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Nokia to Launch Lumia Windows Phone With China Mobile

Nokia will partnerwith China Mobile to launch a version of its newflagship Lumia smartphone tailored for the world's largestcellular market, the Finnish company said on Wednesday.

China Mobile, the biggest operator in the world with morethan 700 million subscribers, will start selling the Lumia 920T,the first phone to be based on Microsoft's new WindowsPhone 8 platform in China's third-generation (3G) network.

Nokia shares rose 6.1 percent in the early Helsinki trade.Successful sales of the latest Lumia 920 and 820 models are seencrucial for the company as it tries to reverse a decline inmarket share it has lost to Samsung and Apple.

Chinese telecom carriers have been engaged in intense pricecompetition by offering cheap handset deals and data plans totry to attract higher-end 3G subscribers. China Mobile is theonly telecom carrier in China without a contract with Apple to sell iPhones in the country.