Nokia's recent release of three Asha-series feature phones and two Lumia smartphones is aimed at ramping up the market share of Windows Phone. But the effectiveness of the strategy remains to be seen, according to Digitimes Research.
The new Nokia Asha feature phones will inevitably face competition from low-cost smartphones, as the series is positioned in the high-end feature phone market, said Digitimes Research.
Nokia shipped 5.9 million Asha phones globally in the third quarter of 2013, up from 4.3 million units in the second quarter but down from the 6.5 million units shipped a year ago, while Nokia's overall feature phone shipments grew 3.9% on quarter but declined 27.2% on year to 55.8 million units during the same period. The results show that Asha phones have not made a significant contribution to Nokia's feature phone business, Digitimes Research observed.
As for the Lumia series smartphones, although shipments of models targeting the entry-level and mid-range segments have helped boost Nokia's overall smartphone shipments, the brand is still struggling to compete in the high-end smartphone segment, Digitimes Research indicated.
Nokia's smartphone shipments arrived at 8.8 million units in the third quarter of 2013, up from 7.4 million units in the previous quarter and the 6.3 million units shipped a year earlier. Nokia's entry-level and mid-range smartphones have been selling well, but the brand is still finding it tough to compete in the high-end market segment dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple, Digitimes Research noted.
Microsoft in September 2013 announced its acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business for EUR5.44 billion (US$7.3 billion), and the recent rollout of Nokia's new Asha and Lumia devices marked the first release of Nokia phones since the deal.