Nokia Behind Apple & Samsung in Smartphone category

You must have read the news—both Apple and Samsung have surged past Nokia in the Smartphones category. Nokia was once the undisputed leader not only in the SmartPhone category but also in the overall mobile category. So what does this change signify?

• One thing is pretty clear. Nokia can no longer sit on its past laurel and need to quickly come out with products that are in sync with the latest trends and customer needs. Although it is still a leader in the overall mobile phone category, but competitors are eating into its market-share.   
• The greatest pitfall for Nokia seems to be its Symbian OS. It fell through as Android and iOS raced past it. As others went ahead with innumerable innovative features, Symbian looked a bit off-beat. In fact, as compared to Android and iOS, Symbian seems to be the least preferred OS.
• The market expects Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft to bring in some positive changes. But both Symbian and Windows OS lag behind. Hence, whether the deal will be beneficial—only time can say. Additionally, products born out of the partnership are still to hit the market

Nokia needs to look closely at the market and come out with products to attract the consumers. More than the premium customers, the masses can have a big impact on the market. And that’s exactly what the market leaders have learnt from the success of the non-branded and local low priced products. Nokia made a late entry to the dual sim market too.

Nokia has the potential to become a leader again after all its design and technology has always been great. But the organization needs to understand that the demands of the market are different as compared to say a couple of years back. Today customers look for applications, innovative features, and cost also does make a major difference.

So my advice to Nokia would be:

• Innovate on your OS
• Provide applications that makes the life of the consumers easy
• Give features that are easy to use 
• Introduce products that are cost effective and goes easy on the wallets of the consumers

I welcome your viewpoints.