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Yep, you read it right, the first Nokia Windows Phones are set to hit the UK and Europe first, according to a Dutch executive over at the Finnish firm Nokia. The new phones along with the new operating system is set to be rolled out towards the end of this year, spelling the start of the Nokia/Microsoft reign as smartphone associates.

Along with the UK, the likes of Germany, Spain, Italy and Netherlands will be on Nokia’s hit list first, according to a statement made from Nokia Europe vice president to the Dutch website All About Phones. It appears Nokia are gambling all that they have and all that they are on Microsoft’s Windows Phone software, which has also caused Nokia to start to discontinue development on its own Symbian and MeeGo operating systems – with that said, Nokia promised to keep the Symbian software updated for years to come.

There has been much scepticism across the globe from Microsoft and Nokia fans alike as to whether this partnership would ever work – some believing it’s going to work out for the smartphone ecosystem yet others believing the whole partnership is flawed and some even believing this is the start of the end of both companies in the smartphone market.

Elop has been doing his rounds on the conference circuit lately bigging up the Windows Phone operating system to anyone and everyone. He says the platform offers much more vision for Nokia to separate itself from other mobile phone manufacturers out there, who are developing and releasing one Android phone after another like its out of fashion.

The Windows Phone does, however, offer an alternative for people who aren’t fans of Android or Apple’s iOS, who are the dominant force in the market at the moment. The Windows Phone interface is charming and elegant with a tile-based interface that has been received exceptionally well and will be part of the basis for the new and upcoming Windows 8 PC software – though let’s just hope the Windows Phone becomes more of a dominant force as its desktop counter-part is – at least for the sake of the smartphone ecosystem.

When release, will you be divulging yourself with a Nokia Windows Phone smartphone, or will you stick with your tried and trusted Blackberry, iOS or Android mobile phone? I personally will definitely see what it has to offer, something I hope will be more than each manufacturer and provider have on their own.

According to the analyst company IDC, Microsofts alliance with Nokia could make way for Windows Phone to be ahead of competition such as the hugely popular iOS and Blackberry – at least in around 3 and a half years time. Their latest research apparently predicts that the Windows Phone 7 will struggle in the market until the new set of Nokia Windows Phones are released in larger volumes.

IDC analyst Ramon Llamas wrote in a press release; “Until Nokia begins introducing Windows Phone-powered smartphones in large volumes in 2012, Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile will only capture a small share of the market,” the research note reads, “as the release of Mango-powered smartphones are not expected to reach the market until late 2011.”

If all goes well with the new Microsoft and Nokia partnership, the firm expects the Windows Phone to have around a 20 percent stake of the smartphone market by the year 2015 – that means it will have a larger market share than iOS who are expected to have a 16.9 share and the Blackberry, which is anticipated to have a 13.4 percent share – and of course the Android phone is predicted be the market leader with a whopping 43.8 percent share.

The hotly anticipated partnership is not yet even formed, but with firms like IDC expecting big things from the partership it looks like the next few years could be big for Nokia and Microsoft. The way the phones are marketed will be a huge factor in the success of this alliance and indeed the Nokia Windows Phone platform, but only time will tell if the success will turn the smartphone market on its head.

I personally believe they’re on the right tracks, but whether or not it will be as successful as predicted i’m not all too sure – I hope so though, if not only for a better and more competitive smarphone market, after all competition usually develops in to technology advances in these sort of markets.

How do you think things will pan out between the two companies? Do you see the Windows Phone having a market share as predicted by the IDC, or is this all too confident thinking?

If you’re an owner of a Symbian^3 device then this news will probably be more than welcomed by you, at least it was for myself. Just a few days ago the Nokia Ovi Store pushed an update to bring with it in-store app updates, a better search facility, automatic suggestions and top lists among other things.

Version 2.8 of the Ovi Store is an optional upgrade for all users; however it’s unlikely that many people decide against taking the upgrade as its advantages are in abundance.

The algorithm used to show the ‘Top Free’ and ‘Best Sellers’ has been updated, which will now “make app and game listings more relevant for consumers”. The rankings are now filtered better by device and location which means an applications popularity on a particular platform won’t be calculated as a whole and therefore showing inaccurate rankings.

In the past when a user wanted to update their application they would have to be made aware by the developer that a new release was available in-app or otherwise, then uninstall and re-download the application in order to receive the update – now with version 2.8 of the Nokia Ovi Store, this is done via the store and is a more seamless and streamlined process.

Are you happy with the update, or were you expecting much more? I personally think it’s great, however there is still some way to go to make it competitive in terms of how it matches against the likes of the App Store and Android Store.

Nokia has released its’ own Instant Messaging application which is available to download via the Ovi Store after months of beta testing over at the Nokia Beta Labs. The app is due to be pre-installed with all new Nokia mobile phones and is set to rival Apple’s iMessage system and Blackberry’s rather annoying BBM (Blackberry Messenger).

What is Nokia IM?

Nokia Instant Messenger is an application that allows you to send messages to other Nokia users, along with people who are logged in to Ovi Mail, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MySpace IM and Google Talk – pretty impressive huh?

Noka will be releasing a number of handsets over the summer period which includes the likes of the Nokia X7 and Nokia E6, of which will come pre-installed with Symbian^3′s latest version called Anna. The phones will also, obviously, include the Nokia IM application.

The E6 will come packed with a competitive 8 megapixel camera and a dual LED flash along with an impressive 8GB of built-in sotrage. The X7 will be more of an entertainment eccentric device that comes pre-installed with Fire HD and Asphalt 5 HD, a cool bonus for any would-be E6 or X7 owners.

Get your hands on Nokia IM via the link below.

Price: FREE
Download: Nokia IM