Microsoft is no stranger to negative headlines when it comes to Windows Phone's retail performance, but the firm has been keen to bill Nokia as the solution to its woes.

Projections by analysts, however, suggests the Finnish giant's first handset running the OS – the Lumia 800, although reviewing well – could be off to a limp start in Europe, with first quarter sales likely to come in at 500,000 units.

No mass appeal?

"With no breakthrough innovation, we believe Nokia’s new phones are unlikely to get traction in a highly concentrated high-end," Bernstein Research analyst Pierre Ferragu said in a research note.

Ferragu believes the Lumia 800 isn't competitively priced - its RRP is €420 - and is being hampered by the platform's inability to "gain critical mass against Android and iOS".

 

Indeed, he also expressed an overall lack of faith in Windows Phone's future long term.

His view has been backed up by Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette, who said December quarter sales could equal half of the 1 million units Nokia is expected to ship to retail.

"We had expected that the company could ship as many as 2 million units into the six targeted markets for the holidays; however, we now believe that those shipments are likely to be less than 1 million for the quarter," Faucette said in a note.

Early days

No official figures have yet been released, and with Lumia 800 not due to launch in North America until 2012, such projections could prove to be wide of the mark even in just a few months' time.

Indeed, a retail source at a large Vodafone branch in one of the UK's major cities has told PocketGamer.biz that Lumia 800 has been proving popular with consumers so far.

"This Nokia sales stuff - it's ridiculous," the source, who wished to remain nameless, told us.

"Here – admittedly only locally – Lumia 800 is going strong. In fact, it's outselling the HTC Sensation and Galaxy S II."

Nokia recently revealed its Lumia 800 ad campaign is one of the most extensive it's ever attempted, with French head Paul Amsellem recently suggesting the company will launch Windows 8 tablets next June.

[source: Forbes]