The Smartphone Market Has A New Contender: The Lumia

As if the smartphone war was not intense enough. Nokia has decided to wake up from their slumber and rather than introduce a smartphone of theirs, they gave us two. It looks like their alliance with Microsoft is beginning to pay off.

The Lumia

Stephen Elop, Nokia's CEO, displayed the Lumia 800, a �420 ($584) which has a flat screen and is obviously designed for more well-off customers. The Lumia 710, with a sticker price of $375 is designed more for the price conscious folks. They both will begin to be on sale in 6 different European countries later on in October of 2011 and then be available in certain countries in Asia. Microsoft has had a hand in this but most of the work seemingly has been delivered and engineered by Nokia. Executives from both companies have been strategically meeting in Iceland to insure both sides are on the same side. Nokia has it eyes on the iPhone and Android which have been dominating this former Nokia space.

Two-Horse Race

This has been a two-horse race between Google and Apple that has been raging for about 4 years now. Nokia, with these two offerings right before the holiday season, believes they can make this race a little more exciting. Nokia has high hopes for these Lumia smartphones and so does Microsoft. Microsoft created the Windows Phone OS but has not been able to make a dent in the mobile phone arena. Well, with Nokia's ingenuity and drive, this match may be one that was forged in heaven. Microsoft aims to increase is paltry 2% global market share in this sphere. ??

Apple's First Test Post-Jobs

Nokia even has less of a market share in America �C sitting at just 1.2%. Nokia plans on delivering an array of cellphones to America in early 2012. America, the planet's largest smartphone market, is the centerpiece in Nokia and Microsoft's global expansion plans. With Apple's! Steve J obs no longer in the picture, this may be the first real test for Apple to grapple with without their incredible co-founder. Only time will tell if Apple can carry the torch with lasting success without their marketing and visionary leader.

Nokia has been Waiting for This

Nokia's cell phones designated for the U.S. will be 3G and CDMA compatible. That should satisfy major players such as Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

Nokia's Aggravation

Smartphones are not only the key to the present they are the wave of the future. Nokia and Microsoft must make a dent in this market because the iPhone and the Android have become entrenched with businesses and consumers around the world. Playing catch up is no fun but it is better than watching billions of dollars of revenue stream into the coffers of your major rivals. For Nokia, this has been a humbling experience as the Google and Samsung pair has been hitting doubles and triples and the Apple's iPhone has been hitting as many home runs as the Cardinal's Albert Pujols.

This alliance fabricated between Microsoft and Nokia has been ongoing for about 8 months as the phone operators, which are the main sellers of all phones, pretty much ignored Nokia. This was pretty much because their operating system, Symbian, was just unimpressive. It is a harsh world.

European investors knocked up Nokia's shares to �4.88, about 1%. No one is giving this alliance anything for free, they must earn their stripes as Google, Samsung, and Apple have earned theirs. According to the CIO for Lee Munder Capital Group based out of Boston, he has not seen anything worth talking much about stemming from Nokia and Microsoft. Well, he may now; it has only been 8 months. He adds: ?"Android is winning the mind space on the consumer front. The business world will probably follow."

Nokia and Microsoft have Support

But there are many network operators hoping that Nokia and Microsoft prove they are as hard as steal and their phones become a commercial & enterprise success. This will give these operators more room to discuss prices with Google and Apple who been able to more clearly articulate the prices they prefer. Nokia would be much obliged to allow these operators do yield that type of newfound power. Nokia also aims to help itself out, regain some clout, and prove it is no longer a fading mobile phone conglomerate.

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