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Nokia (NOK) Has This One Key Advantage Over Apple (AAPL) in Europe

December 3, 2012 7:49 AM EST
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shares are ticking higher amid positive chatter behind the company on Monday.

According to Bloomberg, Nokia might have a leg-up on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and other mobile device OEMs in Europe as its newest Lumia line takes advantage of Europe's high-speed 4G LTE network. Apple's iPhone 5 is unable to run on the network, deterring some customers in the region from purchasing the device, saying that it's too slow.

With Apple and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android-based device controlling about 90 percent of the European market, the only real direction for Nokia is up. The Lumia line runs on Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system. It runs on nearly 24 LTE mobile networks in Europe, whereas Apple's iPhone 5 is compatible with just two.

No word has been confirmed on whether or not Apple will move to update the iPhone 5 to run on more LTE networks in Europe.

One Strategy Analytics analyst sees Nokia selling about 5 million Lumia devices in the fourth quarter, up from 2.9 million in the third quarter.

The biggest threat to Nokia in Europe right now is Samsung, which has its popular Galaxy S III and Note II compatible with scores of European LTE networks. Overall customer satisfaction with Apple and Android devices is another hurdle.

Nokia is up 1.5 percent in early trading.


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