Analyst firm Morgan Stanley has predicted that Nokia will have a bumper year, shifting 37 million Windows Phone handsets in 2012.
Sales of Nokia’s latest Windows Phones are said to reach a whopping 37 million this year, and 64 million in 2013. The WP-based phones should overtake Nokia’s Symbian smartphones when it comes to sales, with shipments expected to fall to around the 34 million mark in 2012 and 16 million in 2013.
Nokia now has a good range of Windows Phone devices available, including the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 as well as the US-bound Lumia 900 that was introduced during CES this week. However, as AllThingsD adds, some of the success depends on how forcefully Microsoft promotes Windows Phone.
Compared to HTC and its WP-based handsets, Nokia could have a far better year. Morgan Stanley forecasts shipments for HTC for the year of 6 million, and 10 million in 2013. No estimates have been provided for the likes of Samsung so it’s hard to gauge the full picture – but simply Nokia and HTC combined Windows Phone sales are set to hit 43 million in 2012 and 74 million in 2013.
Nevertheless, regardless of this positive prediction, Windows Phone handsets face some stiff competition from the iPhone and various Android phones. Both operating systems celebrated at the end of 2011, with strong sales – over Christmas 3.7 million Android devices were activated and a combined 6.8 million Android and iOS-based devices were switched on for the first time. Add to this the fact the iPhone 4S was top dog for Christmas and Q4 results showed Apple and Samsung selling well, and Windows Phone is going to have to really stand out from the crowd in order to convince people to switch.
“We’ve got a lot of room to go in selling Windows Phones,” CEO Steve Ballmer said during his remarks at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this week. “But I feel very much like the work we’re doing is really going to pay off.”
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