WSJ says Nokia X7 cancellation for AT&T due to manufacturer's worry about the carrier

The other day we reported that the Nokia X7 would no longer be launched as a subsidized model on AT&T and that the handset would be released in certain markets as an unlocked phone. Today, the WSJ came out with what the late Paul Harvey might have called, "The rest of the story".

According to those that the financial paper called "people familiar with the situation", Nokia had planned on releasing the X7 on AT&T prior to the MWC in Barcelona next month. Nokia has been unable to gain traction in the U.S. with a smartphone model subsidized by one of the major carriers, so the Nokia X7 launch was seen as an important launch for the Finnish based manufacturer.

But Nokia felt that AT&T would not provide enough marketing support for the device and also worried that the mobile operator would not provide enough of a subsidy to make the phone competitively priced. Most top-line handsets have been priced at $199.99 with a 2 year contract.

While Nokia still plans on offering the X7 in other markets, the manufacturer has had trouble in the smartphone segment of the U.S. market and despite the fact that the company is the number one producer of handsets world-wide in terms of units sold, the reliance on what is seen as a dated OS platform has helped prevent Nokia from challenging Apple, RIM and Android flavored models in the States. Despite improvements overall, the Symbian ^3 OS which powers the X7, is said to be more cumbersome and not as quick and intuitive as other operating systems.

source: WSJ