Smartphone War: Nokia Corporation, Apple Inc., Google, Microsoft Corporation (NOK, AAPL, GOOG, MFT)

So it’s official. Finnish mobile handset maker Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK) is holding a joint media event with Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) on September 5.

The subject of the event is as yet undisclosed but industry watchers are hoping that the company would be announcing the launch of a new smartphone running on Windows Phone 8 operating software.

Earlier, Chief Executive Stephen Elop had held out hopes that the company was ready to unveil its new phone, and general expectation was that it would happen at the company’s trade show in Helsinki to be held on September 5 and 6.

What is boosting expectation is that the media event will be held a full week before September 12, the date on which rival Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to announce the launch of its latest version of the iPhone.

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Nokia has been upstaged by its more nimble competitors Apple and Samsung in the mobile phone sector and is now fighting for survival as the two companies have taken mobile devices to a whole new level altogether.

Its alliance with Microsoft for the use of its new operating system for mobiles has also not helped much in turning around its fortunes. The reception to its Lumia series that run on Windows Mango has been lukewarm to say the least.

However latest figures from market research firm Gartner showed that in the second quarter of calendar 2012, Nokia did not see a dip in its market share but managed to maintain it at the same level as the first quarter.

Back in the United States, in a federal court in San Jose, where Apple is fighting i out with rival Samsung, some more evidence has come to light.

Apple produced documents on Wednesday which showed that Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) was concerned that Samsung's devices may be too similar to that of Apple's

Samsung's minutes of a design meeting with Google refers to a message which says, "“Since it is too similar to Apple, make it noticeably different starting with the front side,” in reference to a Samsung tablet.

The Korean electronics giant's big strides in the handset market owes a lot to its alliance with Google's free Android operating system and its plethora of free apps that are a consumer’s delight.

Samsung designer Kim Jin Soo, who had worked on the Galaxy phones, said that he was not aware of any such emails or messages and that he had received no directive from his superiors regarding that.