Nokia prices new flagship Lumia above Samsung's Galaxy S3

Struggling Finnish cellphone maker Nokia has priced its new flagship model Lumia 920 more than 10 percent higher than key rival Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S3, pricing data from Sweden and Italy showed on Thursday.

Analysts said Nokia will struggle to explain the premium of the Lumia 920, which uses Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 software and is seen as potentially its last chance to break into the profitable segment and secure its future.

"Hardware-wise they are pretty similar, it would be hard for Nokia to justify that extra cost to consumers," said Ovum analyst Nick Dillon. "Windows Phone is still largely an unknown to consumers - they would probably expect to pay less if they are taking a risk."

The Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8's new Start screen

Nokia said Swedish carriers would sell Lumia 920 for around

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5,700 Swedish crowns, excluding subsidies. This compares to 4,515 crowns asked for Galaxy S3 at Expansys, one of the leading online phone stores in Europe.

In Italy the Lumia 920 will sell for 599 euros, compared with 530 euros price of Galaxy S3 which has been on the market for four months.

Reuters