Nokia bets on new Communicator

STOCKHOLM: Nokia will unveil a new model in its Communicator product line, the Nokia 9300, early next month, a Swedish newspaper reported.

Daily Svenska Dagbladet said the 9300 would be a smaller, cheaper version of the Nokia 9500 Communicator, which was introduced in February and is due to go on sale in the fourth quarter.

The company views the launch of the 9300 as the most important event this year, for its new division Enterprise Solutions, the paper said.

A spokesman for Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, declined to comment.

The Communicator is a mobile phone with a small keyboard, which allows users to read and write e-mails and access the Internet. Thanks to its limited laptop functions, it has become popular among people who travel a lot for work.

Svenska Dagbladet said the 9300, to be unveiled in New York on September 8, would be priced at around 6,500 Swedish crowns ($861.4) in shops.

The Finnish company expects the 9300 model to sell in greater volumes than the 9500, the paper added.