Samsung has thrown up a big surprise, beating Microsoft’s close partner Nokia in unveiling the world’s first Windows 8 device supposedly by a week.
Post the Apple’s patent win over Samsung, while it was indeed being speculated heavily that Samsung would be moving fast to bring out a series of new smart phones based on the Windows platform, nobody bet it would be acting so soon. (See also http://www.businessandmarket.net/2012/08/5-ways-in-which-nokia-microsoft-could.html)
It is obvious now that Samsung had the plan B in place possibly even ahead of when the jurors began sitting at the patents trial. Yes, it could also mean that Samsung saw the defeat coming, but the credit still goes to the Korean giant for accelerating its Windows 8 efforts to be able to make this announcement barely days after the unfavorable ruling came in.
The move certainly will restore investor confidence greatly in Samsung, which had earlier successfully upset market shares and equations too fast in the smart phone segment and made significant gains even in the feature phone segment in many markets including India. Indeed, none other than Nokia has been hurt the most. The announcement is bound to make Samsung’s shares bounce back from the recent $12 billion market cap losses after the patent’s ruling went in favor of Apple.
Nokia was certainly hoping to gain back some of the recent market share losses helped by Apple’s win, but Samsung’s surprise announcement now threatens to take some of the sheen away from Nokia’s likely announcement of a new Windows 8 series of Lumia phones a week after.
The fact that a Microsoft Executive Ben Rudolf talked on the company’s official blog about Samsung’s unveiling of the Windows 8 Phone device ATIV S, along with detailed specs descriptions, is also in a way a strong endorsement of Samsung’s position. (See http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/)
As far as Nokia is concerned, it would be under increased pressure now, and a lot would depend on how quickly it could bring the new Windows 8 phone to the markets. That the phones should be able to able to vow consumers has to be a given of course. 
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