Nokia, the global leader in mobility, and Carl Zeiss, the world's leading optics company, today announced a collaboration to incorporate Carl Zeiss optics to Nokia's camera phones. The two companies will bring the design expertise and stringent quality requirements of Carl Zeiss to Nokia's product creation process for high-end camera devices. As a result of the collaboration, consumers will be able to capture, share, store and print better quality images with Nokia's flagship imaging devices.

The outstanding scientific expertise from Carl Zeiss in camera optics and the industry-leading position of Nokia in the mobile phone market offers a solid foundation for the cooperation. Both parties regard this agreement as the beginning of a long-term relationship. The first Nokia product to incorporate Carl Zeiss optics and carry the ZEISS brand is the Nokia N90 Multimedia, also launched today.

"The close collaboration with Carl Zeiss, one of the most respected companies in the camera industry, underlines Nokia's dedication to excel in mobile imaging products," says Juha Putkiranta, Senior Vice President, Imaging, Nokia. "We are proud to be the first camera phone manufacturer in the world to introduce ZEISS-quality products to consumers. Through continuous knowledge exchange and determination for hard work, we strive to set a new benchmark for the mobile imaging industry."

"We are delighted to join forces with the world leader in mobility, and recognize this collaboration as an important step in creating a high-end camera phone market," comments Dr. Dieter Kurz, CEO at Carl Zeiss. "Nokia's technological expertise and market understanding of mobile devices combined with Carl Zeiss' proven proficiency of optics and lens solutions makes us a strong team."