Dubai: Nokia has been making excellent hardware for the Windows Phones for the last couple of years and has enabled Microsoft to make inroads into the smartphone segment with some good models.
With Nokia now becoming part of Microsoft Devices, the US company is focusing on low-cost models to fuel growth.
According to a research firm IHS, Nokia witnessed just over 75 per cent of the 39.5 million Windows Phone smartphones shipped globally in 2013 while non-Nokia manufacturers shipped 9.5 million of Windows phones.
To cash in on the budget smartphones segment, Microsoft has launched three Lumia models in the UAE on Tuesday evening.
“Lumia smartphones are growing in popularity across the region,” said Arto Nummela, senior vice-president of Microsoft Devices, India Middle East and Africa.
“This new chapter in the Lumia story builds on the success of the Lumia 520 for affordable smartphones, and also brings new innovations at the high end. The combination of Lumia differentiators and Microsoft services provides a compelling proposition for both consumers and business users,” Nummela said.
There is a transformation going on in “every part of the organisation”. The mobile first and cloud first strategy is “under works and is in the finalisation period,” he said.
Anshul Gupta, an analyst at research firm Gartner, said that high-end smartphone sales will fall this year as focus shifts to low-end devices.
It was visible in the fourth quarter of last year as shares of Apple and Samsung fell due to weak demand for high-end devices.
The 4.5-inch Lumia 630 is available in both dual SIM and single SIM variants while the 4.5-inch Lumia 635 with 4G capabilities and the five-inch Full HD OLED Lumia 930 are the first devices running Windows Phone 8.1 available in the region.
The Lumia 630 is available for Dh599 and Lumia 635 for Dh699 while the Lumia 930 is expected to be available in July for Dh2199.
According to Gartner, Nokia saw its market share drop to 13.9 per cent last year from 19 per cent in 2012.
Total smartphone sales are expected to touch 1.3 billion this year globally compared to 968 million last year.
Out of the 1.3 billion, about one billion is expected to be controlled by Android compared to 760 million units in 2013.
Windows 8.1 brings some new features like notification centre, SensorCore with Bing Health and Fitness, Microsoft Office and free Nokia MixRadio streaming.
Daniel Gleeson, mobile analyst at IHS Electronics and Media, said that no non-Nokia manufacturer has had much success with Windows Phone so far.
With Microsoft making Windows free for original equipment manufacturers for screen sizes smaller than nine inches, a total of eight brands — Lenovo, ZTE, LG, Micromax, Pretigio, Karbonn, Lava and Gionee signed up as Windows Phone partners at the recent Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona.
“With more players coming into the Windows ecosystem, it is a good thing and they [non-Nokia players] can enhance the ecosystem and spread the platform,” said Jon French, vice-president for Nokia Middle East.
He said the union of two companies [Nokia and Microsoft] offers tremendous strength for the future.