Nokia to focus on entry-level smartphones in US market
updated 09:15 pm EDT, Mon October 31, 2011
US strategy contrasts with global approach
Nokia executive Chris Weber has shed light on the company's US strategy, which will focus on entry-level smartphones geared for first-time buyers. As the head of Nokia's US operations, Weber suggests the company can fill a niche without using the same business model that backs dominant platforms such as Android and the iPhone.
“We have to be additive to [carriers'] business,” he said at Nokia World, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Weber suggests many first-time smartphone buyers are overwhelmed by the complexity of Android compared to the Windows Phone OS. He points to pre-loaded apps as one example, claiming Android smartphone owners need to download six apps from the Android Market to enable the same functionality as a stock Windows Phone device.
The company last week unveiled its first Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 710 and 800, however US launch plans were noticeably absent from the introduction. Devices that will be headed to the US are not expected to arrive until sometime in 2012.
“The company is committed through and through to the U.S. market,” Weber reiterated.
