HELSINKI, Finland

NOKIA Corp yesterday launched its first set of smartphones to run on the updated Symbian software with new icons, enhancements and a faster browser.

Nokia said the two models — the E6 and X7 — have longer battery life, better text input and new Ovi Maps applications with improved search and public transport routes.

The Nokia E6, with a standard QWERTY keypad and high-resolution touch display, is aimed at corporate customers, while the Nokia X7 is an entertainment-focused handset with a four-inch (10-centimetre) display made for games.

The world’s largest cellphone maker did not price the handsets.

Markets seemed unimpressed by the announcement, which comes as Nokia continues to struggle against stiff competition, especially from Apple Inc and Research in Motion.

Nokia stock fell more than 1.5 per cent to euro6.18 (US$8.92) in afternoon trading in Helsinki.

More than 200 million phones, with 150 million more expected on the market, use Symbian technology, seen by some developers as clumsy and dated. At the end of last year, it was surpassed by Android as the world’s No 1 smartphone software.

Nokia said the new, faster Symbian software, known as Symbian Anna, will be available for previously released top models, including the N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 devices “in coming months”.

In February, Nokia and Microsoft surprised the industry by announcing they were joining forces to challenge major rivals — Apple’s iPhone and Android, Google’s software for phones and tablets.

Nokia said it will use Microsoft Corp’s Windows Phone software as the main platform for its smartphones in an effort to recover lost share from the iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry. But Nokia said it will continue to develop and use the new Symbian software.

The company, which claims 1.3 billion daily users of its devices, said it hopes the partnership with Microsoft will lead to capturing the next billion users to join the Internet in developing growth markets.

Nokia, an Espoo-based company, near Helsinki, employs 132,500 people.