Let’s face it: The smartphone revolution hasn’t been kind to every company that’s been trying to make it out there. In recent years, the headlines have been dominated by Apple and Google for having the smartphone market locked down. Naturally, this incredible success came at the expense of other companies, having seen their fortunes dissipate in recent times. Back in the day, it was Nokia that ruled the smartphone world with its Symbian mobile operating system, but once the iPhone caught the consumer’s eye, everything started to change.

Source: Gartner.

Enterprise-entrenched BlackBerry largely held its own in terms of market share until 2010, when enterprises began reducing their dependence on the company’s enterprise-oriented solutions. At the time, the writing was on the wall that BlackBerry could be in trouble, which helped drive Apple’s enterprise share to more than 50% today.

Although BlackBerry and Nokia have experienced their share of hardships in recent years, both come with an arsenal of new offerings hoping to change their statuses in the smartphone world. Which company has the best chances of success in 2013?

Nokia Lumia 620. Source: Nokia.

Since developed markets are more established for smartphones, Nokia will be primarily placing its focus on emerging-market growth opportunities. Considering that the world has only reached roughly 25% worldwide smartphone saturation, there’s a tremendous amount of growth for companies that cater to less saturated markets. Not to mention that Nokia has aggressively priced its offerings to fare well when consumers decide which device has the best value for the price. Central to this strategy are the $180 unsubsidized Nokia Lumia 520 and the $249 Lumia 620, which together hold the potential to ruffle Android’s feathers in the sub-$250 unsubsidized smartphone market. Until now, the sub-$250 Android smartphone market hasn’t been met with any formidable competition. The hope is that Nokia’s aggressive approach coupled with Microsoft‘s freshly minted Windows Phone 8 ecosystem will be enough to steal some thunder away from Android’s stronghold.

BlackBerry Z10. Source: BlackBerry.

Working from the high end down, BlackBerry has been in the process of (slowly) releasing its first flagship BlackBerry 10 phone, the BlackBerry Z10, into the wild. BB10 is built on an entirely new source code called QNX, which offers the promise of a modern-day mobile OS, coupled with the potential to act as a modern-day cross-compatible platform. BlackBerry promises QNX will one day connect with your car, home, and the health-care system from your device. The Z10 is also a sharp divergence from the traditional designs of the keyboard-entrenched device maker.

Ultimately, BlackBerry is planning on releasing six devices based on BB10 in 2013, split evenly between keyboard and touch models, covering a range of price points from the low end to the high. But considering the Z10 fetches an unsubsidized $599, BlackBerry is a few steps behind Nokia in terms …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance