Nokia squares up to smartphone rivals

"Nokia is back" was the simple message company bosses delivered at the opening of the Nokia World showcase event this week.

Three new smartphones were unveiled that the firm hopes will put Nokia back in the race with the likes of Apple and Research in Motion in the high-end smartphone market.

"We've lost a little bit of the shine in our high-end devices. That's being solved today," Colin Giles, head of global sales, told Reuters. "We need to rebuild our brand, for sure."

The E7, C7 and an updated C6 devices are all due to go on sale before the end of the year.

"The products are a clear improvement... but we know they are not where Nokia needs to be yet, and any other promise around 'we are working on it' would have not convinced anyone," Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said.

Nokia recently brought ex-Microsoft executive Stephen Elop on board to replace outgoing Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who saw Nokia's market value almost half during his reign.

Milanesi added, “A new CEO and the old guard stepping down might give investors more confidence that things are really changing."