When the Nokia Ace Smartphone with Windows Phone 7 capabilities rolls out at AT&T in March the wireless carrier will be giving the phone “top-tier” treatment.
Also known as “hero-level” treatment the device will receive direct AT&T advertising, better placement online and in retail stores and better training for employees who can then push the Nokia Ace onto their customers.
Nokia for a while now has been known as Microsoft’s main Windows Phone 7 manufacturing partner because of their willingness to ditch Symbian OS and make the change to the Microsoft led product.
To support the new phone an expected $100 million will be spent although it’s still unclear how much of that marketing will come from AT&T as opposed to Microsoft and Nokia.
That same source told BetaNews that a follow-up to the Nokia Ace could arrive before the end of 2012 if the first iteration is a success.
The push is not only important for Nokia but also for Microsoft, the company’s Windows Phone 7 operating system currently holds just a 1.5 percent share worldwide and less than 6 percent on Microsoft’s own home turf in the United States.
Windows Phone 7 and Nokia have not been helped along by HTC, LG, and Samsung who all prefer to develop and marketing the Google Android mobile OS.
Do you believe that the Nokia Ace can be the stepping stone Microsoft ultimately needs as they continue their push back into the mobile Smartphone market?
