Nokia plots US comeback with N8 smartphone

Nokia Oyj’s effort to regain lost US market share hinges on convincing software developers its new high-end smartphone can compete with Apple and Samsung for holiday shoppers, Executive Vice-President Tero Ojanpera said.

Holding the new N8 touch-screen phone in a San Francisco hotel, Ojanpera said delivering simple tools for creating games like the popular “Angry Birds” will help Nokia become more relevant to US consumers and overcome Apple Inc’s dominance.

The N8 will change US shoppers’ views that Nokia devices, which use the Symbian operating system, aren’t as fun or easy to use as Apple’s or products with Google Inc’s Android software, Ojanpera said in an interview. The world’s biggest handset maker, Nokia has a 38 percent share of the smartphone market, researcher Canalys said. Its total US market share is 7.8 per cent, according to ComScore Inc.

“What’s hot in the US today will change,” said Ojanpera, who oversees Espoo, Finland-based Nokia’s location, messaging, entertainment and context-based services. “There’s already talk in the US about Android passing Apple. The good news is change happens and winning ultimately is about responding to the consumers’ needs.” “Angry Birds,” made by a Finnish company, became an instant hit on Apple’s iPhone. Users control a flock of birds that metes out revenge on the green pigs stealing their eggs.