Why was E71 flight to US delayed?

As reports suggests, AT&T (NYSE: T) is nearly ready to begin offering the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) E71 smartphone. But hey, Isn't that a late move?

Nokai E71, the handsome device that you see in the picture, has been in sale for around six months. After being crowned the best phone of the year for 2008, Nokia did work on its lines and came up with 2 similar business models viz. E55 and E75 out of which the E75 will be available this month globally. The two new devices announced have better features than Nokia E71 (I am not going into technical specs). How would the market react to E71 launch when other better options are coming soon?

No doubt, Nokia E71 (which was inspired from its successors, Nokia E61, E61i and E62) is a fantastic smartphone (David Wood - Catalyst and Futurist, Leadership Team at Symbian foundation, uses an E71 too) but it should have been financially better for Nokia to announce it earlier - perhaps before the Christmas shopping period last year. Why was the Nokia E71 flight to the US delayed?

Anyways, US folk - Handset strategy aside, if you're in the shop for a cheap(er) Nokia S60 smartphone, the E71 is a powerful device that is worth your attention. Looks like it should be available in the forthcoming week!