Nokia Banking On New Phone Features; Cameras, E-Mail Access; Company made its name with its no-frills phones but now looks to expand.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: MIKE ANGELL

Finnish cell phone maker Nokia Corp. is releasing new phones in the U.S. next year. Will that be enough to boost the company's market share here?

Nokia once was noted for low-priced consumer phones, but its new phones are aimed at consumers who are willing to spend more for more features and data-hungry business customers.

In particular, Nokia is looking to stake its claim in the market for new features like wireless e-mail, color screens and built-in cameras. The market for cell phones loaded with features is new and up for grabs.

"Nokia is still far and away the leader in the North America market," said Gartner Inc. wireless analyst Paul Dittner. "But it's starting to feel some pressure from other firms, which are releasing color screens and camera phones."

New cell phones from Nokia and other manufacturers are prompting analysts to raise their forecasts for worldwide cell phone sales.

Merrill Lynch estimates 474 million cell phones will be sold in 2003. That's up from an earlier forecast of 410 million.