Finnish cell phone magnate, Nokia, has recently announced that they would stop making cell phones using the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard. They also announced plans of scrapping CDMA cellphone-making with Japan's Sanyo Electronic Co. The reason behind this move is the allegedly shrinking market for CDMA cellphones. However, Nokia will still offer CDMA handsets in North America since that standard is still popular there.

CDMA, in case you're in the dark about it, is the less popular wireless telephony technology, used by 25 to 30 percent of mobile subscribers, and competes with the GSM standard used by about 70 percent of the world's 2 billion mobile phone users.

Nokia has been on top of the GSM standard but they are lagging behind in the CDMA standard. The reason for this poor CDMA performance is Nokia's refusal to use Qualcomm Inc.'s chips and because of that, the Finnish company had to pay significant technology licensing fees to the U.S.-based firm, which holds most patents to the CDMA technology.

With this announcement, a promising joint venture between Nokia and Sanyo is in peril of being welcomed to cellular phone heaven (or hell), since the partnership had been intended to develop and make mobile phones using CDMA, which dominates in the United States and is popular in parts of Latin America and Asia including Japan, India and China. The venture was announced last February of this year.

Nokia also mentioned that it will take a €150 million ($190 million) charge in its third-quarter accounts for restructuring its CDMA operations and expects the changes to boost its operating margins. It will end its own CDMA research and manufacturing by next April and is reviewing the options for its CDMA infrastructure and assets, after deciding against the Sanyo venture.