Nokia has committed itself to Windows phone and while the Microsoft partnership promises to bring a new life to now the dinosaur class smartphone market that Nokia is, the challenges are huge too. Windows Phone 7 is a year and a half old and it hasn’t really set sales records, for either Microsoft or Nokia. The Tango update that was due to be out in early 2012, is not yet here and Microsoft is mum about the features of Apollo. At the same time popular apps and games continue to remain loyal to iOS and Android.

With the Nokia partnership, Microsoft needed volumes for Windows Phone and that’s the only way to attract quality developers. At the same time, Nokia needs a mature OS to fight Android and iOS, which depends on releases by Microsoft. Given the challenges, one option that both Microsoft and Nokia have is to get a Windows phone 7 in as many hands as possible by lowering the cost. To an extent this has happened with the Lumia 800 and 710, both of which have seen a price drop. Onlygizmos is now reporting the imminent launch of Nokia Lumia 610 in India at a price point of Rs 11,000. 

Of course that remains a rumor, but if true, it certainly is a shot in the arm for Windows Phone platform and Nokia. Nokia stands to gain from good smartphone sales, akin to what Samsung got with the Galaxy Y and Ace, at the same time Microsoft gets a quality Windows phone device out in the market, this helps several prospects

a) Total shipment numbers: Android can tout a million device activations per day. A whole lot of these may not be used by actual smartphone users but it adds buzz to the Android ecosystem.

b) Developers Developers Developers: No of active users on a platform is an important metrics to get developers on board

c) Consumer get consumer: with more people using a soothing UI and quality Windows phone device, the consumer demand for windows phones should go up. A lot of people talk about getting an Android phone, purely on the basis of word of mouth that Google has managed. Microsoft would do well with some of that.

The author is a technology freak and a gadget lower since 04:15 PM 1st April, 1997.