Nokia has a new U.S. partner, Dell. In an unannounced move, Dell is now offering unlocked editions of several of the Finnish phone-company's smartphones on its Web site.

This move brings Dell (somewhat indirectly) back into the mobile-device market, which it abandoned a couple of months ago when it discontinued the once popular line of Axim Pocket PCs.

The Nokia smartphones in question include the N80 Internet Edition, E61i, N95, and E61 for $447.78, $423.77, $736.53, and $383.40 respectively. While they offer operator flexibility, unlocked smartphone prices tend to be considerably higher than for those that are tied to a particularly carrier. That's because mobile operators usually offer subsidies on the phones they support.

And because the smartphones are unlocked, they should work with any GSM operator, such as AT&T (formally Cingular) and T-Mobile in the U.S; just pop in the SIM card provided to you by your operator.


Screeen from Dell Web site

Although Nokia is the most successful smartphone vendor in the world, it has had trouble gaining a foothold in this country. Partnering with Dell can only help increase the profile of these high-end devices.