The smartphone party has just become far more interesting, with four very different, yet very competitive, platforms and ecosystems all vying for the hearts and wallets of consumers and the enterprise.
According to Arno du Toit, chief commercialisation officer at Virtual Mobile Technologies, while 2011 was the year when Google's Android and Apple's iOS slugged it out for smartphone market share, 2012 is the year that Windows Phone 7 is going to rock the boat, especially in SA, and primarily thanks to Nokia.
Research firm Gartner predicts that with Nokia adopting Windows Phone 7, it will soon become the third-largest operating system and overtake Apple's market share by 2015.
“Around the world, Nokia might already be dismissed as an 'also ran' by the Android and iOS fan boys. Indeed, there is no doubt that Android and iOS have captured market share from Nokia Symbian,” says Du Toit.
Nonetheless, he points out that with the coming of Windows Phone 7 next year, the game will certainly change.
Final push
Steven Ambrose, MD of Strategy Worx, concurs, saying with Nokia, Windows Phone 7 will finally get the push it deserves.
“It is likely that the OS, in conjunction with Nokia, as well as on other manufacturers' handsets, will enjoy a renewed lease in the next year. The main reason will be visibility and availability. The operators will have no qualms in taking on the Windows Phone-based devices when Nokia and Microsoft have committed to a huge publicity and advertising campaign.
“I am fairly confident that Windows Phone 7 will carve a double-digit share of the local smartphone market within a year,” he says.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says there is no question that Windows Phone will reshape the market.
“Due to the lack of viable handsets until now, it [Windows Phone] has very low penetration of the market. Simply having a market leader like Nokia rolling out Windows Phones will give it traction. It's not a question of 'if', but of 'how much',” he says.
According to Nielsen's August 2011 Mobile Insights report that focused on the South African mobile handset market, Nokia is the handset manufacturer with the most brand awareness, with 60% of the respondents picking it as top of mind.
About 52% of the 2 000 South Africans surveyed said they currently use a Nokia, and 56% said a Nokia would be their next handset.
Commenting on this finding, Du Toit says: “With Nokia shifting from the Symbian operating system to Windows Phone 7, which according to Nokia and Microsoft will take place during the course of 2012, we shouldn't be surprised to see an influx of Windows 7 Phones in SA, as Nokia users upgrade and new Nokia users come on board.
Likewise, Goldstuck believes that in Africa, Nokia has a particularly big opportunity, saying it is still the single biggest cellphone brand overall, even if it is small in the smartphone market.
“Once existing Nokia users are ready to upgrade to smartphones, and Nokia has a full range of Windows Phones available at all price points, Windows Phone will rival Android as the most popular mobile operating systems in Africa.”
IT consumerisation boost
Du Toit is also of the view that another trump card for the Windows Phone OS will be the emerging trend of IT consumerisation.
“Consumer trends are impacting the enterprise IT space, especially when it comes to mobile. Add to the mix Windows Phone 7's built-in support for Microsoft Office and SharePoint, and the scene is set for the Windows Phone to become a very popular enterprise handset,” Du Toit stresses.
Ambrose also expects the OS to capitalise on the consumerisation of IT: “The Windows enterprise systems, with Office, Lync, SharePoint, and Exchange, are baked right into the DNA of every Windows Phone device, and as such, it will be extremely simple to incorporate into any enterprise mobility strategy with little or no effort.”
He argues that this will facilitate the consumerisation of technology, and not the other way round, where enterprises are forced to accommodate the devices themselves.
“Windows Phone 7 has been built from day one to play well with the enterprise, and the latest version of the OS, Mango, with the latest hardware from Nokia, will be extremely competitive with all the other high-end devices available on the market,” says Ambrose.
On the other hand, Goldstuck says, in the enterprise space, the real competitor in SA is BlackBerry, and everything will depend on how well Nokia and Microsoft address the enterprise needs of security and e-mail functionality that are met by the BlackBerry.
Du Toit says another plus for the Windows Phone platform is its tight integration with Xbox Live, which he says gives a very compelling reason for the gaming community to opt for a Windows device.
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