Microsoft and Nokia have both posted their latest quarter results and the results show one interesting consistency, both companies desperately need Windows Phone to succeed. On the one hand, Microsoft, which is the largest software maker in the world, posted less than satisfactory results in the consumer PC business, something that is attributable to the rise of smartphone devices and tablet computers.
This has been a concern for the Redmond, Washington-based company as ore consumers opt for tablet computers over PC machines. There was, however, an interesting result that offset the consumer PC business slip, and this was the enterprise business. Microsoft enterprise customers picked up the slack with a robust increase of 14% in server and tools sales for the quarter. The leak news, however, was compounded by slipping numbers in the Entertainment and Devices department that saw XBOX 360 sales slump while Windows Phone numbers are still to fresh to be included.
On Nokia’s side, the numbers show much more dire results. Nokia posted a whooping $1.2 billion loss over the last quarter with sales in the non-smartphone division taking a hit. This decline can be chalked down to the decline in demand for the company’s Symbian powered phones as more consumers opt for budget smartphone devices from manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei. Nokia admits it is disappointed in the results but says the transition to Windows Phone is the reason the company has to go through the current pains.
The two stories above paint a picture of two companies that have bet all their chips on Windows Phone and their smartphone ambitions will rise or fall on this bet. Only a few weeks after the launch of the Nokia Lumia 900 in the US, there is still precious little data on how exactly the phone is faring so far. But both companies have taken the fight to Apple and Samsung with increased marketing spend and stupendous subsidies on the phone. But both companies will be working frantically to entrench the phone en as rumors of the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy SIII swim around and threaten to steal the Windows Phone thunder.
