Nokia just unveiled its first Windows Phone with the Lumia line and for the company is addressing those who think it may be too late to the U.S. party by saying it will make an aggressive push in the United States with multiple carriers and multiple devices in 2012.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Nokia CEO said the company wants to make a big move in the United States to gain share. He explained it in one of the blandest ways possible.
“Our plans are to be very competitive and to go head-on with the appropriate devices at the appropriate price points,” Elop said. “We know we need to get volume moving and we need from that to develop economies of scale. And then as we do more and more differentiation, we expand gross margin.”
We’ve previously heard that Nokia will have a “portfolio” of devices for the United States in 2012 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of these shown off as CES during Microsoft’s keynote. It’s still going to be a tough row to hoe though, as Windows Phone still doesn’t support 4G LTE, which is what Verizon and AT&T will be pushing in 2012.
Even though we liked the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710, we’re not sure it lives up to the billing as being the first “real Windows Phone.” The amount of time Nokia had to push out the device (roughly six or seven months) means that it is basically just the standard Windows Phone Mango with Nokia hardware and a few specific apps. That doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means but we really won’t see Nokia’s vision for this platform until the next software update.
What I really liked at Nokia World was the company’s aggressive tone with its products, as it repeatedly told me that it fully believes that the Lumia line and its upcoming products are just as good or better than what’s on the market now or what will hit soon. Both Nokia and Microsoft also said they will be making a big push at the retail stores to make sure customers see and feel the devices before purchasing and I think that will be a boon for the platform and the hardware maker.
While missing this holiday season will hurt, Nokia can still make a big splash in the United States if Microsoft and the handset maker strike nice deals with the carriers. I’m hoping Nokia will take a Samsung approach to its U.S. Lumia line, as having these sleek devices on every single carrier within a few months would help Nokia’s bottom line.
[Via Bloomberg]