Nokia has delayed the shipment of its new flagship E7 phone, which means it will miss the holiday shopping period, and plans to cut 800 staff in its home market.
The news rounds off a troubled year for the firm, which is still the world’s biggest handset manufacturer but has been unable to create high-end products to compete with Apple or Android-based products.
Nokia’s last flagship launch, the N8, was also delayed. The E7 is a business-focused device mostly based on the same specs as the N8, with a qwerty keyboard instead of a large touchscreen.
Nokia said the E7, scheduled to go on sale this month, will instead be released early in 2011, Reuters reported.
A spokesman said the delay was to ensure “the best possible user experience on the E7.”
Commented blogsite GigaOm: “Considering the recently released Nokia N8 is the basically the same phone, what does the E7 delay say about the user experience of the N8?”
Hannu Rauhala, an analyst at Pohjola Bank in Helsinki, told Reuters the late shipment increased “uncertainty” over Nokia’s high-end models.
Separately, Nokia is to axe 800 jobs in Finland, to take effect from January, Reuters said.
The company announced worldwide cuts of 1,800 staff in October.
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