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Nov. 17, 2008

AT&T Mobility said it has started selling the Nokia 6650 SmartPhone at noon Friday for $70.

It comes with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate, a Nokia spokesperson said.

According to Ian Laing, general manager of Nokia’s AT&T Mobility account team, the 3G flip-style mobile phone runs the Symbian platform and offers industry-leading talk time, an HTML browser, AT&T Mobility’s Navigator, Video Share and Mobile Music services and even includes a 2-megapixel camera.

Nokia's 6650 smartphone is one among several handsets under development for years between the two parties at Nokia’s San Diego research-and-development facility, according to Laing.

The handset’s cover is brushed aluminum and its traditional keypad allows custom lighting effects. "This is part of a rollout that began in 2007 and will continue well into 2009,” Laing said.

Although Nokia has close to a very comfortable 40 percent market share internationally, its market share of the U.S. market is only 9.8 percent and its brand isn't as well known here.

AT&T Mobility is currently the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., ironically a market where Nokia has little impact.

Some observers think Nokia is resisting the expensive customization requirements of U.S. wireless carriers. The handset maker has three phone models currently at AT&T Mobility, all of them free, but with a two-year contract.

Laing said that sales and marketing plans for the Nokia 6650 were still under discussion between the vendor and AT&T.

It will be interesting to see if Nokia manages to increase its market share in the United States and Canada, with this move and with some of its marketing plans discussed above.

As always, Wireless Industry News will keep you posted.

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Source: AT&T Mobility.