A Nokia (NYSE:NOK) executive told Reuters that the company's wide-ranging mobile alliance with former rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which involves Nokia using Windows Phone 7 as its primary smartphone platform, is progressing and he expects a large number of Nokia Windows phones to be sold in 2012. Kai Oistamo, head of corporate development at Nokia, said negotiations between the two firms are on schedule.
The two companies signed a non-binding agreement Feb. 11 that calls for Nokia to start using Microsoft software as its main platform for smartphones. At the time, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the deal would take a couple of months to be finalized.
Analyst firm IDC predicted late last month that the Windows Phone operating system will command 20.9 percent of the mobile smartphone market in 2015, making it the second largest mobile OS--with Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system in the top position with 45.4 percent of the smartphone market. This forecast assumes that a great deal of the Symbian market will be transferred to Windows Phone as a result of Nokia's new partnership with Microsoft. However, a report from ABI contracts that prediction, forecasting that Windows Phone will command only 7 percent of the market by 2016.
Many developers are bullish on Windows Phone 7, and are adding new titles for Windows despite the relatively small market share the operating system currently commands. David Roberts, CEO of game developer PopCap, told the New York Times he thinks Microsoft suffers from a perception problem but in reality has a good product. PopCap just launched its first Windows Phone game, Bejeweled Live.
For more:
- see this New York Times article
- See this Reuters article
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