Microsoft could help Nokia sell 37 million phones in 2012
Buoyed by Microsoft's Windows Phone, Nokia should sell 37 million phones this year and as many as 64 million next year, forecasts Morgan Stanley.
Betting heavily on Microsoft to revive its fortunes, Nokia is in a position to sell as many as 37 million Windows Phone handsets this year and 64 million in 2013, says a Morgan Stanley report cited by AllThingsD.
Of course, much of that forecast depends on just how hard Microsoft will work to promote its partnership with Nokia.
The two companies already reportedly plan to spend $20 million to market their new lineup. Nokia has been pushing its Lumia phones, with the 710 now available through T-Mobile, the 800 selling in Europe, and the LTE-compliant 900 sailing to the U.S., possibly as soon as March.
With AT&T set to carry the 900, Nokia is also counting on the folks at Big Red to lure in U.S. customers.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, and AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega took the stage together at CES on Monday to introduce and tease the 900 for the crowd. Already putting in a good word for Nokia, de la Vega said that with the Lumia 900, "Nokia will be back in the U.S. in a very big way."
Some analysts believe Windows Phone will be the ticket to help Nokia grab and hold a firm third place in the global smartphone arena, behind Apple and Android.
Nokia has seen its global smartphone market share plummet from 33 percent to just 14 percent over the last year. But in a report out last Thursday, Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha predicted that the company will be able to maintain a solid 13 percent share over the long term courtesy of its partnership with Microsoft.