Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Sees Android (NASDAQ:GOOG) as Top Competitor

While acknowledging Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is at top mobile phone competitor, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) CEO Stephen Elop has a priority of taking on Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android-based phones first.

His reasoning is the huge ecosystem Android has and it multiple price points.

The iPhone operates in the high-end of the mobile market, so isn't a multiple threat yet, although there's talk of releasing a smaller version of a phone soon.

On the low end of the scale, some Chinese companies are also making big gains and must be taken into account, although they'll eventually start pressuring the high-end as well, although probably more down the road.

Elop said on Monday the company will work hard to deliver a smartphone in 2011 based on the Window Phone 7 platform.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said in 2012 there should be a variety smartphone offerings from Nokia with Window Phone 7.

Interestingly, Elop added even with the new partnership with Microsoft, they'll continue to work on their old Symbian platform, which he called "capable," but need to be upgraded to a more contemporary user interface. He said improvements there should come in a fairly short time.