Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, yesterday introduced its first handset for China's home-grown 3G standard, following years of pressure and lobbying from the Chinese government and China Mobile, the country's leading mobile operator.

China is shaping up as a new battleground for smartphones, with Apple's iPhone set to launch officially this Friday and China Mobile's recent launch of an Android-based platform for customised smartphones developed by companies including Lenovo Mobile, HTC, LG and Dell.

Nokia's move signals that it cannot afford not to have a device that supports TD-SCDMA – the standard treated as a pet project by the Chinese government but unloved by the telecoms industry – as it defends its leading position in the world's largest mobile market.