Nokia CEO promises new Windows Phone 8 handset coming “soon”

NokiaChief Executive Stephen Elop today promised that Nokia will “soon” unveil a new smartphone powered by Windows Phone 8. Saying only that it would happen “relatively near term,” he would not provide a specific timeframe. At the same time, he did not deny that the launch could happen in September.

Rumours suggest that Nokia will unveil two or three new Lumia smartphones at its Nokia World 2012 event set to take place September 5th and 6th in Helsinki, Finland. The move is widely seen as an attempt to get the word out before Apple unveils its next-generation iPhone (possibly as early as September 12th).

Despite selling only 4 million Windows Phone Lumia smartphones and losing €1.53 billion in its second fiscal quarter, Nokia remains committed to Windows Phone. “In today’s war … (between) Android, Apple and Windows, we are very clear, we are fighting that with the Windows phone,” said Elop to reporters.

Read more: Reuters