Innovative Apple and RIM put pressure on Nokia
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Nokia Corp may be the world's top cell phone maker, but it's no longer a trendsetter, as a host of inventive and alluring technologies from North America is shifting the center of gravity in the cellular universe away from Europe.
Despite efforts to boost its position in the United States, Nokia is struggling to compete with Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc - maker of the iPhone - and Canada's Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry smartphone.
"There has long been a steady stream of North American firms attacking Nokia and they are likely to encourage others, such as Amazon, to follow suit," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics. "The intensity of competition can really only get tougher."
Innovation is where Nokia has faltered, experts say. After much hype, its N-Gage online game flopped. And it's been slow to catch on to market trends, from folding "clamshell" handsets to phones with sliding tops and touch screens. It was forced to quickly ship models with those features to markets.
In October, it launched its first laptop, a netbook with a 10-inch screen that runs on Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 software. It also has introduced touch-screen handsets that unmistakably resemble the iPhone.
Nokia's Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo concedes the Finnish company is under pressure.
"There is no doubt the center of mobile innovation has shifted from Europe to Silicon Valley. We are working to tap into this innovation," Kallasvuo told analysts earlier this month. He said Nokia had installed more than 3,300 employees in North America to redress the balance.
When Kallasvuo took over as CEO in 2006, he said a top priority for Nokia would be to improve its performance in the US market, but success has been elusive.
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