By Dawn Kawamoto
Monday, September 29 2008 10:40 AM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62046633,00.htm

Nokia is preparing to enter the touch-screen cell phone market next week, with the debut of its first finger-sensitive phone, according to a Reuters report.

The European handset makeris planning to take the wraps off its touch-screen phone, code-named "Tube", during an event Thursday in London for analysts and the media, according to Reuters, which cites two unnamed sources.

The Tube will join a field that has been getting crowded since Apple debuted its popular iPhone a little over a year ago. Since then, competitors such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have come on the scene with their own touch-screen phones. Earlier this week, T-Mobile unveiled its G1, a touch-screen device that is the first to run Google's Android software.

Nokia noted in July that it planned to enter the touch-screen market and was initially aiming for the low end of the market, Reuters reported.

A representative from Nokia could not immediately be reached.

This article was first published as a blog on CNET News.com.