Nokia (NOK) May Release Microsoft (MSFT) Phone Earlier Than Expected

The short-term narrative for Nokia (NYSE:NOK), as far as it relates to releasing a phone using Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 platform is whether or not they can get a smartphone released earlier than expected.

According to Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair, the company is “ahead of schedule in terms of development,” and could release one before 2012.

As to the overall outlook Blair states, “While we continue to feel the next three to four quarters will reflect the company’s transition away from the Symbian OS and show a marked drop in quarterly units for Nokia, we remain positive on the longer-term outlook for Nokia given the Microsoft partnership. It is our view that Nokia Window’s smartphones will become the fourth major player in the smartphone space, following Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and RIM’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry OS.”

Blair expects the first phone offered by Nokia on the Windows Phone 7 platform could be debuted a the “Nokia World” conference, which usually is scheduled in the last quarter of the year.

Nokia was trading at $8.51, down $0.10, or 1.10 percent, as of 11:17 AM EDT.