Finnish smartphone manufacturer Nokia saw its shares jump after news of the billion dollar verdict against Samsung spread around Wall Street and analysts began predicting that it could benefit Nokia. The verdict might delay future releases of phones from Samsung which predominantly makes Android devices and this could definitely help Nokia which exclusively makes Windows Phone devices. Nokia, once the largest mobile phone manufacturer slumped to a pitiful state after it faced stiff competition from the iPhone by Apple and Samsung’s Android devices. In its effort to regain the lost market share, the company began focusing on the Windows Phone platform and though its first line of devices were not as successful as the company would have liked, the new Windows Phone 8 devices that are expected to be launched later in September are quite possibly going to turn around the company’s fortunes.
Nokia stands to gain from the verdict against Samsung as the Windows Phone platform is quite different from Apple’s iOS and the California giant has no legal issues against the mobile platform from Microsoft. Moreover, thought the verdict is against Samsung, it will definitely have other manufacturers of Android devices like HTC, LG etc to rethink their designs to avoid lawsuits. This could definitely slow down innovation in that front and give the clear coast for the Windows Phone. Currently, the Windows Phone platform is marketed mainly by Nokia phones as other manufacturers have only a few devices running it.
Apple and Microsoft have reached several agreements, particularly on features that the Windows Phone 7 features and hence there is no chance of a lawsuit in the future. Analysts believe that this would also push developers to create more applications for it giving the entire ecosystem the boost it needs. With the new version of Windows Phone all set to release soon, Microsoft and Nokia seem to be quite enthusiastic about the future.
In addition to Nokia, other manufacturers are probably going to look favorably towards the Windows Phone OS. With Android in a potential legal battle till eternity against Apple, the best bets for the companies is to make devices running Windows Phone. Analysts have raised expected prices of Nokia’s shares from $2.50 to $3.13 and the Finnish manufacturer can stop relying entirely on feature phones in low end markets and get back in the business.
