Nokia will stop selling feature phones and Symbian-based devices in North America as it shifts its entire focus to Microsoft Windows-based devices, an exec told All Things D.
Chris Weber, a Microsoft vet who joined as Nokia's head of North America in February, wasn't shy about calling North America Nokia's "priority."
"When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc.," Weber told ATD's Ina Fried. "It will be Windows Phone and the accessories around that. The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn't matter what we do (elsewhere)."
Weber also said Nokia will sell exclusively through the carriers, a remarkable statement coming from a company that traditionally sells unsubsidized, unlocked phones overseas, and has attempted (without much success) to do the same in the states.
Nokia's first Windows Phone device, codenamed Sea Ray, is slated to launch this fall. Last week, the company also introduced a new Symbian device, the Nokia 500, reflecting a new naming system.
Use of Nokia's proprietary Symbian OS is widespread in Nokia-town (Finland) and feature phones running Symbian's S40 feature phone OS form Nokia's bread and butter in developing countries, but these platforms have hardly made a dent in North America. Furthermore Nokia told Engadget that it had no plans to launch the upcoming MeeGo-based N9 smartphone in the United States.
Last week, IDC reported that global feature phone sales were down 4 percent in the second quarter of the year compared to the year before, its first decline since the third quarter of 2009. IDC said this reflected the migration of consumers in the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe to more lucrative smartphones. Nokia was affected the most among the major manufacturers, with feature phone sales declining 16 percent in the second quarter, compared to the year before.