Expect Nokia Windows phones in 2012: chairman

Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop delivers a speech at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona February 16, 2011.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia board chairman said on Wednesday Nokia Windows phones will be on the markets from 2012 on and noted that Nokia had other potential partners in addition to Microsoft and Google.

Nokia announced last Friday it would partner with Microsoft and would adopt Windows Phone software across its devices, replacing its home-grown Symbian platform and turning the world's largest cellphone maker into a pure hardware player.

"These Windows-based products (will be on markets) from 2012 onwards," Jorma Ollila said in an interview with Finnish broadcaster YLE.

Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said on Tuesday the firm was feeling the pressure and aimed to produce a phone running new partner Microsoft's operating system by the end of this year.

Ollila said Microsoft had not been the only option for Nokia and noted many companies had showed their interest in cooperating with the Finnish mobile phone maker.

"There were Microsoft, Google and our own choice (to continue alone). And in addition to these we also had other suitors."

He also said he had not been pressured by any shareholders about who should be Nokia's chief executive. Elop started at the helm of Nokia last September and the Canadian is the first non-Finn to head the firm.

Ollila repeated that he is available to work at Nokia board until 2012.

(Reporting by Terhi Kinnunen)