Nokia issues new line of Lumias before holiday season

Nokia Oyj, presented its first products since sell-off of its handset business to Microsoft Corp., showed a tablet and smartphones in an attempt to revive demand.

The products are an expansion to the line of Windows-based devices and signal the type of features that Microsoft will bet on in its hardware push after its first products failed to win over users.

The Lumia 2520, Nokia’s first tablet, runs Microsoft’s Windows RT 8.1 software and has a 10.1-inch display. It costs $499 before taxes and will start selling this quarter, mainly in the U.K., Finland and the U.S. by carriers including AT&T Inc.. Nokia also showed two smartphones with six-inch screens which refer to “phablet” devices.

The six-inch Lumia 1520, Nokia’s largest smartphone, will compete with Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3. It’ll start selling this quarter for $749 before taxes and carrier deals. The other new smartphone, the Lumia 1320, is priced at $339.

“We see no obvious stand-out feature that looks likely to persuade large numbers of people who are in the market for a Note 3 to change their minds and choose a Lumia 1520 instead,” John Delaney, an analyst at researcher IDC, reported in an email to Bloomberg.

The six-inch Lumia 1520, Nokia’s largest smartphone, will compete with Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 and comes in yellow, white, black and glossy red. It’ll start selling this quarter for $749 before taxes and subsidies. The other new smartphone, the Lumia 1320, is $339.

Tablets running the 8.1 RT version of Microsoft’s operating system were fiercely criticized for being too basic, which led to company cutting the price of some such models. Using the same OS the new device line could suffer from similar feedback.

“Nokia’s tablet is a disaster waiting to happen,” Windsor said. “It’s running Windows 8.1 RT which is likely to ensure that no one buys this device.” said Richard Windsor, an independent analyst with Radio Free Mobile

AT&T assured it will sell the Nokia tablet and the Lumia 1520 ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Nokia shares declined 1% to 5.24 euros at 12:56 p.m. in Helsinki. They had added 81% this year through yesterday, boosted by the Microsoft deal. Microsoft rose 0.1% to $34.99 in New York yesterday and is up 31% this year.

CNN Money reports that the current consensus among 56 polled investment analysts is to hold stock in Nokia Oyj.