At the 2011 Mobile Telecompaper conference in the Netherlands, Victor Saeijs, Vice President of Nokia Europe, reiterated to attendees that Nokia's first Windows Phone 7 handsets will be launching in Europe later this year. He noted that he was carrying an early prototype himself, but he of course could not show it off, according to All About Phones. The company will likely start with just one device, and will announce more at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Saeijs noted that the Netherlands will be included in the first wave of Nokia's new Windows phones, which will be running Windows Phone 7.1 (codenamed Mango). The mobile market in the Netherlands has apparently become increasingly important, with an 80 percent by revenue penetration of smartphones there, well ahead of the rest of Europe. According to Nokia, the addition of the Netherlands brings the number of countries that will receive the launch handsets to six: France, Germany, UK, Spain, and Italy are also on board. It's interesting to note that Finland, where Nokia is based, isn't on the list of launch countries.
Four months ago, Nokia announced that it was choosing Microsoft's Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform. Two months ago, Nokia and Microsoft finally signed a definitive agreement regarding their global mobile ecosystem partnership.
It's generally accepted that Windows Phone is not selling well. AT&T Mobility CEO believes things will start to pick up with Windows Phone 7.1 (codenamed Mango) and as the Windows Phone Marketplace gains more apps. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop meanwhile argues that Windows Phone scores better than Android and iPhone with consumers, but OEMs are doing their best work for Android. He believes that once Nokia starts doing its best work for Windows Phone, the platform will take off.