Nokia will open 2 stores in the US by the end of the year. These “flagship stores” will sell the complete line of North American Nokia products, including the recently announced N93 (I guess that this answers the question of whether it would hit North American shores), N73 and N72. This is a departure from the norm where Nokia and other cell phone manufacturers sell their products through carriers’ stores where they are typically bundled with service plans.
Following a model used by Apple and Gateway, the stores will be staffed by Nokia employees promising a deeper product knowledge than you might get today. it will also allow Nokia to offer products which are a little lower volume, and a little targeted.
The first store is scheduled to opne in June in Chicago and a New York store will follow by the end of 2006.