability of Nokia’s Symbian smartphones would not be an issue by the end of this year.

He will make the keynote speech at the London show on Sept 14 at 9 a.m. (4 a.m. EDT).

"Everyone will be very curious about the Symbian 3 user interface," said analyst Francisco Jeronimo from IDC.

"We will probably see good designs with a focus on touchscreen at very competitive prices, but the main question is: Have they finally fixed the user interface?"

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Karen Foster)

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(Reuters) - Apple’s new iPod Shuffle (top to bottom), iPod Nano and iPod Touch, are displayed at Apple’s music-themed September media event in San Francisco, California September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

(AFP/Getty Images) - Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces a new touch screen version of the iPod Nano as he speaks during an Apple Special Event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. Jobs unveiled a refreshed line of iPod media players on Wednesday including a new iPod Touch which allows for video calling.(AFP/Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)

People compare the performance of Apple’s iPad (L) and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet devices at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) consumer electronics fair at "Messe Berlin" exhibition centre in Berlin, September 2, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Thomas Peter

BERLIN (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics’ first tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab, will go on sale in two weeks, it said on Thursday, turning up the heat on Apple Inc’s iPad.

Global handset vendors and PC makers including Nokia, LG Electronics and Hewlett-Packard Co are moving into the new category of devices, between traditional PCs and smartphones, taking a cue from Apple.

Dell Inc said last month it was launching its new tablet device, the Dell Streak, to U.S. customers.

"We see huge potential for this kind of product," YH Lee, head of marketing at Samsung Mobile, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the IFA consumer electronics fair. The Galaxy Tab, with a 7-inch screen, will go on sale in European markets in mid-September. The device, which uses Google’s Android software, offers access to books, films and music.

"Samsung is betting big on the tablet category with this device," said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, adding the success of Galaxy Tab, which is clearly smaller than iPad, which has a 9.7-inch screen, will depend on pricing.

Samsung’s portfolio management director Thomas Richter said prices would depend on operator packages in different countries, but the device would cost more than high-end smartphones.

In Finland the suggested retail price for Galaxy Tab, without subsidies, would be 949 euros ($1,214), well above the iPad’s price.

Apple’s 32 GB iPad sells for 864 euros on average in Finland.

Samsung said all key European operators selling Samsung phones were set to also offer the Tab to their clients, and several major carriers would sell it in the United States.

Last week research firm iSuppli forecast the iPad would account for nearly three-quarters of worldwide tablet shipments this year, and hold at least 70 percent of the market in 2011 and 62 percent by 2012.

Samsung said the market was far from fixed yet.

"The market opportunity is wide open," said YH Lee.

MANY MORE ANDROID TABLETS

To seize the opportunity, Toshiba unveiled its Folio 100 tablet, with 10 inch screen, and said it would be available during the fourth quarter in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Toshiba’s tablet will use an Nvidia processor and Google’s Android.

Huawei said its first tablet, a 7-inch screen running Google’s Android software, would reach consumers in Europe in time for the holiday sales season.

"The device would cost 300 euros, or less," Huawei Devices marketing chief Victor Xu told Reuters in an interview.

Xu said the company’s next tablet would have a 10-inch screen and reach consumers next year.

Xu said the company has decided to focus on using Android software.

"Key for Huawei is that it’s an open standard and not controlled by some dinosaurs," Xu said.

(Additional reporting by Nicola Leske; Editing by Michael Shields and Will Waterman)

An Apple computer is shown on Google’s company campus in Mountain View, California February 9, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would allow its mobile users to play songs wherever they are as it steps up its rivalry with Apple Inc, according to people familiar with the matter.

Google’s Andy Rubin, the brains behind Google’s Android mobile operating system, has been leading conversations with the labels about what a new Google music service would look like, according to these sources.

Rubin, Google’s vice president of engineering, hopes to have the service up and running by Christmas, two of these people said.

The music industry hopes to benefit from a battle for control of the mobile phone and computer desktop between Apple and Google as both technology giants go head-to-head in a wide range of media and consumer technology areas including online TV and movies, mobile phones, software and even advertising.

Music is the latest area they are likely to compete in even though Apple had a major head-start on Google, with its 7-year dominance through iTunes Music Store, which accounts for 70 percent of all U.S. digital music sales.

Google has yet to sign any licensing deals with major labels, these people say, but it hasn’t stopped the labels getting excited about the prospect of its entry to the business and what competition with iTunes could mean for the industry.

"Finally here’s an entity with the reach, resources and wherewithal to take on iTunes as a formidable competitor by tying it into search and Android mobile platform," said a label executive who asked not to be identified. "What you’ll have is a very powerful player in the market that’s good for the music business."

Sales of Android-based phones have rocketed in recent months to 200,000 a day, according to Google, matching the hugely popular iPhones and iPads from Apple which are based on its iOS technology.

"There’s no dearth of music available on a computer right now, but Google can still have an impact on the cellphone or any connected device," said Larry Kenswil, a former Universal Music executive who is a counsel at Loeb & Loeb.

The labels have been grateful to Apple for helping to kick-start digital music sales with iTunes in 2003, but they have been become increasingly concerned with the control the Cupertino, California company exerts over everything from song pricing to digital formats.

Music executives have long believed having other competing powerful digital music retailers could help expand the market.

While digital album sales are up 13 percent year-to-date from the year-ago period, sales of individual songs have held steady, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Google has a wealth of data, from YouTube, as well as from search, that can inform on what people are consuming and looking for music wise," said Simon Wheeler, head of digital at London-based independent music company Beggars Banquet.

But just being big won’t be enough even for a company of Google’s size and capabilities. Leading online retailer Amazon.com Inc launched its MP3 store in 2007 but still only has just over 12 percent market share.

"We’re cautiously optimistic because Google has great scale and reach but doesn’t have a track record in selling stuff," said another label executive who declined to be named as the talks are still ongoing.

A Google spokesman said the company has nothing to announce at this time.

MUSIC IN THE CLOUD

Connected devices like Apple’s iPhone and iPads or Google’s range of Android-based phones will be the next battlefield for music, say various industry watchers.

Labels have been hoping that the introduction of new cloud-based music services from Apple and Google would be a major boost for winning over consumers who want to be able to access their music libraries, discover new songs and make impulse purchases wherever they have Internet access.

Apple bought cloud-based music company LaLa Media last December and closed it in April, leading observers to expect the launch of an Apple-branded cloud service. But on Wednesday Apple unveiled a social media enabled-version of iTunes, leaving some executives a little underwhelmed for now.

Perhaps not by coincidence Google also bought a remote media company called Simplify Media in May and has also promptly closed it down. It has yet to announce any plans for Simplify.

"If they get it right it will hasten the transition by consumers from music you have to own to music you need ubiquitous access to," said Ted Cohen, a former EMI executive who runs TAG Strategic Partners.

On Nasdaq, Google rose by $1.69 to $462.02 and Apple was up 64 cents at $250.97 late Thursday afternoon.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Richard Chang)

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