Nokia CEO Stephen Elop recently spoke about his ambitions for Microsoft's Windows Phone, and he expects Windows Phone to surpass BlackBerry and grab a more significant share of the market.
Elop, who appears very outspoken and blunt in interviews where he has actually thrown a host's iPhone, told The Guardian about Nokia's hopes to go after BlackBerry's near 80 million subscribers.
As Latinos Post reported, the latest NetMarketShare figures show Windows Phone passing BlackBerry in the mobile operating system market by 0.12 percent. In the new March figures, Windows Phone garnered 1.5 percent to BlackBerry's 1.38 percent.
"When we think about the milestones along this journey we are very focused on first getting to a double-digit market share, talking about Windows Phone collectively," said Elop.
Windows Phone's new share is an increase from 1.24 percent in February, but still small compared to Google's Android and Apple's iOS mobile platform. The March market share figures show iOS dominated with 61.41 percent while Android placed second with 24.85 percent.
"This is an interesting time to reconsider what's the next generation, and of course we're looking at that as a real opportunity. It's a moment, it's a point of disruption," Elop added.
The BlackBerry numbers may be down, and many critics are wary of the new BlackBerry smartphone's pricing, meaning the brand could be in even worse territory when April's market share numbers are released.
"It is about showing progress, strengthening the brand, improving the financials," noted Elop. "It's hard to predict what rate over what time."
Although the Nokia CEO did not specify on how his company would surpass BlackBerry, he added that hard work could put Windows Phone up there with Android and iOS. Elop further questioned the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4.
"It's not a technology war, it's about how we can make your life a little easier, a little faster, a little more creative. Engineering is more than just the number of megapixels."
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