Nokia then introduced the Lumia 920 and 820, its high end smartphones to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy Note and S series. They were criticized for making a late entry into this market. But, one of the reasons for its delay was to make it available with Windows 8 as it had the best software to support its premium hardware.
Now, they have introduced the other versions of Lumia, namely the Lumia 720, 620, and 520. These are in sight with Samsung and other low end smartphones. Nokia is one of the oldest players in this game, which gives them an edge over the others in bringing the best possible hardware at the most affordable prices.
The best part of all, they have maintained their brand image of durability by bringing devices which are tough to compete with. This is how they are attacking all the other players silently and trying to get a stronger grip on the smartphone industry.
Nokia’s current strategy is to launch two new devices every quarter. This will allow them to compete with the likes of Samsung, HTC, etc. These devices will be targeting different segment of consumers each time. Nokia is also working along with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in developing Windows Phone 9, which might be christened Windows Blue. They are working at deploying XAP/APPX from the Windows store to Windows Phone 9.
The buzz surrounding Windows 8 has helped, both Nokia and Microsoft, in succeeding. Similarly, Windows Blue has already created a buzz in the market, which should boost sales of Nokia if they are able to launch it at the right time along with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The interesting point to note here is that the rumor surrounding the testing of Windows Phone 9 with the OEMs does not include Samsung.
Microsoft, while launching Windows 8, had made their strategy quite clear. They wanted to reach out to the maximum population by partnering with all the possible OEMs just like Google. But, the exclusion of Samsung might help Nokia, if Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) actually does that in the near future.
Nokia has sold over 20 million Lumia devices in the past few months. This is just the beginning and it is expected that they might come back to the era of their dominance. However, it is too early to make such a prediction as the other players will try and outplay Nokia with newer and better products.
The question is – Is Nokia prepared to take on these challenges? Will they continue their role of observing silently and then making the changes? Or will they move ahead aggressively and come out with more innovations and better products? It may also be possible that they succumb to the immense pressure from other platforms and decline again. Only time would tell what would happen. Till then, it would make sense to wait and watch.
The article Is Nokia a Silent Killer? originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Jyoti Patodia.
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