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Technology Stocks : Nokia Corp. (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 49thMIMOMander who wrote (1892)	1/9/2002 5:20:21 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9255

UHm?

To: 49thMIMOMander who wrote (1892)	1/11/2002 2:42:22 AM
From: Puck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9255

[Frank Nuovo news:] Nokia Plans New Vertu Division To Design Jeweled Cellphones By ALMAR LATOUR Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LONDON -- A hand-crafted mobile phone with a sapphire crystal face? Nokia Corp. is creating a subsidiary to sell mobile phones encased in precious metals or other luxury materials, people familiar with the plans said. The Finnish giant plans to offer the devices under a new brand name, Vertu, produced by the London-based subsidiary. The unit, Vertu Ltd., which will have separate management from Nokia, will be launched globally Jan. 21. The project has been under secret development since 1997. Vertu's chief designer is Frank Nuovo, who has been head of Nokia's design team since 1995. The company will aim to bring to the communications technology industry what the watch and car industries already have: brands with hand-crafted products and a heavy emphasis on style and service. Mr. Nuovo will maintain his position as Nokia's chief designer. The move comes amid a slump in mobile-phone sales with the slowdown partly reflecting saturation of major markets. In addition, many people have been putting off purchases while they wait for the arrival of new technologies that will allow downloading of video and audio clips, for example. Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile phones with a market share of nearly 40%, has been forced recently to concede that its global market forecasts for last year were overly optimistic. The Vertu subsidiary isn't aiming for massive scale, however. Instead, it's aiming at wealthy people willing to pay a premium for a device that looks and feels different. It's unclear how much the new phones will cost. Vertu has hired some 200 people, and the company has contracted jewelry makers and craftsmen to manufacture the new devices, which will use existing technologies. The launch of the company will coincide with the launch of its first luxury gadget. Nokia has long used new designs as a way to attract new customers. Its fashion-savvy has helped it outpace such rivals as Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Motorola Inc. of the U.S. The Finnish company has traditionally tried to associate itself with luxury brands. For instance, Nokia ads showed a silver-colored model floating inside a perfume bottle.