Nokia: Will They Get US Traction As A Third Way? - Barron's (blog)

By Tiernan Ray

Kaufman Brothers's Ben Abromowitz today writes that AT&T (T) could be Nokia's (NOK) entree into the U.S. smartphone market for its "Lumia" phone based on Microsoft (MSFT) Windows Phone 7 software, which went on sale in Europe recently but has yet to come to the States.

Reports indicate that AT&T is working on a deal around Nokia's new Windows-based Lumia smartphones, which are selling in Europe. Orange said it had more preorders for the Nokia phone than any other phone in its history. With Sprint[-Nextel (S)] now the third U.S. carrier with Apple's iPhone, we believe AT&T and Verizon will increasingly begin focusing their efforts on a Windows phone to offset Apple and target the enterprise market beyond the consumer market. We believe this poses another potential risk for Sprint and its new long-term commitment to Apple.

Nokia shares today are down 13 cents, or 2.4%, at $5.34.