Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) and BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) still have strong brands in the developing world according to a recent survey, reports Jon Russell for The Next Web. Smartphone market research firm Jana asked 2,500 people which smartphone they would most like to own if price wasn’t an issue, and the two fading brands fared better than you would expect based on their European and North American sales.
Nokia is second most wanted phone in EM Asia
The iPhone was the most wanted phone in Vietnam, India, and the Philippines to no one’s surprise, but BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) was rated first in Indonesia with 20% of the votes and ‘Any Nokia’ was first in Bangladesh with 32% (iPhone was second in both cases). BlackBerry’s results were far more mixed, but based on this survey Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) can make a reasonable claim to being the second most sought-after brand in EM Asia.
The good news is a bit ironic considering that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has recently sold its handset division to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), who may not keep the brand around much longer. The Lumia series of phones and tablets has played a big role in establishing Microsoft’s Windows 8 for smartphones, accounting for as much as 80% of all sales, but when Microsoft failed to entice other manufacturers to enter into OEM licensing agreements it bought Nokia’s handset division to give it a quick boost in market share for its own phones. The deal will give Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) an estimated 15% of the global smartphone market, but some analysts have argued that the company would have been better off in the long run if it let Nokia continue to champion their Windows phones independently.
Microsoft nixes new Lumia tablet to make room for Surface
Now there are rumors that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is killing off a new Lumina tablet to make room for a new version of its own Surface tablet with similar specs, reports James Geddes for iTech Post. This decision, if it turns out to be true, implies that Microsoft isn’t that concerned about protecting the Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) brand, or at least that it wants its own brand for top of the line items. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) could opt to use Nokia’s strong brand identity to capture the growing EM smartphone market while producing a high-end line of Microsoft branded devices to compete directly with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) in developed markets.
