Nokia (NOK) continued to struggle in 2012 despite the launch of its highly anticipated Lumia 900 smartphone. Things seem to be improving a bit as sales of its new flagship phone, the Lumia 920, appear strong, but the vendor has a steep hill to climb if it hopes to swing back to a profit in the near future. Picking up market share is a big part of Nokia’s fight in 2013 and a new report suggests that in order to make a dent in the smartphone market currently dominated by Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system and Apple’s (AAPL) iOS platform, Nokia plans to live in the past.
According to Digitimes’ unnamed Taiwan-based supply chain sources, Nokia plans to continue ordering the production of Windows Phones powered by Microsoft’s (MSFT) previous-generation Windows Phone 7.5 platform through much of 2013. By continuing to sell Windows Phone 7.5 devices, Nokia can better target emerging markets with low- and mid-range smartphones that are far less expensive than Windows Phone 8 handsets, which require more modern components.
The report notes that Nokia may eventually choose an alternative platform to target emerging markets rather than continuing to support an outdated version of Windows Phone.
