To say Nokia's strategy since it announced its partnership with Microsoft back in February has been muddled is putting it mildly.

As well as setting its sights on becoming the primary Windows Phone manufacturer, Nokia has also pledged its support for Symbian for some years to come, and unveiled its first (and only) MeeGo phone to the world.

That's a strategy appears to have changed, at least in North America.

In an interview with All Things D, head of Nokia's US subsidiary Chris Weber has, for the first time, stated support for Symbian across both smartphone and feature phones will be dropped in the territory once the firm's first Windows Phone rolls out.

The big pull out

"When we launch Windows Phones we will essentially be out of the Symbian business, the S40 business, etc.," Weber told the site.

"It will be Windows Phone and the accessories around that. The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn’t matter what we do (elsewhere)."

This is no afterthought for a better best forgotten market, however. And while Nokia's presence in North America is currently small, it's the main future target for the Finnish firm and Microsoft.

"We'll develop for North America and make the phones globally available and applicable," Weber added.

"Without getting into numbers, it is significantly larger than anything we have done in the past and the most we will invest in any market worldwide. They are putting their money where their mouth is."

[source: All Things Digital]