Microsoft have cocked up with their acquisition of Nokia. Big time.
The purchase of the former mobile phone massif has done nothing to bolster Windows Phone's position in the market globally. And they have destroyed the Nokia brand in the process.
I'm not that bitter about this debacle, even if it seems that I am.
What surprises me is that Huawei's Head of International Media Affairs, Joe Kelly, told the Seattle Times that "Nobody made any money in Windows Phone" - at a time when Huawei appeared to be aiming their sights at the lower end of the market (a position that they have now changed with their mid-to-top-end-priced Android mobiles).
This year, even Microsoft dropped the ball with their first ever Microsoft-branded Lumia phone, the Lumia 535 which is a great phone for the price, but it was plagued with touchscreen sensitivity issues when it first launched.
Microsoft didn't even learn from, or acquire, handset-building knowledge from their disastrous fling with Nokia.
Windows Phone's global market share currently stands at a mere 2.7% which is not great, and is certainly something that most handset manufacturers wouldn't be jumping into bed with.
So what is this about new Windows Phone mobiles being produced by other manufacturers?
American mobile maker BLU (not to be confused with UK e-cig maker Blu) is just entering the UK market with a range of Windows Phone mobiles. This source is from HotUKDeals, and they look like an absolute bargain: The two lower priced (£70 BLU Win JR and the £100 BLU Win HD) models are 4G enabled and dual SIM.
This reminds me of Wileyfox's new Android phones.
If I was in the market for (yet another) Windows Phone to add to my collection, BLU would be at the top of my current list.
Another Windows Phone manufacturer to enter the scene is French Android tablet company Archos.
Their Archos 50e Helium and Archos 50 Cesium Windows Phones are due to arrive in the UK this November.
Both are 5 inch phones with 4G, but somewhat mediocre specifications according to Gizmag.
Having owned (and binned) a terrible Archos Android tablet a few years ago, I'm not putting my money on either of these devices, unless the £99 price tag is a joke and they are actually going to retail in the UK at under £50. Microsoft's Lumia phones are better value than these things.
