Nokia needs to speedily boost its offering of mobile internet solutions, marketing head Anssi Vanjoki told a German magazine.

Nokia, the No 1 global cell phone maker, needs to catch up with rivals Apple, Google and Blackberry-maker RIM in offering online solutions, Vanjoki was quoted as saying by weekly Wirtschaftswoche in an excerpt of an interview to be published on Monday.

Vanjoki did not rule out a sale of its core handset manufacturing business in the long term.

Nokia's mobile-device factories offered an important competitive advantage, but one should "never say never" should a sale at some point be warranted as part of Nokia's transformation, he was quoted as saying.