Windows Phone 8 was recently released by Microsoft and is yet to show signs of catching on in the market. Its previous version did not go down well with customers but Windows Phone 8 looks like it can prove intriguing. Its success or failure will also determine the fate of Nokia, the Finnish handset manufacturer that once held the largest market share in the world. Nokia has bet everything on the Windows Phone 8 platform and if the new platform is going to push it in the race, things just might turnaround for it.
In the third quarter, the mobile phone market grew by 2.4% over the same period last year and according to the latest report from International Data Corporation (IDC), Nokia is no longer among the five largest handset manufacturers in the world. This was the first time since 2004 that the company fell off the list. Samsung led the race with Apple following behind and Research In Motion, HTC and ZTE finish it off. The fact that Nokia is no longer seen there highlights the problems that it is facing.
With Nokia shifting away from Symbian based feature phones to smartphones, the market has allowed for other companies to capitalize. However, since the smartphone market is still relatively new, there is plenty of opportunity for Nokia to make a comeback. Windows Phone 8, if successful will definitely help Nokia in its revival but if it doesn’t, all might not be lost. The platform’s promoter, Microsoft has huge resources at its disposal and can continue investing in the platform till it yields better dividends, which will inevitably benefit Nokia, the software giant’s largest partner in the mobile industry.
Analysts expect that smartphone sales will reach a total of 700 million this year and while Samsung and Apple are going to dominate the market, networks and retailers would certainly welcome a third force. The likely options are the Blackberry 10 devices and the Windows Phone 8 devices and with the former yet to release and facing delays continuously, the consumer might have to go with Windows Phone 8. There is no doubt that Windows Phone 8 has a potential future but as far as Nokia goes, it will do it a lot of good to diversify the product range and not rely entirely on Microsoft’s platform.
