The new Nokia smart phone Lumia is displayed at Nokia world, London, Oct 26, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

First Results

Analysts were positive about the new phones, though they said the first results of the Nokia-Microsoft pairing remained well short of an iPhone killer.

"These devices are a good start, but the reality is that they are pretty much plain vanilla Windows Phone products," said Ben Wood, director of research at UK-based telecoms analysis firm CCS Insight.

"The real fruits of Nokia's and Microsoft's labours will come next year ... but it remains a Herculean task to recapture this lucrative market from Apple and (Google platform) Android."

The Lumia 800, with vivid colours and a curved, black display, features Windows Phone's live icons on the home screen, which automatically update news, weather and Facebook feeds.  

It also boasts free navigation and Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 9 browser, and will sell for about 420 euros ($584) excluding taxes and subsidies, putting it in the same bracket as Apple's iPhone and Samsung's top Galaxy phones.

The Lumia 710 will sell for about 270 euros.

"The Lumia phones do have some strong selling points in their own right ... and they offer a look and feel that's radically different from anything seen previously on a Nokia device," said John Delaney, research director at technology research firm IDC.

The new Nokia smart phone Lumia 800 is displayed at Nokia world, London, Oct 26, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Herculean Task

Nokia has suffered most in recent years in the United States, where operators have spurned its offerings in favour of the iPhone and popular Android models such as the MotorolaDroid.

Elop said the company planned a portfolio of new products for the US market early next year, and said Nokia did have US carrier support.  

In Europe, Nokia has launched the new phones with the support of 31 operators and retailers, which will help push the phones into the hands of consumers and secure subsidies.

Microsoft's mobile platform has a market share of just 2-3 percent, compared with Android's near 50 percent and Apple's 15 percent of the smartphone market.

Analysts and developers said Microsoft's platform was emerging as the third player at a fortuitous time, when Google's planned $12.5 billion offer for Motorola Mobility was creating uncertainty among other Android phone makers.

"They got really lucky. There is a lot of confusion in the Android marketplace now," said Carolina Milanesi, analyst with technology research firm Gartner.

Elop said it was an open question as to how much disruption the Google-Motorola deal would have, but said any indication of problems should help.

"I think that any confusion or questions in the other ecosystems can be something that can be an advantage to the Windows Phone," Elop told Reuters.

The phones will go on sale in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain in November, and in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year.

Nokia also unveiled four new basic phones for emerging markets, where it still holds a leading position.

Nokia's third-quarter results beat low expectations, sparking hopes that the company can survive a painful revamp, but smartphone sales still dropped 38 percent from a year ago.  

The annual Nokia World media and industry event in London, where the launch took place on Wednesday, includes speakers from the world's largest carriers, China Mobile , Vodafone, Orange and MTN .  

($1 = 0.719 Euros)