Nokia CEO Stephen Elop Expects Windows Phone to Beat BlackBerry

By: Zain Nabi  |   April 3rd, 2013   |   News, Smartphones

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, the first chief of the Finnish company who does not belong to the country, expects Windows Phone to capture BlackBerry customer base, though he did not directly name the Canadian-based smartphone manufacturers in his interview recently.

 

Elop, who is also from Canada, has been running affairs at Nokia rather successfully. He made Nokia and Microsoft join hands, and now the former’s smartphones are using the latter’s operating system, beneficial equally to both. By using Nokia, Microsoft is able to ensure its presence in the smartphone industry, while Nokia has started offering something different than iOS, Android and BlackBerry.

 

BlackBerry that recently launched its Z10 smartphone that is doing really well in the market, but it has started facing serious competition from Nokia and along with focusing on Apple and Samsung – the two giants in the smartphone industry – BlackBerry now has to keep an eye on Nokia as well.

 

BlackBerry and Windows Phone offer instant chat and messaging service and that is why the BlackBerry users might be inclined towards Nokia because it is offering something fresh. We have already seen a few organisations switching to other smartphones by abandoning BlackBerry. Elop said, via Guardian:

 

“Virtually any [head of IT] out there today is probably thinking pretty hard about the investments they’ve made in a competing platform for business mobility. This is an interesting time to reconsider what’s the next generation, and of course we’re looking at that as a real opportunity. It’s a moment, it’s a point of disruption.”

 

Nokia and Microsoft together have potential to post huge profits, but the recent sales figures are now very encouraging. In the Christmas quarter, Nokia sold less than 5 million devices, and Elop wants to first take the sales to double-digit figure and then focus on increasing it. He said:

 

“When we think about the milestones along this journey we are very focused on first getting to a double-digit market share, talking about Windows Phone collectively. Now we have to see if that builds and grows. It is about showing progress, strengthening the brand, improving the financials. It’s hard to predict what rate over what time.”

 

Elop is confident of ending the collective dominance of Apple and Samsung in the market, but he does not see this competition as a war. He said:

 

“It’s not a technology war, it’s about how we can make your life a little easier, a little faster, a little more creative. Engineering is more than just the number of megapixels.”

 

Photo: TechDigest