Elop: First Nokia Windows Phones coming “this year”

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has said in an address at a telecom conference in Singapore that he expects the first of the company’s anticipated Windows Phone handsets to arrive “later this year”, with the majority of devices to go on sale in 2012.

The announcement comes shortly after the company revealed its first (and only) MeeGo handset, the N9, in Singapore - the operating system being a casualty of the company's shifting focus to Microsoft’s mobile OS.

Elop took the opportunity to reiterate his stance on the future for the world’s largest handset manufacturer, saying that "our primary smartphone strategy is to focus on Windows Phone."

Reports earlier this week from Dutch site allaboutphones tie in with Elop's comments, suggesting that the new Nokia Windows Phones will be made available in six European countries first in 2011: the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands.