Nokia plans to announce Windows Phone 8-based handsets as early as next month at its Nokia World event, according to a new report. Citing a "a person with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg on Monday reported that the Finland-based company will release its new smartphones ahead of an expected Sept. 12 unveiling of the next version of the iPhone. The new phones will be available for sale before the year-end holiday shopping season, the report added.

Officials at Nokia declined to comment on the report.

Nokia is now betting a wave of advertising spending by Microsoft to push the new Windows 8 software will help accelerate the momentum for Lumia.

Last quarter, Nokia sold 600,000 handsets in North America, little changed from the previous period even after introducing the flagship Lumia 900 in April at AT&T. Apple sold 5.9 million iPhones in the U.S. in the quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.

Nokia, whose U.S. market share peaked at 32 percent in 2001, accounted for about 2 percent of smartphone purchases in the second quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. IPhone and Android combined made up about 90 percent.