Nokia hasn’t had any luck breaking any real ground in Japan since establishing themselves there in August 2003 with the Nokia 6650, and so has announced that they’ll be pulling out of the market . Less than 1% market share combined with turbulent economic waters makes cutting their losses a safe bet, but their plans for launching an MVNO with luxury Vertu brand in Japan are still good to go. It’s doubtful that the E71 will still launch on DoCoMo in March as previously announced. (EDIT: Confirmed!) Speaking of which, Android will be worming their way into the Land of the Rising Sun by way of DoCoMo sometime next year, so maybe they’ll see a little more success, but based on poor penetration by LG and Samsung, and the home team having an established advantage, it’ll be a rocky ride.
[via Reuters]