Nokia aims at iPhone with touch-screen phone

Sources told Reuters that Nokia would unveil its new phone -- code-named "Tube" -- on October 2 at an analyst and media event in London. Nokia declined to comment.

Samsung and other competitors have already rolled out their own touch-screen phones, while Google's Android platform, which was introduced on Tuesday, also uses touch.

But so far, the world's top mobile phone maker, Nokia, has stuck with traditional screens.

Nokia, which has a strong track record in the lower-end handset market, said in July its touch-screen offering would come this year and be cheaper than rival models in order to tap into a higher-volume market.

Nokia has used touch screens before in its Internet tablet product range, which are phone-like devices for Web surfing but lack a calling function.

The popularity of touch screens surged with introduction of the capacitive touch-screen technology, which gives higher clarity of picture and that figures in both iPhone and in LG's Prada and Secret phones.