Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK): This Popular App May Be Coming After All

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) was very excited about the launch of its Lumia line of handset that was going to run on the new Windows Phone 8 operating system by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) last fall. But in the first few weeks after launch, there was a lot of concern because the Windows Phone Store was not chock full of hundreds of thousands of apps like the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) or the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play Store.  But that wasn’t even the biggest part – some of the most popular apps on the iOS and Android platforms  did not and were nto rushing to create Windows Phone apps.

For a while there, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) was left feeling a little bit naked without those popular apps that might have been key factors in convincing people to switch from iOS or Android. Without those apps, though, living on Windows Phone would not have been so much fun. One of the apps in particular that Nokia was particularly fond of was Instagram, which Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) purchased last year.

And it seemed odd that Instagram was not jumping on the opportunity to show off its app on Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) devices, as Nokia  has been on the cutting edge of mobile device camera for years and has a robust portfolio of mobile camera technology patents. And since Nokia turned heads not long ago with its 41-megapixel PureView camera sensor on a device more than a year ago, it would have seemed like a natural fit that Instagram could be seen in potentially its best glory yet on a Nokia Lumia device.

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) sure thought so, and it made some very public overtures to Instagram, even encouraging Lumia users to take pictures with their cameras and send them via Twitter to Instagram to help encourage the application to make a Windows Phone version. But that campaign faded away after a few weeks. Maybe there was a reason for that.

Well, turns out there was a reason – at least if the latest rumor is to be believed. Coming from a Chinese website that has been fairly reliable on rumors related to Windows Phone products, the site reported some sources that said that an Instagram app for Windows Phone – which actually would start as a Nokia exclusive before going to other handsets that run the OS – would be released i late June, perhaps June 26.

What do you think about this rumor? If true, do you think this will have an impact on Windows Phone sales, and more specifically, sales of Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) handsets? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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