Nokia may just unveil new handsets by the first week of September, reports said, likely jumping the gun on Apple, which earlier has strongly indicated that the latest iPhone version would hit global markets no later than the mid-part of the same month.

Agence France Presse (AFP) cited a report from Finland's local daily, The Helsingin Sanomat, in disclosing that the former industry leader is poised to issue Windows 8-powered gadgets in a press event scheduled on September 5.

Initial media reports pointed to the likelihood that Nokia plans to preview what its new products would look like though analysts were convinced that the roll outs would generally showcase the company's Lumia flagship handsets - this time around brandishing Microsoft's revamped operating system, which runs on multiple device platforms.

It was also strongly hinted that a tablet computer from the beleaguered Finnish firm would be presented to media people, effectively completing its pre-emptive moves of rival products that were to hit the store shelves by last quarter of 2012.

Chief of them is Apple's iPhone 5, which has been largely reported to be launched September 12 and was touted by tech experts as the American firm's giant year-end surge that could allow it to retake from Samsung the smartphone crown soon.

Nokia, however, is banking on hopes that global consumers would snap up enough units of the new Lumia on Windows 8 prior to iPhone's sale to tide it over in the immediate quarters ahead and likely gain some in-roads in the ever tightening smartphone race, analysts said.

The company aims to establish a considerable headstart by dressing up as an early bird, experts said.

The road, however, will not be easy as the Nokia Lumia will be up against the proven mettle of iPhone, a line that already counts millions of units under its sales belt, and not to mention the array of products offered by Samsung, presently the undisputed global leader of smartphone makers.

Samsung also dethroned Nokia in Q1 2012 as the largest mobile phone producer.

It's almost a given that Apple and Samsung products will fly off the shelves come the holiday shopping spree in the dying months of 2012 but Nokia is optimistic that its partnership with Microsoft, forged in early 2011, will give it the leg it needs to recover the sizeable market pies it ceded when BlackBerry and then the iPhone became the hot item in the smartphone competition.

Desperate to turnaround its flagging global sales of handsets, Nokia dumped its in-house Symbian operating system in favour of the Windows 8, which is the same platform that will govern the functions of other Windows smartphones that are projected to be pushed out in the coming months.

According to AFP, Nokia has been reduced to about 20 per cent of the overall global phone market, which the company aims to increase with its overhauled product lines and business strategy under the baton of its CEO, Stephen Elop.

Analysts noted that Mr Elop has deliberately tied Nokia's path to that of Microsoft's and the quarters ahead should determine if that gamble would deliver the goodies soon enough.