NEW YORK: Windows Phone is now officially the second smartphone ecosystem by volumes sales. The activations in Pakistan were more than 200 percent. We created the affordable smartphones space with the Nokia ASHA brand that was immensely successful in the country. Pakistan is on top in the world for Lumia 535 market share in the hotly fought after $100-150 price band.
Tripling our Lumia smartphone activations last quarter was a strong indicator that Pakistanis are indeed interested in using another OS. The introduction of Windows10, in the near future, with its cross-screens benefits will undoubtedly add momentum to the Windows OS ecosystem overall.
Considering our primary goal is to enhance the growth of the Windows Phone ecosystem through Lumia smartphone activations, it certainly is a great achievement for us and showcases the appetite in Pakistan for a third smartphone ecosystem other than Android and iOS.
In the interview, Mercanton also highlighted the importance of the feature phone segment in driving sales:
We still have a solid hold on more than half of the feature phone market in Pakistan. And while an increasing number of consumers in Pakistan are migrating to smartphones, many still prefer the simplicity of a feature phone, especially when it is enabled with Internet connectivity.
Mercanton shared his views on the growth of Windows Phone as well as his expectations for the Pakistani market in the interview, which can be accessed from the link below.
