Nokia Lumia gets bigger screen, lower price for global markets

Nokia Oyj, the mobile-device manufacturer striving to regain market share lost to Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., introduced a smartphone for its Lumia line targeted at developing economies.

The Lumia 625 is cheaper than some previous models and comes with a 4.7-inch LCD screen and the ability to connect to the speedier fourth-generation wireless networks. The phone will cost 220 euros ($290) before mobile-operator subsidies and will go on sale in Asia, Africa and Latin America this quarter, Nokia said today in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop is trying to accelerate Nokia’s turnaround by adding cheaper Lumias as demand for high-end handsets is slowing. Espoo, Finland-based Nokia, formerly the world’s smartphone-market leader, has lost more than 5 billion euros in nine quarters as consumers turned to devices made by Apple, Samsung and Chinese competitors.

The new phone is Nokia’s latest device using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system. The company introduced the Lumia 1020 with a 4.5-inch screen and 41-megapixel camera this month at a press conference in New York. Lumia’s higher-priced models typically sell for 400 euros or more.

Nokia’s second-quarter sales fell 24 percent as increasing Lumia sales weren’t enough to offset waning demand for older and more basic devices. Even as Lumia deliveries rose to 7.4 million units in the period, the model line lags far behind the more than 100 million smartphones combined that Samsung and Apple sell each quarter. Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones in the three months through March and is set to report its next quarterly earnings today.

Nokia rose 0.9 percent to 3.05 euros at 11:53 a.m. in Helsinki trading, extending this year’s gain to 4.2 percent. The stock has lost almost 90 percent in the past six years.