14 DAY TRIAL // On Monday, Redmond-based software giant Microsoft officially launched its latest mobile operating system flavor, namely Windows Phone 8, and announced that devices running under it would arrive on shelves starting this week.
According to the latest reports on the matter, the platform and the new handsets powered by it will see low demand from end-users, at least in the beginning.
The main reason for that is the fact that users will need some time before getting accustomed to the new approach to mobile OS interface that Windows Phone 8 proposes.
Market watchers are predicting slow sales of the platform due to that, a recent article on Digitimes notes. The strong competition from iPhone and Android will have a word to say in this as well.
Nokia has already announced that the fourth quarter of the year would be a challenging period of time for the smartphone market, and suggested that its transition to new products would affect its performance.
Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation, which has announced the upcoming availability of two Windows Phone 8 devices, is also expecting a rough three-month period.
Said article also notes that both Nokia and HTC are betting a lot on the performance of their devices in the United States, where they will release phones on three of the country’s largest wireless carriers, namely AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
While HTC’s Windows Phone 8X and 8S will be launched with little modifications from the international versions, Nokia’s Lumia 920 will be exclusive to AT&T, while Lumia 820 will arrive in exclusive flavors at T-Mobile (Lumia 810) and Verizon (Lumia 822).
At the moment, Android devices and iPhone models account for most sales at these wireless carriers, and it remains to be seen how well the new Windows Phone 8 handsets will fare in these conditions.