12:30 PM -- Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) said today that it will cut 200 jobs from its Services and Software business division, where the Ovi-branded Internet services strategy was hatched one year ago. The handset maker that is trying to become an Internet services company said the job cuts come from plans to "integrate some of our content delivery services into a single service." About half the jobs concerned are in Finland. (See Nokia Stakes Claim on Services.)

The Finnish company stressed that its Internet services strategy has not changed and that it was still focused on music, games, messaging, and location-based services. (See Nokia N-Gages With Mobile Games.)

Nokia has had some success with signing up a few key operators to its Ovi services, including Telecom Italia Mobile SpA (Milan: TIM), Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF), and Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD). (See Telefónica Hugs Ovi, Vodafone Opens the Ovi, and Nokia, TIM Do the Net.)

Nokia said it plans to hire more than 200 people in the Services and Software division, so it is likely that most of the affected employees can be moved to new jobs in the company.

— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Unstrung