Nokia Gets Ringing Endorsement

Nokia (NOK) keeps nailing it overseas, rolling out three new music phones and a Web site to sell songs and games.

Shares of the big wireless phone company rose Wednesday after Nokia unveiled the latest additions to its handset lineup. But rivals like Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM) cheered Nokia's announcement as well.

The glee, say observers, stems from the limited impact the new phones will have on holiday sales here as Nokia, the No. 1 phone maker, continues to struggle in the U.S. market.

Nokia did introduce a new version of its N95 multimedia phone with an expanded 8 gigabits of memory. But the much-heralded $699 device has yet to find a U.S. telco partner to assist with sales.

Nokia's latest crop of phones and online sales strategy takes direct aim at Apple's iPhone and iTunes franchise. But without U.S. telcos peddling the new Nokia phones, there's little threat to iPhone and BlackBerry sales during the big Christmas sales rush, say industry watchers.

The new Nokia phones are loaded with features like big, high-resolution screens, standard 3.5mm headphone jacks, WiFi, Bluetooth, memory card slots and FM radios. Two are sliders, featuring retractable keypads.

Nokia also introduced Ovi, a Web site focused on sales of music, games and maps.

Apple shares rose 3% to $129.88, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion tacked on 2% to $78.71 and Nokia added 5% to $31.43. The only big handset player left out of the rally was struggling Motorola (MOT), up just 8 cents to $16.25 in early trading Wednesday.

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