Nokia to unveil touch-screen phone Oct 2 - sources

By Tarmo Virki

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top cellphone maker Nokia will unveil its first touch-screen phone at a media and analyst event in London next week, two industry sources told Reuters on Friday.

Smaller handset vendors -- LG Electronics, Apple and Samsung Electronics -- have rolled out numerous popular touch-screen phones over the last two years.

Both sources said Nokia was set to unveil the phone, codenamed "Tube", on Oct 2. A Nokia spokeswoman declined to comment.

"The phone is extremely important. We have been waiting for the market leader to respond to [Apple Inc's] iPhone for a year and a half now. There is a lot of pressure on Nokia," said Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Gartner.

Nokia said in July it would introduce its first touch-screen phone this year, and would sell it more cheaply than rival touch-screen models in order to tap into a higher-volume market.

"The demand outlook in emerging markets, like India, is good for a cheaper touch-screen phone," said Hannu Rauhala, an analyst with Pohjola Bank.

Kai Oistamo, head of Nokia's devices business, said in July the Finnish firm was fully committed to bringing a complete portfolio of touch devices to the market, both in the high-end and low-end segments.

Shares in Nokia were 3.4 percent lower at 13.43 euros by 1005 GMT, hurt by grim outlook comments from Blackberry-vendor Research In Motion.