Nokia To Shutter Symbian And Feature Phone Businesses In North America

Since Nokia has committed to Microsoft for the Windows Phone platform, it's been shifting its entire focus on the transition. Today, the company has revealed in an interview with AllThingsD that it will stop selling Symbian-based smartphones as well as its lower-end feature phones in the US and Canada, where it plans to reestablish itself with its Windows Phone handsets using the largest marketing push the company has ever invested.

AllThingsD interviewed the head of Nokia's US subsidiary, Chris Weber, who said that the company will be putting all efforts behind its new Windows Phone products. He also revealed that Nokia intends to sell exclusively through traditional wireless carriers, whereas in the past the company had a difficult time getting carriers to subsidize and market its products.

"When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc., " said Weber. "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)."

Nokia sees North America as the key market for Microsoft as well as for winning the smartphone battle worldwide, which means that its first Mango handset, codenamed the Sea Ray, will ship in the US first. In contrast, the N9 MeeGo handset, which the Sea Ray appears to be modeled after will not be making an appearance stateside.

[via AllThingsD]