14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone users in China will soon be able to purchase new Windows Phone devices through wireless carrier China Unicom as well.
The company has just signed an agreement with Microsoft for the distribution of these smartphones, yet no specific launch dates have been provided as of yet.
The agreement is said to be part of a larger alliance aimed at boosting sales of Windows-based mobile phones in the country and which also involves seven mobile phone makers, including Nokia, HTC Corporation and Samsung, as well as chip makers such as Qualcomm.
The platform enjoys a market share of only 3 percent in the country at the moment, Beijing-based research company Analysys International says, according to China Daily.
According to Lu Yimin, general manager of China Unicom, the availability of Windows Phone devices on the carrier’s network will provide users with variety when it comes to choosing a new device.
China Unicom has over 70 million subscribers at the moment, and will focus on promoting devices powered by Microsoft’s Windows platform.
This week, the first Windows Phone 8 handsets were launched in the country, coming from HTC and Nokia, namely the Windows Phone 8X and 8S and Lumia 920.
Both of the new Windows Phone 8 devices coming from HTC arrive on shelves with support for China Unicom’s 3G network, it seems.
According to Nokia, China is one of the largest markets for its smartphones, and is expected to widely adopt the Windows Phone platform as well.
“As more mobile phone vendors start selling Windows Phone devices, it demonstrated that Nokia made a very bright choice at the very beginning,” said Gustavo Eichelmann, Nokia China chief reportedly said.
Furthermore, Ray Yam, president of HTC China, said that new Windows Phone devices are expected to become highly popular in less time than those powered by Google’s Android operating system.