Nokia unveils new flagship phone model

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia Oyj unveiled details of its first phone with new Symbian 3 software on Tuesday, designed to challenge the iPhone and Blackberry at the high-end of the market.

Last week Nokia cut its profit outlook and delayed the sales launch of Symbian 3 phones until the third quarter -- sending its shares sharply lower.

The new N8 flagship model -- will have a 12 megapixel camera and 3.5-inch touch screen -- and will retail for 370 euros ($493), excluding subsidies and taxes, Nokia said in a press release.

Nokia, which has yet to show the actual phone to journalists or analysts, is counting on the new software to start clawing back market share lost to Nokia's new rivals.

"Symbian 3 is evolutionary not revolutionary, but N8, if reliable, is a first step in efforts to make Nokia's high-end phones credible again," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.

Nokia lacks a top-range model to challenge Apple's iPhone three years after its launch. Its last high-end hit phone was the N95, which was unveiled in 2006.

The first review of the new phone, published by Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin -- who has a strong track record of scooping unveiled Nokia phones -- slammed the new model.

"It's the same as it was before with the same sauce, but with small changes in functionality," Murtazin wrote in www.mobile-review.com.

Nokia shares were down 1.3 percent at 9.24 euros at 6:39 a.m. ET.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki, editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

($1=.7504 Euro)