Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has made hints that it might build and market a smart phone with a full Qwerty keyboard. Pictures of the new phone, which the company is set to release on Wednesday, appeared to hint at the implementation of the full keyboard, which for many years has been the hallmark of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry mobile phones.
An image posted by the company today along with a blog post promising something new from its mobile phones division on Wednesday, seemed to be of the corner of a mobile phone, showing what looked like part of a full Qwerty keyboard.
This won’t be the first time that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has used full Qwerty keyboards to try to move into the enterprise market traditionally held by Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry. The company’s Asha line of phones has often implemented a full keyboard, and was aimed at many markets, like south Asia, where RIM has traditionally performed strongly.
This will be the first time, however, that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) and Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry will both offer Qwerty keyboards on premium smart phones, heightening the level of competition between the two companies. Both are seeking to establish themselves as the third biggest company in the smart phone market, behind Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930).
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) seems to be aiming squarely at RIM, and trying to destroy that company’s base before it moves on to compete with the rest of the smart phone market. The rationale of that strategy might be questioned, given the tiny portion of the smart phone market that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)/Blackberry controls.
Regardless, Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) will continue its attempts to establish itself, even if its overall strategy is ineffable at times. On today’s market, however, Nokia stock increased by more than 3% as investors seemed to decide that the drubbing the stock took after its earnings report had gone far enough.
In the last five days, the company’s shares have lost more than 9 percent of their value after a disappointing earnings report, and confusion about the company’s future reigned. Nobody really knows how Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is going to survive the next year, and the company doesn’t seem to want to offer any clues.
Needless to say, the introduction of a Qwerty phone is not going to sway the market toward support for the company.
