The world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia presented three new camera phones yesterday, including the 7710 media device, which it said would hit Asian stores in the last quarter of this year.

The Finnish company launched the 7710, a semi-oval phone with a touch-screen and designed for television and video, together with the 3230 smartphone, which has a megapixel camera, and the 6020 camera phone, at a company event in Monaco.

The handsets bring the number of Nokia phones unveiled this year to 27 versus a 2004 target of 35 new models. Nokis hopes the new phones will help stem market share loss to rivals due to its previously patchy line-up of phone models, especially with a lack of mid-priced camera phones.

The company is to launch over 20 mobile phone models with high-resolution cameras next year, the head of Nokia's multimedia operations Anssi Vanjoki said at the event.

Nokia said the 7710 would be on sale in Asia in the fourth quarter and in Europe from the first quarter of 2005 for around 500 euros ($635). The 3230, which is expected to retail for 350 euros and the 6020, with a 200-euro price tag, will both be on sale from the first quarter of 2005.

It hopes that next year will prove a turning point after a turbulent 2004. The company revealed in April it was losing market share because of the gaps in its product offering.

Price cuts on certain models have also helped the company, which makes almost one in three handsets globally, stem the loss of market share, and in October it reported third-quarter earnings that fell by less than expected.

The launches come against a backdrop of a slowing global mobile phone market that according to research group Strategy Analytics is expected to grow by only 8% in 2005 after a 30% surge this year, as markets become saturated.

From itWeb