Data & Research

Nokia's Lumia 800 a 'best seller' in Europe as Windows Phone's UK share jumps fivefold

Sales also strong in Germany, Austria

Nokia's Lumia 800 a 'best seller' in Europe as Windows Phone's UK share jumps fivefold
Nokia's longtime strength in Europe meant the region was always likely to play host to the firm's first shoots of regrowth following its decision to switch from Symbian to Windows Phone.

Indeed, the New York Times reports that, while Nokia's only US handset - the entry-level Lumia 710 - is still something of a rarity, its bigger brother is currently making waves on the other side of the Atlantic.

Gimmie five

The paper quotes figures from Kantar WorldPanel – which claims the launch of Nokia's Lumia 800 saw Windows Phone's market share jump fivefold to 2.2 percent in the UK in January – stating the Finnish firm's standing across the continent is serving it well.

Germany is reportedly proving to be Nokia's strongest market overall, however, with figures from Canalys pegging Lumia shipments to date at the 200,000 mark.

In neighbouring Austria, carrier Orange has listed Lumia 800 as a nationwide best seller, while the operator's promotional exploits in the UK – which included giving away a free Xbox 360 to customers who purchased a handset on a two year contract – have also proved fruitful.



According to Canalys principle analyst Pete Cunningham, it's the willingness of retailers to push Nokia's Windows Phone line up at the point of sale that's making a real difference.

The power of promo

"Europe has traditionally been a really strong market for Nokia, but Nokia's been under pressure ever since the introduction of the iPhone, which is when the tide turned," said Cunningham.

"They've found competition to be really tough, but this is the beginning of recovery for Nokia."

That's a stance that ties in with Pocket Gamer's own retail research, which suggested Nokia's Lumia 800 was benefiting from the kind of hard sell on the high street Windows Phone launch devices has missed out on a year earlier.

Top dog

Microsoft has been especially reluctant to detail Windows Phone's performance at the tills since the first handsets running the OS launched in October 2010, though Nokia did reveal back in January that Lumia shipments had passed the 1 million mark.

That's a pace that means, in markets such as the UK where Nokia is strong, the firm is already likely the largest Windows Phone OEM.

Projections released by IHS iSuppli suggest Nokia could account for half of all Windows Phone shipments in 2012, with the platform as a whole grabbing a 16.7 percent global share of the smartphone market by 2015.

For those figures to bear out, however, Nokia will need to court growth outside of markets where it's typically strong. Attention will naturally shift to the US when the firm's flagship Windows Phone device - the Lumia 900 - launches on AT&T this spring.

[source: New York Times]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.