Nokia ‘Ships More Than 1 Million Windows Phones’

Nokia may have shipped 1.3 million Windows Phone devices, according to 22 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Broken down, those estimates ranged from 800,000 to 2 million units shipped, with only one analyst pegging the total at fewer than 1 million. The 22 January report also quotes Espen Furnes, a fund manager with Storebrand Asset Management in Oslo, as saying the numbers “look promising”.

How many sold?

However, there is one caveat: “shipped” doesn’t necessarily mean sold, and so these estimated numbers don’t necessarily suggest how many Windows Phone devices are actually ending up in consumers’ hands.

Early in 2011, Nokia made the strategic decision to abandon its homegrown operating systems, including Symbian, in favour of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform – the better, insisted chief executive Stephen Elop, to combat Apple’s iPhone and the growing family of Google Android devices.

That decision is beginning to result in a narrow-but-broadening product ecosystem. In addition to the Lumia 800, a high-end smartphone for the international markets, Nokia is attempting to make renewed inroads into the US market with the midrange Lumia 710 and the premium Lumia 900.

In its year-plus on the market, Windows Phone has struggled for broad adoption. Microsoft hopes that a new generation of smartphones loaded with Windows Phone “Mango”, a wide-ranging software update with hundreds of new tweaks and features, will give the platform some much-needed traction.

Pricing is also a factor: During this January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Windows Phone, told eWEEK that Windows Phone devices by various manufacturers would aim for customers across the price spectrum.

CES hype

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer also used his CES keynote to promote Windows Phone. “I’m really excited and upbeat about where we are,” Ballmer said about the platform – perhaps an inevitable pronouncement, given his position.

But if Windows Phone can’t attract customers, even after this renewed push, then Microsoft will face some very serious questions about its future in the mobile segment.

As one of the most prominent manufacturers of this “new” generation of Windows Phone, Nokia will inevitably be seen as a bellwether of sorts for the success of the revamped platform as a whole.

Nicholas Kolakowski eWEEK USA 2013. Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Recent Posts

Australia Rejects Elon Musk Claim About Social Media Ban For Under-16s

Government minister flatly rejects Elon Musk's “unsurprising” allegation that Australian government seeks control of Internet…

3 hours ago

Northvolt Files For Bankruptcy Protection In US

Northvolt files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, and CEO and co-founder…

4 hours ago

UK’s CMA Readies Cloud Sector “Behavioural” Remedies – Report

Targetting AWS, Microsoft? British competition regulator soon to announce “behavioural” remedies for cloud sector

20 hours ago

Former Policy Boss At X Nick Pickles, Joins Sam Altman Venture

Move to Elon Musk rival. Former senior executive at X joins Sam Altman's venture formerly…

22 hours ago

Bitcoin Rises Above $96,000 Amid Trump Optimism

Bitcoin price rises towards $100,000, amid investor optimism of friendlier US regulatory landscape under Donald…

23 hours ago

FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang Spared Prison

Judge Kaplan praises former FTX CTO Gary Wang for his co-operation against Sam Bankman-Fried during…

1 day ago