Nokia Unveils N810 Mobile Internet Tablet for WiMax

LAS VEGAS(Reuters) – Nokia’s N810 mobile Internet tablet will be one of thefirst devices designed for a new high-speed wireless network thatSprint Nextel Corp will launch commercially in April.

Nokia on Tuesday unveiled a version of the handheld device, whichhas a 4.13-inch touch screen, for WiMax — the emerging wirelesstechnology that Sprint is betting on for its next generation ofhigh-speed services.

WiMax promises to blanket cities with mobile Web links that are fivetimes faster than today’s speeds. Like the first N810, which went onsale in the fall, the new version will also work on Wi-Fi, ashort-range wireless technology used in hotspots such in coffee shops.

"The difference with WiMax is that you can move out of thathotspot," Mark Louison, head of Nokia’s North American business, saidin an interview ahead of the CTIA annual U.S. wireless show in LasVegas.

Sprint, which has been seeking outside funding to expand WiMaxbeyond an initial three markets, has promised to open the network to awide array of devices, such as music players or cameras, whichconsumers could buy from any store. The three initial markets areChicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Sprint has said it would have10 WiMax devices at launch.

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, has trailed MotorolaInc and Samsung Electronics in the United States as it has won littlebusiness with U.S. carriers, which tightly control the phones that workon their networks.

There has been uncertainty about the U.S. future of WiMax. Sprint,which is losing customers from its existing service, has said it isre-examining its commitment to spend $5 billion on WiMax by 2010.

Sprint and Clearwire Corp, a smaller WiMax provider, are in talks tocombine their WiMax assets in a venture with investment by othercompanies such as Comcast Corp, Intel Corp and Google Inc, sourcesfamiliar with the talks said last week.

Asked if Nokia would consider joining such a venture, Louison said:"Our business model is focusing on building devices and applicationsthat run on devices … We’ve never invested in an operator."

Even if the U.S. WiMax market evolves more slowly than expected,Louison said Nokia was confident it would find a market for the N810overseas.

"WiMax is bigger than Sprint," he said.

The WiMax N810 will be available from Nokia’s online store and its shops in New York and Chicago for $479, Nokia said.

(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)