14 DAY TRIAL // Symbian, the mobile operating system that has been powering Nokia's smartphones for the past several years, is set to exit the mobile market in the near future, but the handset vendor still believes that it would prove successful in the low-end segment. Later this year, the company would launch its first mobile phones running under Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, and is set to put this platform on its future high-end smartphones, and not Symbian.
Of course, there would still be a wide range of handsets brought to shelves with the Symbian OS on board, some of which should prove highly appealing, but the main focus will shift to Windows Phone, Nokia announced.
According to Nokia's CEO, Symbian should still prove competitive at the lower-end of the market, where they can compete with reduced price tags.
“We hit lower and lower price points and we have devices that range down very deep,” Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said in a recent interview.
He also explained that, although other mobile platforms come to this low-end segment too, they might not prove as successful here as Symbian would.
“Just because there is a version of an operating system at a price point doesn’t mean that it is a great experience,” he stated.
The leading mobile phone maker is expected to get through a series of rough years, starting with the ongoing one, which could prove far more difficult than originally expected, as the company is in full transition to Windows Phone.
They already announced plans to lower the cost of their devices, to boost sales, and it seems that we might see even more price cuts soon.
As soon as the first Windows Phone devices from Nokia arrive, things might take a different turn for the handset vendor. These handsets would be aimed at various price points, the company confirmed.