Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK) Hits Milestone In China

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As Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) looks to expand its phones around the globe, it hit a new milestone in China with the activation of two million Nokia Lumia phones.

This achievement came in the period from December 5 to March 5 even as the Lumia 920 underwent serious supply shortages at year’s end, slowing down sales, reported GSMArena.com.

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK) Hits Milestone In China

Up next for the company is the introduction of its Nokia Lumia 520 and 720 China versions. They will run on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Windows 8 platform. China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE:CHL) (HKG:0941) will be the wireless carrier and the phones have an expected launch date in the second quarter, according to South China Morning Post. 

Whether the phones will be available on either China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (NYSE:CHU) (HKG:0762) or China Telecom Corporation Limited (NYSE:CHA) remains to be seen but China Unicom and China Mobile do carry the Lumia 920.

And there’s even more coming China’s way. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is expected to release its Asha 105 and 301 for the first time there. These devices include some features from Nokia’s higher-end phones, which should attract users.

This comes as company recently said it is trying to introduce more lower-end phones, notably in emerging countries.

The phones will come with price tags of €249 for Lumia 720 and €139 for 520. There’s also the 301 and 105 will costs at €65 and €15, respectively.

As Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) tries to break into China, the country faces challenges of its own. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recent wrote in a white paper that with its Android mobile operating system, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) holds too much control on China’s smartphone market.

“Our country’s mobile operating system research and development is too dependent on Android. While the Android system is open source, the core technology and technology roadmap is strictly controlled by Google,” The paper noted, according to Yahoo

In addition, the paper accused Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) of discriminating against Chinese companies that developed their own operating systems through deals of sharing codes. The company had also utilized commercial agreements to constrain business developments of mobile devices for these companies.

From the white paper’s analysis, the ministry did not include any recommendations for policies, regulatory actions or other actions.

For Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), the Android has been a positive for them as China represented 90 percent of mobile operating systems in the country while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iOS system came in 4.2 percent.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) will have its hands full in this competitive market but there’s plenty of opportunity. Recently, the research firm IDC had estimated that China passed the United States as the world’s largest smartphone market last year with its 26.5 percent of all smartphones shipped.

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