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"The mobile devices market is stabilizing," said Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia's finance director. "The market growth will happen in market segments and geographies where Nokia is strong."

In October, Nokia posted its first loss in a decade amid increasing competition from smartphone makers Apple and BlackBerry.

The company also announced more than 4,200 job cuts, including 1,300 voluntary departures, as part of a recovery program launched in January.

Many consumers have cut back on spending during the global financial crisis, which has dented sales of mobile devices. Nokia has estimated that around 1.12 billion mobile devices will be sold in the world this year -- down seven percent less from last year. But Nokia now predicts the overall market is stabilizing.

Nokia's closest rival Samsung gave an upbeat forecast for 2009 mobile phone sales earlier this week due to sharp growth in touch screen models. The Finnish firm said it was rapidly increasing the number of touch screen models in its portfolio.

Last month Nokia started to sell its N900 device -- using the Linux-based Maemo platform -- and has received positive feedback on its browsing functions, but the Symbian platform will continue to be the biggest platform in the future.

"In 2010 you will see a new version of Symbian to be released," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's chief executive.

Analysts have said Nokia's outdated Symbian operating system is one of the reasons many consumers choose Apple's iPhone or RIM's BlackBerry devices, which are easier to use.

In addition to Symbian and Maemo, Nokia's basic devices use its S40 platform. Kallasvuo said the company would stick to three operating systems for some time.

"This is the best combination for us. You need more than one operating system, but then again you should not have too many or you will start to lose the benefit of the scale."